Benson Pocono Preview

#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson and his teammates will test both
their road course car and Benson’s health on Tuesday at the Virginia
International Raceway. After the road course test the team will go to Pocono
International Raceway where Benson makes his return to the NASCAR Winston Cup Circuit.

Benson has not raced since he sustained one broken and two cracked ribs in a
May 3 Busch Series race at Richmond International Raceway.

Benson said he feels better everyday and has no doubts he’ll be able to race
the full 500 miles at Pocono. Jerry Nadeau substituted for Benson during his
recovery posting a 28th place finish at Charlotte and a 27th-place finish at
Dover.

Benson Notes:

· Benson led 8 laps at Pocono last race.

· Benson has led in 4 of his 12 career races at Pocono.

Are You Excited About Returning At Pocono?

“Absolutely, I’m excited to come back. Three weeks is a little too long just to
sit and watch. I don’t know if I will try any harder at Pocono. You always run
as hard as you can and this weekend at Pocono will be no different. The
recovery has been tough because not only have I missed racing but I haven’t
been able to work out a lot. I’m sure, because of the ribs. they are going to
probably make Pocono a little bit tiring, but I don’t think it will be that
bad. Pocono is a good track to go to. You get a little bit of time to rest on
the straight-aways so I think we will be in good shape.”

Why Test A Road Course Before Pocono?

“The reason we are going to VIR is to test the road course car for Sears Point
not to test me. We’ve had this test on the schedule for a while and decided not
to take it off. Sure, it will be good exercise for me. Ill need to see what
areas I need work on regarding the seat and stuff like that. I don’t foresee
running VIR to be too big of a problem. We just got to get in there and go. It
will be demanding to start with but that’s OK.”

Will You Forget About The Ribs When You Start The Engine?

“I think it depends on the circumstance. I know with past injuries you
immediately forget about what is hurting as soon as the engine fires. This is
the first time that I have ever had to sit out races, but I don’t foresee it
being a real big deal. When the engine starts your mind takes over and you
focus 100 percent on racing and nothing else. That’s why you hear drivers
sometimes say that racing is the best therapy there for getting over an injury.
I hope that is true in Pocono as well.”

What Did You Learn While Sitting On The Pit Box?

“I learned some things. And it was good to get a different perspective on the
race. I got a better idea of how the pit stops go and things like that. I have
never stood on that side of the pit wall and that was interesting. I’d still
rather be on the other side. Ill tell you I was sitting on the box at Charlotte
and looked up in the sky and saw two helicopters and five airplanes hovering
above our heads. I was thinking this is scarier than being on the track
itself.”



Benson Career At Pocono

Race Year S F Laps Led
Second Race 2001 9 5 8
First Race 2001 7 24
Second Race 2000 9 12 4
First Race 2000 21 34
Second Race 1999 34 14
First Race 1999 38 30
Second Race 1998 36 33
First Race 1998 37 36
Second Race 1997 40 13 1
First Race 1997 21 27
Second Race 1996 6 5 5
First Race 1996 40 25


Winston Cup Race #14 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season

· Race: Sunday, June 9, 2002 in Long Pond, PA
· TV: Fox - 1:00pm/et
· Race re-air: Speed Channel on Wednesday, June 12th, 8:00pm/et
· Pre-Race Show: 12:30pm/et, with hosts Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond
· Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry McReynolds
· Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum and Steve Byrnes
· Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond
· Posted Awards/Purse: $? (was $3,172,724 in 2001)

· 2001 Race Winner: Ricky Rudd, 134.389mph, started 1st
· Race Record: Alan Kulwicki, June 1992, 144.023mph
· Track/Race Length: 2.5 tri-oval, 200 laps, 500 miles
· Pit Road Speed: 55mph

Practice
· Practice: Friday, June 7th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et; Saturday, June 8th, 9:30 -
10:15am/et.
· Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, June 8th, 11:15 - 12:00noon/et on TV-FX at
3:30pm/et.

Qualifying
· Qualifying Draw: Friday, June 7th, 10:20am/et


· First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, June 7th at
3:05pm/et, TV-FSN and live via MRN Radio (link below) and via NASCAR.com's
Racecast (paid).
· Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of qualifying (since
the 2001 season)
· Event Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, June 2000, 171.625mph
· Track Qualifying Record: Tony Stewart, July 2000 172.391mph
· Last Year's Pole Sitter: Ricky Rudd, 170.503mph, finished 1st.

Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 2.5 mile tri-oval
Banking: turn 1: 14 degrees, turn 2: 8 degree, turn 3: 6 degrees;
Straights: Front - 3740 feet, Long Pond(between turns 1 and 2) - 3055 feet,
North(between turns 2 and 3) - 1780 feet
Grandstand Seating: 100,000


#10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information

Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown
Owner: Valvoline/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton)
Crew Chief: James Ince
Car Chief: Gary Putnam
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter Roman Pemberton
Engine Tuner: Ondre Rexford

Over The Wall Pit Crew
Gas Man: Jimmy Watts
Front Tire Changer: Mike Cluka
Front Tire Carrier: Steve Genenbacher
Catch Can: Steve Mann
Windshield: Russ Hoekwater
Jackman: Rob Jones
Rear Tire Changer: Joe Piette
Rear Tire Carrier: Shane Cooke

Other Crew Members
Truck Driver: Jerry Hess
Shock Specialist: Mike Cluka
Tires: Kyle Petty
Engineer: Tim Turner
Mechanic/Signboard: Brian Dantine
Computers: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
PR Rep: Drew Brown

Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America:

Nadeau is racing this week for the BBBS of Hancock County, Inc., Findlay, OH
Chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters Of America. Each week Valvoline donates
money to the national Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America organization as
well as an individual local chapter based on Benson's on-track performance.
Valvoline matches Benson's performance by donating $5,000 for a win, $2,500 for a pole, $1,000 for a top ten 10 finish, $500 for a top 20 finish and $20 for
each lap led. The 3-year program has raised over $750,000.