Benson Passes Test on Road Course

If it rains at Pocono on Sunday don't be surprised if Johnny Benson waits out
the rain delay in the seat of his #10 Valvoline Pontiac.

Benson reported the only pain he felt during his daylong test at Virginia
International Raceway Tuesday came when he climbed into and out of the car.
Driving on the twisty course was not a problem and shouldn't be for Pocono this
weekend when Benson makes his first appearance in a race car since he broke a rib and cracked two others in a May 3 Busch Series race in Richmond, Va. Joe Nemechek substituted for Benson at Richmond finishing 12th while Jerry Nadeau posted 28th and 27th place finishes at Charlotte and Dover. Benson spent all three races he sat out watching from the team's pit box with Crew Chief James Ince.


Benson On Tuesday's Test:

"Our day of testing on the road course was really good. I was very happy with
it. Actually, I expected it would be good but knowing that I'm OK is a lot
better than thinking I'll be OK. We were one of the top two or three cars here
today (Tuesday) and that's reassuring. For not having tons and tons of track
time we were really pleased. The car ran great and the driver seemed to be
pretty good as well.

"The only pain I had all day was getting in and out of the race car. Once I got
strapped in and all situated I was feeling pretty good. Driving the car was
fine. There were a few areas where I was sore but heck I've been out of the car
for three weeks so that's to be expected. I don't think I'll want to get in and
out too often. Maybe if there is a rain delay during the race Ill just stay in
my car and wait it out.

"It was funny. After I ran all day on the road course which is a lot more
demanding than the oval tracks we run I was kind of mad. I was thinking I
should have run Dover last weekend. But everyone on our team said we probably
did the right thing by waiting to come back in Pocono. Our thinking was that we
didn't want to come back too early and make things worse. That wouldn't be fair
to our guys or Valvoline our team owner. Joe and Jerry did a good job in our
car and me taking an extra week to get healed was only smart. James said he'd
rather have me at 80 to 100 percent than 50 to 60 percent. That's what we did.
It was a group decision."