Benson 37th at Indy

Johnny Benson and his Valvoline Racing teammates just can’t buy a break these days.

Sunday’s ninth running of the Brickyard 400 in Indianapolis appeared the
perfect place for Benson to turn around a season that has included two bad
accidents and six missed races from broken ribs.

For a while Sunday amid 95-degree temperatures and 138-degree pit road
temperatures it appeared the Valvoline Pontiac would regain its form. Benson
started the 400-mile race in eleventh and held his own in the early going.

But on lap 12 as the cars came in for their first caution pit stops, Benson and
Jeremy Mayfield collided severely damaging Benson’s right front fender and
Mayfield’s left rear quarter panel. After several stops the Valvoline Pontiac
returned to competition but just a few seconds ahead of the leaders.

"That was just a bad deal,' Benson said. "These pits are long but real narrow.
I was leaving and Jeremy was coming in and we hit pretty hard."

Crew Chief James Ince surveyed the damage and realized it was going to take
away any chances for victory.

"But we will keep plugging away and see what we can get," Ince told Benson over the team radio.

Benson ran competitive times and with the aid of the next caution flag caught
back up with the leaders. For the rest of the afternoon the crew kept working
on the car and slowly climbing up the large scoring pylon on the front stretch.

The front damage allowed Benson to roll a little bit better through the corners
but hurt his speed down the long straight-aways on the 2.5-mile oval.

"They are just pulling down the straight-aways," Benson told Ince.

The Valvoline Pontiac appeared headed for at least a top 20 finish when the day
ended at lap 106.

"I think she just blew up," Benson told the crew as he pulled out of the
Brickyard 400 for the first time in his career.

And with that he drove the Valvoline Pontiac to the garage and loaded the car
for the trip home. The number 10 fell down the scoring pylon to 37th.

"Yeah today was frustrating but there were some positives to take out of it,"
Benson said. "We ran pretty good. I think we could have been a top 10 car
without a doubt but it seems like we just run into bad luck. But, the guys
worked hard all weekend, got us a good qualifying run, and gave me a good race car today. We aren’t far off. We aren’t down. This will turn around."

Bill Elliott dominated the race to earn his first Brickyard 400.

Benson and his teammates return to action next weekend at Watkins Glen, NY.

Race Results
1 Bill Elliott
2 Rusty Wallace
3 Matt Kenseth
4 Ryan Newman *
5 Kevin Harvick
6 Jeff Gordon
7 Steve Park
8 Robby Gordon
9 Jimmie Johnson *
10 Dale Jarrett
11 Bobby Labonte
12 Tony Stewart
13 Terry Labonte
14 Ken Schrader
15 Dave Blaney
16 Michael Waltrip
17 Hut Stricklin
18 Ricky Rudd
19 Jeff Green
20 Joe Nemechek
21 Ted Musgrave
22 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
23 Bobby Hamilton
24 Jerry Nadeau
25 Kyle Petty
26 John Andretti
27 Sterling Marlin
28 Mark Martin
29 Jeff Burton
30 Ward Burton
31 Jimmy Spencer
32 Kenny Wallace
33 Ricky Craven
34 Todd Bodine
35 Elliott Sadler
36 Mike Skinner
37 Johnny Benson
38 Casey Atwood
39 Jeremy Mayfield
40 Geoffrey Bodine
41 Kurt Busch
42 Brett Bodine
43 Mike Wallace