|
Benson, Ince
Sign Multi-Year Deal With MB2/Valvoline Racing
Valvoline Racing and MB2 Motorsports announced today that
Johnny Benson and Crew Chief James Ince have signed
multi-year contract extensions to continue at the #10
Valvoline Pontiac.
Benson said the foundation already in place at the Concord,
N.C. race shop was a factor in his decision to return to the
#10 team.
"My goal is to do well and retire from this place some day,"
said Benson. "James and I have said from the start that we
wanted to keep all of the crew members, team owners, and
sponsors together and that is just what we have done. We
know we have the foundation for a winning effort here and
there is no place we’d rather work."
Benson and Ince have been with the #10 team since 2000 when
they nearly won the Daytona 500 in a car fielded by Tyler
Jet Motorsports. Midway through the year MB2 purchased Tyler
Jet’s assets. In 2001 Valvoline became an equal partner with
MB2 making it the first consumer products company to own a
Winston Cup team.
Jim Rocco, senior vice president at Valvoline, said
continuity is an important ingredient to success in racing
and one of the reasons why Valvoline wanted to continue the
Benson and Ince relationship.
"This is great news for our company and all of our fans. We
wanted Johnny and James and I know they wanted to stay with
us. We think the team they have built and the people
involved in our program are the kind Valvoline wants to be
associated with. We took a bold step in owning this team so
we have had a strong interest in making sure we have the
people in place that we wanted."
Ince, who at 31 years of age is one of the youngest crew
chief in the Winston Cup garage, said this contract would
not change his goals.
"Our goal is to win with Valvoline Pontiac. Simple as that.
I have always said if they weren’t paying us a dime, we
would want to win races. I’d trade all the money in the
world for a trophy."
Team General Manager Jay Frye said bringing Benson and Ince
back was not a tough decision.
"Keeping Johnny and James together was a priority from the
moment that the year started. We wanted to have them locked
in by mid-season and that’s exactly what we have done," Frye
said. "Silly season gets earlier and earlier each year so
while we weren’t the first team to announce our plans we are
on the schedule we set for ourselves in the off-season."
Benson and Ince have combined for 5 top-three finishes and
22 top-ten finishes in 86 starts together. Benson has
finished second at Bristol and Dover in 2000. Ince served as
crew chief when Benson, David Green, Rich Bickle, Ted
Musgrave and Kevin Lepage all recorded their best career
finishes.
|
