The "four-wheel slide" through the corners combined with the blistering pace set by leader Bill Elliott and the long green flag run to start the race saw Benson fall down a lap to the leaders at the 53-lap mark.

"It seems like the front end is bound up and it chatters your teeth going over the bumps," reported Benson on the team radio. Benson pitted on lap 60 then again on lap 104 only to have the caution fall two laps later and before the leaders came to pit road.

Benson was now down three laps.

For the rest of the race the Valvoline team's strategy focused on surviving the treacherous Darlington racetrack and outlasting the competition by avoiding a wreck. Benson gained several spots after a four-car accident took out several competitors and gained a few more through normal race attrition.

By the time the checkered flag fell Benson had climbed to 34th.

Rain delayed Sunday's race by two hours, but Jeff Gordon used a late surge to claim his second consecutive race in 2002.