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Benson Will
Have Better Seat For This New Hampshire Race
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson didn’t complain
about the New Hampshire International Speedway racing
surface in July when the Nascar Winston Cup drivers raced on
the flat mile oval.
Benson was home in North Carolina sitting in his recliner
recuperating from
broken ribs he suffered at Daytona earlier that month.
In July, many drivers said the track began to break up
during the race and were
quite vocal with their criticism. Benson said he hopes the
track will be better
this weekend, but said he will withhold his judgment of the
racing surface
until after Sunday’s race.
Benson On Track Surface
“They say that the surface will be better because it has had
time to cure. I
have no reason to doubt that. I think Nascar and the Bahres
know what they are
doing and I hope it works out. Sure I wish there were more
banking there
because I think we would put on a better show for the fans.
The bottom line is
we can race on anything. I raced dirt for years so I’ll race
on anything and
have fun.”
Benson On Difference Between First & Second New Hampshire
Races:
“I have a lot nicer seat this time. Last time I was at home
watching on
television. Driving is a lot more fun than watching. I don’t
know how much
different this race will be compared to last time Nascar was
up there. I hope
we aren’t battling the track like the guys were the first
time. That looked
pretty wild.
“Whenever you race a second time at the same track the race
is usually better.
I think that’s because we you arrive you pretty much have no
idea what’s going
to happen. But this time we will kind of have an idea what
the track will do
during long runs in the race. Jerry Nadeau did a great job
for me in July and I
think James and the guys will have a pretty good car for me
on Sunday.”
Benson On The New Hampshire Track:
“"New Hampshire is so narrow that there isn't a lot of room
to pass and that makes for some interesting racing. Tempers
can be short there because you have a lot of cars fighting
for very little room on a narrow slick track. Sometimes you
can get into someone and turn them and not even mean to.
“Obviously, New Hampshire is a flat track and the turns are
pretty similar on
both ends. For a fast lap you better drive the car right up
to the wall off
turn two and off turn four. The whole key there is getting
enough grip where
you can stay low going through the middle of the corners.
That's especially
true in qualifying. The guy who wins the pole will be the
guy who can stay low
in the middle at both ends of the track. You tend to slide
up the track at both
ends."
THE RACE: New Hampshire 300
Winston Cup Race #27 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, September 15, 2002 in Loudon, NH
TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et
Race re-air: TNT on Tues, Sept 17th at 1:00am/et; Speed
Channel on Wed, Sept 18th, 8:00pm/et; Thurs, Sept 19th,
1:00am/et
Pre-Race Show: NBC - 12:30pm/et - Hosted by Bill Weber
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally
Dallenbach
Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave
Burns
Posted Awards/Purse: $4,129,738 (was $3,541,410 in 2001)
2001 Race Winner: Robby Gordon, 103.594mph, started 31st
Track Race Record: Jeff Burton, July 1997, 117.134
Race Speed Record: Jeff Gordon, Sept 1998, 112.078
Track/Race Length: 1.058 mile oval, 300 laps, 317.4 miles
Pit Road Speed: 35mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, September 13th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et;
Saturday, September
14th, 9:45 - 10:30am/et.
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, September 14th, 11:15am -
12:00noon/et on
TV-Speed Channel at 11:00am/et.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, September 13th, 10:20am/et
Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, September
13th at 3:05pm/et,
TV-Speed Channel and live via MRN Radio, XM Satellite Radio
and via
NASCAR.com's Racecast (paid). Re-air at 8:00pm/et on Speed
Channel.
Race/Event Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, Sept 1999,
129.820mph
Track Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, July 2000,
132.089mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: none due to delay of the race.
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 1.058 mile oval
Turns: Banking: 12 degrees; Striaghts: 2 degrees
Length of Straights: Frontstretch - 1500ft; Backstretch -
1500ft
Grandstand Seating: 91,000
#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
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter Brian Dantinne
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
Jackman: Rob Jones
Rear Tire Changer: Greg Burkhart
Rear Tire Carrier: Shane Cooke
Other Crew Members
Truck Driver: Jerry Hess
Shock Specialist: Mike Cluka
Tires: Jeff Johnson
Engineer: Tim Turner
Computers: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
PR Rep: Drew Brown
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