Benson 10th
At Dover
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson might be the only
Nascar Winston Cup driver who wishes the race at Dover
International Speedway were a 500- mile race like it used to
be before it was shortened 100 miles.
That’s because Benson used a late charge in the final 100
laps Sunday to claim a 10th-place finish on the concrete
high banks of Dover.
If the race had lasted longer he might have had an even
better finish.
“If we could have been as good at the beginning of the race
as we were at the
end of the race today then I think we would definitely been
in the top five,”
Benson said after the race. “But we aren’t complaining. We
are running good
each week and a 10th place at this track isn’t too bad.”
Benson passed several of the top five cars in the closing
laps but because he
was a lap down he could only climb as high as tenth.
“That’s kind of a tribute to the team and crew because we
kept working and
working on the Valvoline Pontiac all day,” Benson said. “We
learned something
today that I hope we can use when we come here again next
season.”
Benson started Sunday’s race in 22nd spot and began working
his way up the
scoring monitor. By lap 28 he moved into 16th spot and spent
much of the day
near that position racing fender to fender with Robby Gordon
and Michael
Waltrip.
Benson was in 17th at the lap 147 mark in what began a long
green flag run.
Benson struggled with a loose car and fell down a lap to
leader and eventual
winner Jimmie Johnson at lap 241. The race stayed green
until lap 320 when the caution came out after Rusty Wallace
cut a tire going into turn one.
“We got lapped under green there when we were struggling a
bit and Jimmie was going so fast I think he put all but nine
cars down a lap.” Benson said. “But
we got it handling pretty good after that.”
Benson restarted the race in 13th on lap 328 and starting
picking off the cars
in front of him. He passed Gordon on lap 330 then Waltrip on
338 then Jeff
Green on lap 357. In the closing laps he held off a hard
charging Dave Blaney
for tenth.
Johnson won Sunday’s race followed by Mark Martin. Martin
and Johnson are first and second in the 2002 points race.
Benson’s 10th-place finish combined with last week’s
fourth-place finish is an
indication his Valvoline team is returning to form. For
Benson, the results are
what he expected all year.
“This is a very good race team and we have overcome a lot of
things this season and I think it’s all starting to pay off.
I’m feeling good, the team is turning in killer pit stops
and we sure would like to finish out the season strong and
then focus in on the 2003 season.”
Benson and his Valvoline teammates return to action this
weekend at Kansas
Speedway.
Results
1 Jimmie Johnson *
2 Mark Martin
3 Dale Jarrett
4 Matt Kenseth
5 Tony Stewart
6 Jeff Burton
7 Kurt Busch
8 Ryan Newman *
9 Ricky Craven
10 Johnny Benson
11 Dave Blaney
12 Michael Waltrip
13 Jeff Green
14 Ricky Rudd
15 Rusty Wallace
16 Kyle Petty
17 Robby Gordon
18 Bill Elliott
19 Mike Skinner
20 Jeremy Mayfield
21 Sterling Marlin
22 Ken Schrader
23 Joe Nemechek
24 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
25 Elliott Sadler
26 Steve Park
27 Kenny Wallace
28 Mike Wallace
29 John Andretti
30 Kevin Harvick
31 Tony Raines
32 Casey Atwood
33 Greg Biffle
34 Tim Sauter
35 Jimmy Spencer
36 Kevin Lepage
37 Jeff Gordon
38 Terry Labonte
39 Hideo Fukuyama
40 Todd Bodine
41 Bobby Labonte
42 Jerry Nadeau
43 Ward Burton
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