Valve Spring
Ends Benson’s Day In Talladega
Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson felt like his race
ended before it even
started at Talladega on Sunday.
A valve spring problem ended his race on lap 148 leaving
Benson with a
40th-place finish.
Up until then Benson was biding his time at the back of the
43-car draft and
waiting for the laps to wind down. His Valvoline team’s plan
was to avoid an
accident until the race’s closing stages then go to the
front and battle for
the win.
“Everything seem to be working right,” Benson said after the
race. “We were in
the back just kind of waiting to the end. We went up to the
middle of the pack
a few times to just get a feel for our car and see how easy
it was. It was easy
so we thought we would be patient, but unfortunately we just
never got our
chance.”
Benson reported that he was losing power about the lap 130
mark. The problem
grew worse and soon he was unable to continue. All six
Hendrick engine cars
suffered similar valve spring problems and failed to finish
Sunday.
Benson said it’s all part of trying to create the best
engines.
"I think maybe a spring just cracked or something, and
eventually got a valve
spring. But, the Hendrick engine was running really good.
The horsepower was
great.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won Sunday’s race that ran caution-free
for the entire 500
miles. The first caution-free race since April 2001 also in
Talladega. Tony
Stewart finished second and took over the season point lead
by 72 points
Nascar's new rule reducing the fuel cell size requiring more
pit stops didn’t
seem to break up the draft a lot during the race. It
normally took just a
handful of laps after a pit stop before the field was
bunched up again.
“It worked Okay,” Benson said. “I’m glad they tried it. I
hope they keep trying
stuff like that.”
Benson and his teammates return to action this weekend in
Charlotte.
1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2 Tony Stewart
3 Ricky Rudd
4 Kurt Busch
5 Jeff Green
6 Steve Park
7 Ryan Newman *
8 Michael Waltrip
9 Dale Jarrett
10 Ward Burton
11 Jeff Burton
12 Robby Gordon
13 Rusty Wallace
14 Matt Kenseth
15 Ricky Craven
16 Kyle Petty
17 Scott Wimmer
18 John Andretti
19 Bill Elliott
20 Jeremy Mayfield
21 Jimmy Spencer
22 Stacy Compton
23 Todd Bodine
24 Jerry Nadeau
25 Bobby Labonte
26 Jamie McMurray
27 Kevin Harvick
28 Mike Skinner
29 Brett Bodine
30 Mark Martin
31 Dave Blaney
32 Ron Hornaday
33 Kenny Wallace
34 Casey Atwood
35 Mike Wallace
36 Elliott Sadler
37 Jimmie Johnson *
38 Terry Labonte
39 Joe Nemechek
40 Johnny Benson
41 Ken Schrader
42 Jeff Gordon
43 Jay Sauter
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