Valvoline
Martinsville Preview
San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens scored a
touchdown Monday night then bent over in the end zone to
pull out a black marker he had stashed in his sock. Owens
used the marker to autograph the football before handing it
to a fan in the stands.
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson says what Owens
did Monday night is just part of the routine for a Nascar
Winston Cup driver. Like Owens, Benson considers the magic
marker part of his drivers uniform and he carries one in his
driving suit whenever he is at the race track.
Do You Keep A Marker With You At All Times?
“I keep one in the front pocket of my Valvoline uniform.
Heck I’ve even had
fans ask for my autograph while I'm sitting in the car. I’ve
never thought
about what would happen if it were to explode in my uniform.
That wouldn’t be
cool because those uniforms are about $1,500 each. I
consider the marker part
of my uniform just like my driving shoes, helmet and gloves.
I think I have
about 100 of those markers in my drawer at home.”
What Is The Weirdest Thing You Have Signed?
“I guess the wildest thing I’ve ever signed was a few years
ago at one of my
fan club meetings. This lady who was a big fan was
undergoing chemotherapy
treatment and she wanted me to sign her bald head. I was
like “no way.” But she insisted and I thought what the heck.
You know as soon as I did it she started laughing and the
whole place busted out laughing with her. That made her day
and it made mine. It turned out to be something pretty cool.
Sometime simple as that made her and everyone else feel
better.
“I have signed sheet metal after a wreck, bowling balls,
bowling pins, shirts,
hats, pictures, helmet shields, trading cards, and I have
heard other drivers
talk about signing body parts and stuff like that. I’d never
admit to that
because I think my wife would kill me. But you do get a lot
of interesting
requests. I heard Richard Petty once signed a live duck. So
I guess I have a
ways to go to beat the King.”
Are Autograph Requests Annoying?
“No as long as you aren’t eating dinner with your family or
something like
that. If you are a driver and you are going to walk through
the Winston Cup
garage you better have a marker with you if you want to get
where you are
going. We have so many autograph seekers in the garage its
just easier to take
your own pen and sign as you are walking through the crowd.
I like signing
autographs for fans. It’s kind of an honor when someone
wants your autograph.
It can slow you down so you come armed with your own marker
and just start
signing as you walk to where you are going. If you waited on
the fans to dig
their own markers out of their pockets or getting their pen
to work you’d be
there all day so it’s easier to take your own.”
Benson Career At Martinsville
Date S F
04/14/2002 39 19
10/15/2001 5 6
04/08/2001 26 20
10/01/2000 33 19
04/09/2000 25 16
10/03/1999 40 28
04/18/1999 40 35
09/27/1998 24 9
04/20/1998 37 38
09/29/1997 26 19
04/20/1997 22 17
09/22/1996 22 17
04/21/1996 18 25
Race Information:
THE RACE: Old Dominion 500
Winston Cup Race #32 of 36 for the 2002 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, October 20, 2002 in Martinsville, VA
TV: NBC - 12:30pm/et
Race re-air: TNT on Tues, Oct 22nd at 1:00am/et; Speed
Channel on Wed, Oct
23rd, 8:00pm/et; Thurs, Oct 24th, 1:00am/et
Pre-Race Show: NBC - 12:00noon/et - Hosted by Bill Weber
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons and Wally
Dallenbach
Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave
Burns
Purse/Race Awards: $3,657,565 (last year $3,029,236)
2001 Race Winner: Ricky Craven, 75.750mph, started 6th
Event Race Record: Jeff Gordon, Oct 1996, 82.223mph
Track/Race Length: 0.526-mile oval, 500 laps, 263 miles
Pit Road Speed: 35mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, October 18th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et;
Saturday, October 19th,
11:15am - 12:00noon/et.
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, October 19th, 12:30 -
1:15pm/et on TV-Speed
Channel at 12:30pm/et.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, October 18th, 10:20am/et
Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, October 18th
at 3:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel and live via MRN Radio, XM
Satellite Radio and via NASCAR.com's Racecast (paid). Will
be re-aired at 8:00pm/et on Fri Oct 18th.
Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of
qualifying (since the 2001 season)
Race-Event/Track Qualifying Record: Tony Stewart, Sept 2000,
95.371mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Todd Bodine, 93.724, finished 12th.
Track Specs:
Degree of Banking: Turns: 12 degrees
Straight-aways: Banking: 0 degrees (flat)
Straights: 800 feet
Grandstand Seating: 91,000
Pit Stalls: 43 pits, 14-feet wide by 28-feet long
#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/Car 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: Bobby Burrell
Front Tire Carrier: David Smith Tilley
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
Mechanic: Roy Gidland
Engineer: Tim Turner
Computers: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
PR Rep: Drew Brown
|
|
Johnny's
Official Facebook
Follow
Us
on Twitter
|
_small.jpg)
