Benson 16th
at Phoenix
It didn’t have the drama or excitement of last week’s first
career victory at
Rockingham, but Sunday’s 16th place finish at Phoenix
International Raceway
turned into a respectable showing for Johnny Benson and his
teammates who
battled traffic all afternoon with their #10 Valvoline
Pontiac.
"We were decent today," Benson said after the race. "But we
were in traffic all
day and this place is just so tough to pass on. Track
position was everything
today. You could be faster than the guy in front of you but
it was real hard to
get by him unless you were a lot quicker."
Benson started the race in 23rd position and lost a few
spots in the opening
laps when he made contact with another car damaging his left
front fender. The
James Ince led crew repaired the damage and Benson spent the
middle portions of the race climbing up through traffic on
the flat mile.
Benson moved as high as 14th but never lower than 18th in a
race that included
a great deal of single file racing.
"We were kind of on top of the track and couldn’t get the
handling right," said
Benson who led a lap under yellow during a pit stop sequence
late in the race.
"We got good pit stops and everybody did everything they
could do today."
Benson ended the race in 16th about a half lap behind race
winner Matt Kenseth. Rusty Wallace finished second and Jeff
Gordon third.
Benson said Sunday’s race capped a fun weekend.
"It was nice this weekend. Everyone stopped by and
congratulated us on the win at Rockingham," he said. "We are
all ready to run like that again. We didn’t
today but maybe we can at Homestead next Sunday."
###
Checker Auto Parts 500 race results
Results from Sunday's Checker Auto Parts 500 NASCAR Winston
Cup race at the 1-mile Phoenix International Raceway:
1. (28) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 312, $211,895.
2. (29) Rusty Wallace, Ford, 312, $163,825.
3. (4) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 312, $152,328.
4. (7) Mark Martin, Ford, 312, $129,218.
5. (3) Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chevrolet, 312, $97,850.
6. (13) Kurt Busch, Ford, 312, $76,500.
7. (5) Dave Blaney, Ford, 312, $86,400.
8. (16) Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 312, $101,178.
9. (27) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 312, $89,100.
10. (15) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 312, $76,650.
11. (6) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 312, $57,000.
12. (20) Jeff Burton, Ford, 312, $93,267.
13. (24) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 312, $92,117.
14. (2) John Andretti, Dodge, 312, $77,783.
15. (37) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 312, $51,325.
16. (23) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 312, $73,825.
17. (25) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 311, $88,653.
18. (1) Ryan Newman, Ford, 311, $69,950.
19. (26) Ward Burton, Dodge, 311, $85,450.
20. (38) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 311, $56,975.
21. (32) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 311, $75,675.
22. (30) Todd Bodine, Ford, 311, $71,262.
23. (10) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 310, $53,739.
24. (34) Mike Skinner, Chevrolet, 310, $45,100.
25. (11) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 310, $52,875.
26. (31) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 310, $73,883.
27. (9) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 310, $70,481.
28. (41) Mike Wallace, Pontiac, 310, $44,300.
29. (40) Bobby Hamilton, Chevrolet, 310, $51,675.
30. (14) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 310, $67,606.
31. (36) Jason Leffler, Dodge, 309, $40,925.
32. (18) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 309, $40,775.
33. (8) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 309, $48,650.
34. (35) Ricky Craven, Ford, 309, $48,525.
35. (39) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 307, $40,400.
36. (22) Ron Hornaday, Chevrolet, 307, $40,275.
37. (21) Ken Schrader, Pontiac, 306, $48,150.
38. (42) Derrike Cope, Dodge, 302, $40,025.
39. (33) Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 269, engine failure,
$85,678.
40. (12) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 253, crash, $82,067.
41. (17) Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge, 252, crash, $39,600.
42. (19) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 130, crash, $39,475.
43. (43) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 120, engine failure,
$39,593.
Average speed of race winner: 113.857 mph.
Time of race: 2 hours, 44 minutes, 25 seconds.
Margin of victory: 1.344.
Caution flags: 4 for 18 laps.
Lead changes: 14 among 9 drivers.
Lap leaders: R. Newman 1-6; D. Earnhardt Jr. 7-28; R. Newman
29-34; D.
Earnhardt Jr. 35-117; D. Blaney 118; M. Kenseth 119-121; J.
Gordon 122-133; K.Busch 134-219; J. Gordon 220-223; M.
Martin 224-225; J. Johnson 226; R. Newman 227-228; K. Busch
229-259; J. Benson 260; M. Kenseth 261-312.
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