In order to take a pretty decent race car that would pass other cars all day
long, and still finish three laps down at Martinsville Speedway you would
probably have to have had a lot of bad luck and a bad break or two.

Johnny Benson and his #10 Valvoline Pontiac teammates had that bad luck and that bad break Sunday as two untimely yellow flags and a flat tire during a
green-flag run ruined their day on the Virginia short track.

“That was pretty frustrating,” Benson said. “Those two yellows couldn’t have
come at worse times. If you have to make an unscheduled stop at this place you are done. That’s what also did us in today.”

Benson started Sunday’s 500-lap race on the flat-half mile track in 28th spot
and climbed up to about 20th in the early going. While he battled in traffic
the leaders enjoyed clear sailing on an empty track and set a blistering pace
catching the back of the field early in the race.

Martinsville is all about beating and banging normally with lots of yellow
flags to bunch the field. To the surprise of most in the Winston Cup garage the
first 100 laps ran caution-free Sunday meaning any car not handling perfect
early on was in trouble.

“We were a little loose and in traffic it was tough,” Benson said. “Normally
you get a caution or two real early to get your car right. Today the leaders
were right on your tail. I don’t remember a race going green that long at the
start.”

Race leader Jeff Gordon passed Benson on lap 73. He stayed behind Gordon for a while before Gordon stretched the gap. At lap 118 the first caution of the day fell. Benson was too far back to catch Gordon and get back on the lead lap.

Benson restarted the race in 32nd place then endured an almost instant replay
of the race’s opening segment.

While he raced in traffic over the next 100 laps the leaders made their way
around the track. Gordon lapped Benson on lap 209 and another yellow fell on
lap 241 dropping Benson two laps down.

He still had a fast car compared to the rest of the field but he was in a big
hole.

“Keep on digging luck just isn’t going our way today,” said Crew Chief James
Ince. “But we have a chance to make up about 15 spots.”

That hope went out the window near the lap 350 mark when Jeff Burton and Benson touched shredding Benson’s left rear tire. The Valvoline Pontiac came in under the green flag for two new tires losing two more laps.

Benson avoided further trouble over the final segment finishing 32nd.

Gordon passed Bobby Labonte after the final round of pit stops to win his first
race of the season. Benson and his teammates will take a rare weekend off
before returning to action Fontana, Cal.

Sunday’s Results

1. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 180 - 5 bonus points
2. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 175 - 5 bonus points
3. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 175 - 10 bonus points
4. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 160
5. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 160 - 5 bonus points
6. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 155 - 5 bonus points
7. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 151 - 5 bonus points
8. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 147 5 bonus points
9. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 138
10. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 134
11. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 130
12. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 127
13. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 124
14. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 126 5 bonus points
15. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 118
16. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 120 5 bonus points
17. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 112
18. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 109
19. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 106
20. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 103
21. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 100
22. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 97
23. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 94
24. (1) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 91
25. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 88
26. (30) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 85
27. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 82
28. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 79
29. (0) Jack Sprague, Pontiac, 76
30. (43) John Andretti, Dodge, 73
31. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 70
32. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 67
33. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 64
34. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 61
35. (4) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 58
36. (41) CaseyMears, Dodge, 55
37. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 52
38. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 49
39. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 46
40. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 43
41. (01) Jerry Nadeau, Pontiac, 40
42. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 37
43. (02) HermieSadler, Chevrolet, 34

Points

1. Matt Kenseth, 1330
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1279
3. Jeff Gordon, 1191
4. Jimmie Johnson, 1151
5. Kurt Busch, 1125
6. Kevin Harvick, 1097
7. Tony Stewart, 1092
8. Michael Waltrip, 1088
9. Ricky Craven, 1082
10. Elliott Sadler, 1055
11. Bobby Labonte, 1026
12. Sterling Marlin, 1001
13. Dale Jarrett, 987
14. Robby Gordon, 971
15. Mark Martin, 970
16. Rusty Wallace, 970
17. Joe Nemechek, 959
18. Jeff Burton, 958
19. Ricky Rudd, 947
20. Ryan Newman, 943
21. Terry Labonte, 911
22. Greg Biffle, 888
23. Kenny Wallace, 883
24. Dave Blaney, 871
25. Ward Burton, 861
26. Johnny Benson, 855
27. Steve Park, 851
28. Jimmy Spencer, 846
29. Bill Elliott, 840
30. Jamie McMurray, 836
31. Jeff Green, 807
32. Jeremy Mayfield, 791
33. Jerry Nadeau, 723
34. John Andretti, 721
35. Ken Schrader, 709
36. Casey Mears, 680
37. Todd Bodine, 671
38. Kyle Petty, 655
39. Jack Sprague, 654
40. Mike Skinner, 624
41. Tony Raines, 591
42. Larry Foyt, 287
43. Mike Wallace, 211
44. Brett Bodine, 201
45. Derrike Cope, 181