John Benson's Father's
Day Wish
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson gets to enjoy a
Michigan Homecoming this week and hopes to give his father
John Benson a special Father’s Day present. The elder Benson
knows his way around a race car. He graced the cover of
Stock Car Racing Magazine in 1970. In his long racing career
he posted more than 75 victories including 1966 National
Supermodified Championship in Oswego, N.Y. - the "crown
jewel" of the modified series at the time. He also started
and continues to operate Benson Speed Equipment in Grand
Rapids, Mich. The elder Benson, who raced in the 1973 Nascar
race at Michigan, will watch his son race from the
backstretch where he serves as the Valvoline team’s second
spotter.
Notes:
---- Benson has finished in the top 8 in four of the last
five races at Michigan International Speedway.
---- Benson will race at Berlin Raceway in Marne Mich. on
Tuesday along with Tony Stewart. Benson will attend a
Valvoline appearance in Traverse City Mich on Wednesday,
then attend a U.S. Army function in Tecumseh Mich. on
Thursday to watch the U.S. Army's Golden Knights parachute
team
John Benson On His Father’s Day Wish:
"My best Father’s Day present would be a another win for
Johnny and those guys. They have had an up and down season,
but they could certainly win. It coming on Father’s Day
would make it even nicer. If he doesn’t win, it is still
good because he’s happy doing what he is doing."
What Is It Like Watching Your Son Race?
"Obviously, you are quite concerned because he is your kid.
That’s utmost on your mind. But you also want to see him do
well and do what he likes to do. You can’t take him out of
what he likes to do and he wouldn’t listen to you anyhow if
you tried to get him out of racing."
Does Your Racing Involvement Make It Easier Or Worse
Watching Johnny?
"It makes it worse. You know what can happen on the race
track. I kind of ride along with him. You look at the guys
he is coming up on and say ‘ that’s a really good driver and
I don’t have to worry about him or this one that’s third up
there he is going to have a problem getting around him or he
could get in trouble trying to pass him.’ That’s always a
concern when I watch races. So many things can happen."
Johnny Benson On His Father:
"I’ve told people when I was growing up if I got in trouble
I had to go to the track to watch my Dad race. When my
sister got in trouble they made her stay home. So I watched
plenty of his races and he has watched me race a lot as
well. What can you say about your Dad other than if it
wasn’t for him you sure wouldn’t be here and I wouldn’t have
the career success that I had. I think he’s about the most
important person in my racing career."
Benson Career at Michigan
Race Year S F
August 2002 35 8
June 2002 30 6
August 2001 22 5
June 2001 10 12
August 2000 23 5
June 2000 11 24
August 1999 41 21
June 1999 26 19
August 1998 38 34
June 1998 21 22
August 1997 1 24
June 1997 7 10
August 1996 19 7
June 1996 37 37
THE RACE: Sirius 400
Winston Cup Race #15 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup
season
Race: Sunday, June 15, 2003 in Brooklyn, MI
TV: Fox - 1:30pm/et
Pre-Race Show: Fox - 12:30pm/et - with hosts Chris Myers and
Jeff Hammond
Race Re-Air: June 18th at 8:00pm/et on Speed Channel, June
19th at 1:00am/et and 3:00pm/et on Speed Channel
Announcers: Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds
Pit Reporters: Dick Berggren, Matt Yocum, Steve Byrnes,
Jeanne Zelasko
Hollywood Hotel: Chris Myers and Jeff Hammond
NASCAR on TV and Fox Sports
Purse/Race Awards: (was $3,798,525 in 2002)
2002 Race Winner: Matt Kenseth, 154.822mph, started 20th
Race Record: Dale Jarrett, June 1999, 173.997mph (no
cautions)
Track/Race Length: 2.0 oval, 200 laps, 400 miles
Pit Road Speed: 45mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, June 13th, 11:00am - 1:00pm/et; and
Saturday, June 14th, 9:30 - 10:15am/et
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, June 14th, 11:10 - 11:55am/et
on TV-FX via tape at 6:30pm/et.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, June 13th, 10:00am/et
First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday,
June 13th at 3:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live, re-air at
8:00pm/et, and live via MRN
Second-Round Qualifying: there is no longer a 2nd round of
qualifying (since the 2001 season)
Event Qualifying Record: Dale Jarrett, June 2000, 189.883mph
Track Qualifying Record: Dale Earnhardt Jr, August 2000,
191.149mph
June 2002 Pole Sitter: Dale Jarrett, 189.071mph, finished
2nd
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 2.0-mile D-shaped oval
Banking: turns: 18 degrees; straights: frontstretch 12
degrees, backstretch 5 degrees
Backstretch Length: 2,242 feet; Front stretch Length: 2,229
feet
73 feet wide with 10-foot apron in turns, 45 feet wide with
12-foot apron on straightaways
Pit lane is 50 feet wide and contains space for 44
individual pit areas
Grandstand Seating: 82,000, attendence: 136,373.
10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information
Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown
Owners: Valvoline (Jim Rocco)/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard,
Nelson Bowers, Read Morton)
Crew Chief/Car Chief: James Ince
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter (Race Day) Jay Guy
Spotter (Practice Only) Russell Hoekwater
Engine Tuner John Kendrach
Over The Wall Pit Crew
Front Tire Changer Bobby Burrell
Front Tire Carrier Shane Cooke
Rear Tire Changer Greg Burkhart
Rear Tire Carrier Steve Genenbacher
Gasman Jimmy Watts
Tire Specialist Skippy Johnson
Catch Can Steve Mann
Jackman Brian Perry
Other Crew Members
Truck Driver: Gale (Bandit) Wilson
Mechanic: Jerry Hess
Mechanic: David Baum
Shocks: Mike Cluka
Tires: Jeff (Skippy) Johnson
Engineer: Tim Turner
Computers & Gas Runner: John Hayes
Scorer: Terry Lane
Pit Stop Coach: Gary Smith
PR Rep: Drew Brown
|
|
Johnny's
Official Facebook
Follow
Us
on Twitter
|
_small.jpg)
