Benson 18th
at Chicagoland
Sometimes having one of the fastest cars isn’t all that you
need to contend for a victory in the NASCAR Winston Cup
Series.
On Sunday the stopwatch showed #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver
Johnny Benson had what was probably one of the ten fastest
cars at Chicagoland Speedway.
But what he was missing was a break or two during the
400-mile race.
"We got the hard part down and that was making the car go
fast," Benson said. "But we weren’t very lucky today.
Considering everything that happened during the race 18th
place isn’t so bad. It could have been a whole lot worse."
Benson started 36th and got off to a decent start. Only
problem was that leader Tony Stewart got off to an
incredible start by lapping all but the top 20 cars in the
first 82 laps.
"We knew we Stewart would be flying at the start but you get
around this place so fast and traffic is a big key. He was
in clean air while the rest of us were racing in traffic and
that’s how he got around everyone so fast."
Benson fell down a lap on lap 53 of the 267-lap race.
For the rest of the day and his Crew Chief James Ince worked
to return the Valvoline Pontiac to the lead lap.
There were just a few occasions for Benson to regain the
lost lap, but the caution flags just didn’t fall at the
proper time. All the while he continued to make progress of
the rest of the field and moved up into the top 20.
Benson appeared to have his best shot just past the 200-lap
mark when he came in for new tires during a caution period.
He returned to the track with hopes of using the new rubber
to chase down the leaders who were on older tires.
But Casey Mears moved down on Benson going into turn three
on lap 215. The collision forced the Valvoline Pontiac to
slide down on the apron and just as Benson was regaining
control of the car, Bobby Labonte and Benson clipped each
other.
Labonte’s car spun into the wall and caught fire. Several
other cars joined the melee. Although the former champion
was uninjured his day was over. And so was Benson’s chance
to regain that lost lap.
The Valvoline crew brought him to pit road several times to
make major repairs to the severely damaged right front
corner of the car.
"There wasn’t much we could do after that," Benson said.
"Being in a crash like that we were just lucky to finish. I
hate that it happened. (Mears) just came down on me and I
tried to save it. There were a lot of good cars wrecked and
Bobby’s wreck was pretty scary, but I’m sure glad he is OK.
Benson drove his damaged car to the checkered flag in 18th
pace.
"If we can run like this every weekend then we are going to
be OK," Benson said. "James and the guys gave us a pretty
good car today."
Ryan Newman outlasted Kevin Harvick to claim the first
victory. It was the first time Harvick hasn’t won the race
in the 3 years NASCAR has raced on the 1.5-mile oval.
Benson and his Valvoline teammates travel to Indianapolis
for testing Monday and Tuesday then on to New Hampshire
International Speedway for Sunday’s race.
Unofficial results and race points
1. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 180 - 5 bonus points
2. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 180 - 10 bonus points
3. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 170 - 5 bonus points
4. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 165 - 5 bonus points
5. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 160 - 5 bonus points
6. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 150
7. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 146
8. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 147 - 5 bonus points
9. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 138
10. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 134
11. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 130
12. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 127
13. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 124
14. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 121
15. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 118
16. (1) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 115
17. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 117 - 5 bonus points
18. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 109
19. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 106
20. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 103
21. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 100
22. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 97
23. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 94
24. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 91
25. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 88
26. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 85
27. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 82
28. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 79
29. (43) Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge, 76
30. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 73
31. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 70
32. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 67
33. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 64
34. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 61
35. (4) Johnny Sauter, Pontiac, 58
36. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 55
37. (01) Mike Wallace, Pontiac, 52
38. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 49
39. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 46
40. (0) Jack Sprague, Pontiac, 43
41. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 40
42. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 37
43. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 34
Average speed of race winner: 134.059 mph.
Time of race: 2 hours, 59 minutes, 15 seconds.
Margin of victory: 2.633.
Caution flags: 7 for 36 laps.
Lead changes: 13 among 7 drivers.
Lap leaders: T. Stewart 1-60; K. Harvick 61-64; M. Waltrip
65; T. Stewart 66-83; K. Harvick 84-104; T. Stewart 105-106;
K. Harvick 107-127; J. Gordon 128-173; J. Johnson 174-188;
J. McMurray 189; R. Newman 190-198; J. Johnson 199-208; J.
Gordon 209; R. Newman 210-267.
Updated Winston Cup standings after the Tropicana 400 at
Chicagoland Speedway:
1. Matt Kenseth, 2678
2. Jeff Gordon, 2513
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2420
4. Bobby Labonte, 2351
5. Michael Waltrip, 2294
6. Jimmie Johnson, 2249
7. Kevin Harvick, 2166
8. Tony Stewart, 2129
9. Kurt Busch, 2113
10. Sterling Marlin, 2098
11. Rusty Wallace, 2086
12. Mark Martin, 2070
13. Jeff Burton, 2057
14. Terry Labonte, 2028
15. Robby Gordon, 2023
16. Ryan Newman, 2013
17. Ricky Craven, 1919
18. Elliott Sadler, 1911
19. Bill Elliott, 1902
20. Greg Biffle, 1810
21. Ward Burton, 1796
22. Jamie McMurray, 1795
23. Ricky Rudd, 1768
24. Joe Nemechek, 1725
25. Jeremy Mayfield, 1723
26. Johnny Benson, 1719
27. Dave Blaney, 1662
28. Kenny Wallace, 1636
29. Dale Jarrett, 1626
30. Jimmy Spencer, 1581
31. Todd Bodine, 1543
32. Jeff Green, 1468
33. Steve Park, 1388
34. Casey Mears, 1358
35. Kyle Petty, 1304
36. Ken Schrader, 1291
37. Jack Sprague, 1284
38. Tony Raines, 1208
39. John Andretti, 1137
40. Mike Skinner, 1004
41. Jerry Nadeau, 844
42. Larry Foyt, 686
43. Mike Wallace, 640
44. Brett Bodine, 308
45. Derrike Cope, 292
46. Christian Fittipaldi, 289
47. Boris Said, 155
48. Ron Fellows, 151
49. Hermie Sadler, 128
50. Buckshot Jones, 112
|
|
Victory Lane
Milwaukee
June 20, 2008
Miami
November 16, 2007
Gateway
September 1, 2007
Bristol
August 22, 2007
Milwaukee
June 22, 2007
Berger
Chevrolet
Check Out
Berlin Raceway
Results
Berlin Raceway
Racing Broadcast on 92.5 - The Outlaw
Click Here
to listen on
the web
Berlin Raceway
Hall of Fame
John Benson Sr.
Harry Obie
Bob Knight
Gail Cobb
Ralph Baker
Jimmy Meyer
The Mysliwiec's
 |
|
2008
Craftsman Truck Schedule
|
02/15 |
Daytona |
|
02/23 |
California |
|
03/07 |
Atlanta |
|
03/29 |
Martinsville |
|
04/26 |
Kansas |
|
05/16 |
Lowes |
|
05/24 |
Mansfield |
|
05/30 |
Dover |
|
06/06 |
Texas |
|
06/14 |
MIS |
|
06/20 |
Milwaukee |
|
06/28 |
Memphis |
|
07/19 |
Kentucky |
|
07/25 |
Indy |
|
08/09 |
Nashville |
|
08/20 |
Bristol |
|
09/06 |
Gateway |
|
09/13 |
Loudon |
|
09/20 |
Las Vegas |
|
10/04 |
Talladega |
|
10/18 |
Martinsville |
|
10/25 |
Atlanta |
|
10/31 |
Texas |
|
11/07 |
Phoenix |
|
11/14 |
Homestead |
|
|
2008
Nationwide
Schedule |
|
02/16 |
Daytona |
|
02/23 |
California |
|
03/01 |
Las Vegas |
|
03/08 |
Atlanta |
|
03/15 |
Bristol |
|
03/22 |
Nashville |
|
04/05 |
Texas |
|
04/11 |
Phoenix |
|
04/20 |
Mexico |
|
04/26 |
Talladega |
|
05/02 |
Richmond |
|
05/09 |
Darlington |
|
05/24 |
Lowes |
|
05/31 |
Dover |
|
06/07 |
Nashville |
|
06/14 |
Kentucky |
|
06/21 |
Milwaukee |
|
06/28 |
New Hampshire |
|
07/04 |
Daytona |
|
07/11 |
Chicago |
|
07/19 |
Gateway |
|
07/26 |
Indy |
|
08/02 |
Montreal |
|
08/09 |
Watkins Glen |
|
08/16 |
Michigan |
|
08/22 |
Bristol |
|
08/30 |
California |
|
09/05 |
Richmond |
|
09/20 |
Dover |
|
09/27 |
Kansas |
|
10/10 |
Lowes |
|
10/25 |
Memphis |
|
11/01 |
Texas |
|
11/08 |
Phoenix |
|
11/15 |
Miami |
|
|
2008
Sprint Cup
Schedule |
|
02/17 |
Daytona |
|
02/24 |
California |
|
03/02 |
Las Vegas |
|
03/09 |
Atlanta |
|
03/16 |
Bristol |
|
03/30 |
Martinsville |
|
04/06 |
Texas |
|
04/12 |
Phoenix |
|
04/27 |
Talladega |
|
05/03 |
Richmond |
|
05/10 |
Darlington |
|
05/25 |
Lowes |
|
06/01 |
Dover |
|
06/08 |
Pocono |
|
06/15 |
MIS |
|
06/22 |
Sonoma |
|
06/29 |
New Hampshire |
|
07/05 |
Daytona |
|
07/12 |
Chicago |
|
07/27 |
Indy |
|
08/03 |
Pocono |
|
08/10 |
Watkins Glen |
|
08/17 |
MIS |
|
08/23 |
Bristol |
|
08/31 |
California |
|
09/06 |
Richmond |
|
09/14 |
Loudon |
|
09/21 |
Lowes |
|
09/28 |
Kansas |
|
10/05 |
Talladega |
|
10/11 |
Lowes |
|
10/19 |
Martinsville |
|
10/26 |
Atlanta |
|
11/02 |
Texas |
|
11/09 |
Phoenix |
|
11/16 |
Miami |
|
|
2008
JB's Berlin
Schedule |
|
|
August 2nd |
|
|
September 27th |
|
|
|
|
