Benson On
NHIS Paving, Changes at Phoenix & Homestead
The recent paving at New Hampshire International Speedway
should be a hot topic this weekend as the NASCAR Winston Cup
Series visits the flat mile oval. The paving in the lower
lanes of the turns is designed to increase the longevity of
the surface that has broken up in recent races.
New Hampshire joins Phoenix and Homestead as tracks where
significant changes have been made to the track
configuration or racing surface. The changes at these tracks
will pose challenges for drivers and crew chiefs especially
since most teams have already used up a significant portion
of the five allotted tests for the season.
Before NHIS, the #10 Valvoline Pontiac team will test at
Indianapolis on Monday and Tuesday.
On NHIS:
"It will be interesting to see what the changes are. They
have made a lot of changes up there in the past and it
always seems to end up being the same way each year. I think
they are searching, just trying something different to see
if they can’t make it better than what it is. We will just
have to see how it is when we get there. I think once we get
the rubber on the track and get to running a while it will
be the same old place."
What Changes Would You Make At NHIS?
"I’m not sure I want to be in charge of something like that.
I don’t know what I would do. I guess the only thing you can
really do is put a little bit more banking in the track.
They keep going through all this work making track changes
and none of it has made much of a difference so I guess
changing the banking would be my next idea. I think a couple
of degrees, maybe five or six degrees would make a
difference."
Changes at Phoenix and Homestead:
"I know why they want to change the tracks in New Hampshire
and Homestead. The one that really baffles me is Phoenix. We
have always had great races at Phoenix. I’m assuming they
did that because of a different race series. I assume they
didn’t make the changes because of Winston Cup. Everyone
seems to like Phoenix because it is different on both ends.
That one kind of surprises me."
"As I said changing Homestead I understand. It’s fast and
flat. That is one of the few places where the groove starts
to move down the track and you start to run out of
racetrack. Before you know it you are in the grass. That
makes passing real difficult there. So I can see why they
would want to change the track."
Would Testing Help?
"We are half way through the year and most of our tests are
used up so it is a problem. I hear that we are going in a
day early to Homestead this year so we can test. At Loudon
it is too late to go test so a lot of us are going to be in
the same boat. I don’t know about Phoenix."
Indy Test:
"Your goals are to do a good qualifying run and get it good
and balanced with speed. The Indy test is important. It’s
such a huge race and you can learn a lot when you test
there. The attitude of the car is so important for the race
that you spend a lot of time working on that."
The audio segment below is #10 Valvoline Crew Chief
James Ince talking about racing at New Hampshire
International Speedway this weekend. NHIS was repaved during
the off season and should pose a difficult challenge for
Ince and his driver Johnny Benson.
Click Play to Listen
Valvoline Informed Sources - Story Ideas
Our New House
#10 Valvoline Pontiac team moved into its new Featherlite
race hauler this weekend. The team carries everything it
needs on the hauler that crissccrosses the country going to
race tracks.
What's the owner doing at testing?
At testing events, the car owner normally would be as
ignored as a busboy at Hooters. Why are Valvoline
representatives a key part of pre- and in-season testing for
the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac and No. 9 and 19 Dodge Dealers
Intrepid R/Ts? That's because Valvoline uses the Nascar
Winston Cup tests to try out its new qualifying oils, gear
oils, radiator wetter that go into the engines of Johnny
Benson, Bill Elliott and Jeremy Mayfield.
Now Hear This and See This:
Johnny Benson audio is now available. If you would like a
wav file of Johnny Benson previewing an upcoming race or
talking about a specific subject please email me and I will
send you the wav file of Benson. If you would like weekly
pictures of the #10 team and Benson please email me and I
will give you the pass code so you can download pics every
Monday. Media only please.
The Business of Racing is Business:
Half of the stories written about Nascar Winston Cup racing
are business related these days. Jim Rocco - Senior Vice
President at the Valvoline Company - is one of the listed
car owners of Johnny Benson's #10 Valvoline Pontiac and an
excellent interview for stories dealing with team owners,
sponsorship or economics of racing.
For Sale?
Want to know how much it costs to be on a Winston Cup racer?
Valvoline has a color graphic in jpg form that gives rough
costs estimates of every spot on a Winston Cup car.
Home Grown Racing
Valvoline as well as Benson and his Crew Chief James Ince
value local racers across the country. Benson races a
pavement late model and Ince owns and races with his dirt
team in the Midwest. Valvoline supports local racers by
giving money through a competition called the Valvoline Cup
open to all American racers.
Benson 2003 Record
S F
Daytona 40 19
Rockingham 2 13
Las Vegas 16 12
Atlanta 23 11
Darlington 22 25
Bristol 20 19
Texas 13 32
Talladega 17 41
Martinsville 28 32
California 32 36
Richmond 13 15
Charlotte 10 24
Dover 30 5
Pocono 25 24
Michigan 26 25
Infineon 25 30
Daytona 22 27
Chicago 36 18
New Hampshire Record
Year S F
2002 Second Race 2 4
2002 First Race DNS - Injuries
2001 Second Race 15 36
2001 First Race 10 12
2000 Second Race 27 11
2000 First Race 38 14
1999 Second Race 24 18
1999 First Race 27 17
1998 Second Race 38 21
1998 First Race 39 21
1997 Second Race 19 20
1997 First Race 32 18
1996 Only Race 38 9
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 Rick (Fuzz ) Burgdoff
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 Doug Morgan
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
THE RACE: New England 300
Winston Cup Race #19 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, July 20, 2003 in Loudon, NH
TV: TNT - 2:00pm/et
Pre-Race Show: TNT - 1:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber
Scheduled Race Re-Air: Speed Channel - July 23rd at
8:00pm/et; and July 24th at 1:00am/et and 3:00pm/et.
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach
Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave
Burns
War Wagon: Bill Weber and many guests
NASCAR on TV and Fox Sports
Purse/Race Awards: (was $4,054,390 in 2002)
2002 Race Winner: Ward Burton, 92.342mph, started 31st
Track/Event Race Record: Jeff Burton, July 1997, 117.134
Track/Race Length: 1.058 mile oval, 300 laps, 317.4 miles
Pit Road Speed: 35mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, July 18th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et; and
Saturday, July 19th,
9:30 - 10:15am/et
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, July 19th, 11:10 - 11:55am/et
on TV-TNT tape
delay at 12:00noon/et.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, July 18th, 10:20am/et
First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday,
July 18th at 3:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live,
Track Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace, July 2000,
132.089mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Bill Elliott, 131.469mph, finished
34th.
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 1.058 mile oval
Turns: Banking: 12 degrees; Striaghts: 2 degrees
Length of Straights: Frontstretch - 1500ft; Backstretch -
1500ft
Grandstand Seating: 91,000
PAST RACE WINNERS at the NHIS July Race
1993: #2-Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 105.947mph
1994: #10-Ricky Rudd, Ford, 87.599
1995: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 107.029
1996: #28-Ernie Irvan, Ford, 98.930
1997: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 117.134
1998: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 102.996
1999: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 101.876
2000: #20-Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 103.145
2001: #88-Dale Jarrett, Ford, 102.131
2002: #22-Ward Burton, Dodge, 92.342 |
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