Benson:
"Can’t Leave Best Horse Sitting In Barn" at Pocono
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson spent July 14, 15
and 16 testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway not just
in preparation for the Aug. 2 Brickyard 400, but for this
weekend’s 500-mile NASCAR Winston Cup race in Pocono, Pa.
Both Pocono and Indy are flat 2.5-mile tracks with long
sweeping turns. The common wisdom in the sport is those that
run well at Pocono will also run well at Indy.
Benson particularly likes one of the two new cars the team
unveiled at the Indy test. Not only will that new car race
at Indy, but because of the similarities of both Indy and
Pocono, Benson will race the car on Sunday.
Benson:
Is Pocono a Heat Race For Indy?
"No. Pocono is Pocono. It’s a race on the NASCAR Winston Cup
schedule. That’s big enough for me. There are only a finite
number of those races so you have to take each one of them
pretty seriously. Sure the Brickyard is a big race, but
Pocono isn’t a small race. We will take a victory wherever
we can and we’d love to win Pocono this weekend and worry
about Indy next weekend."
How Similar Are Indy and Pocono:
"Pocono and Indy have a lot of similarities at certain parts
of the tracks. I believe that if you have a good car at
Pocono you will have a good car at Indy. We tested Indy and
we decided to take that car to Pocono. If it works out good
there we will take that car to Indy after that."
Shouldn’t You Save That Car?
"I think if you have a car that is good for Indy then you
should take it for Pocono. You can’t leave you best horse
sitting in the barn. You bring it to the track and race it
no matter where you are. We tested two new cars at Indy. One
I really liked. Since we knew it would run good at Indy we
decided to take it to Pocono.
"If you save your car for Indy you don’t know what could
happen. You can go to Indy and wreck on the first lap and
then you would say man, I really wish I had this car at
Pocono." You would have then wasted two races instead of
one. I think you have to bring your best. If you have two
good cars I could see maybe running each at Indy and Pocono
but with one good car you have to race it. You never know
what can happen."
Do You Ever Experiment at Pocono:
"No, you don’t want to experiment. But you might not do the
same things you did when we were here in June. We will bring
a different car, might try some shifting changes, and might
try a few other things. We didn’t run as well as we wanted
to last time so we are going to do our best to make sure we
run better this race."
Valvoline Informed Sources - Story Ideas
Road Warriors
The Valvoline team raced at Chicagoland on July 13 then
traveled to Indianapolis that night for what rain turned
into a three-day test session on July 14,15 and 16. While
the team hauler went from Indy directly to New Hampshire the
team flew home on the night of the 16th then left for New
Hampshire on July 17. After racing there July 20th the team
flew home that
night then left for Virginia International Raceway on July
21 for a two-day test. The team plans to leave Thursday for
Pocono.
Winning On Dirt:
Justin Wells, of Crane, Mo is leading the IMCA Late Model
National Points race driving a James Ince Motorsports built
chassis. Ince, the #10 Valvoline Pontiac crew chief, has
built eight dirt late model cars for racers across the
country. The Rogersville, Mo business has 18 victories this
season. For more information contact: 417-753-7500.
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 crisscrosses 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
mp3 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
Loudon 26 26
Benson Career At Pocono
Race Year S F
First Race 2003 25 24
Second Race 2002 6 30
First Race 2002 27 20
Second Race 2001 9 5
First Race 2001 7 24
Second Race 2000 9 12
First Race 2000 21 34
Second Race 1999 34 14
First Race 1999 38 30
Second Race 1998 36 33
First Race 1998 37 36
Second Race 1997 40 13
First Race 1997 21 27
Second Race 1996 6 5
First Race 1996 40 25
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 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
Race Information
THE RACE: Pennsylvania 500
Winston Cup Race #20 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, July 27, 2003 in Long Pond, PA
TV: TNT - 1:00pm/et
Pre-Race Show: TNT - 12:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber
Scheduled Race Re-Air: Speed Channel - July 30th at
8:00pm/et; and July 31st 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
Purse/Race Awards: was $3,685,703 in 2002)
2002 Race Winner: Bill Elliott, 125.809mph, started 1st
Race Record: Alan Kulwicki, June 1992, 144.023mph
Track/Race Length: 2.5 tri-oval, 200 laps, 500 miles
Pit Road Speed: 55mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, July 25th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et; and
Saturday, July 26th,
9:30 - 10:15am/et
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, July 26th, 11:15am -
12:00noon/et on TV-Speed
Channel live.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, July 25th, 10:20am/et
First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday,
July 25th at
3:05pm/et, TV-TNT live,
Track Qualifying Record: Tony Stewart, July 2000, 172.391mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Bill Elliott, 170.568mph, finished
1st.
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 2.5 mile tri-oval
Banking: turn 1: 14 degrees, turn 2: 8 degree, turn 3: 6
degrees;
Straights: Front - 3740 feet, Long Pond (between turns 1 and
2) - 3055 feet,
North (between turns 2 and 3) - 1780 feet
Grandstand Seating: 100,000
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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
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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 |
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06/06 |
Texas |
|
06/14 |
MIS |
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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 |
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10/04 |
Talladega |
|
10/18 |
Martinsville |
|
10/25 |
Atlanta |
|
10/31 |
Texas |
|
11/07 |
Phoenix |
|
11/14 |
Homestead |
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|
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 |
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2008
JB's Berlin
Schedule |
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August 2nd |
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September 27th |
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