There are a thousand minor dramas in every NASCAR Winston Cup race.  On Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson's drama came near the end of the race and ultimately determined just what kind of day he would have at the Brickyard 400 - perhaps the most important race of the 2003 season.

Before the late-race drama began, Benson rocketed from his 40th starting spot up to about 18th place passing cars on the flat 2.5-mile oval that limits passing. Some good pit stops and pit strategy put Benson in a good position to make a late race push even higher.

A debris caution with less than 20 laps to go set the stage for the final showdown.  With just 15 laps to go the race restarted and Benson as well as the other lead lap cars swarmed all over the track battling for positions. Just in front of Benson, Terry Labonte got spun by Kurt Busch in the short chute between turns 3 and 4 and started a multi-car crash involving, Sterling Marlin, Mike Skinner, Ricky Rudd, Joe Nemechek and Jimmie Johnson.

Benson came through the debris miraculously intact.  "There wasn't much you do in something like that just start aiming where you hope cars won't be and make sure you don't lose control yourself," Benson said.  "There was a lot of luck involved."  His Crew Chief James Ince disagreed.  "That was an unbelievable job of driving, John" he told his driver over the radio.

But then the drama began.  Benson's right front fender made contact with another car during the melee. The question was whether the fender was push down into the tire and cutting the tire.

If it were cutting the tire that would mean serious trouble on a track where speeds exceed 200 mph.  Under the yellow Benson swerved back and forth testing out the tire and spotters reported they could see wisps of smoke. So could driver Dave Blaney who looked at the Valvoline Pontiac when Benson pulled up beside him.  Any other time he probably would have pitted for new tires. But this was Indy and there were only going to be 11 laps left in the race when the green flag flew again.

"If we come in that is about seven spots," said Ince. "If we stay out you have a chance to drive up through there. But, you have to make that call."  Benson spent another lap swerving back and forth but the trouble still persisted.  "There seems to be smoke when I turn the wheel to the right," he radioed his crew. "But I don't smell anything. No burning rubber."

It was time to make the decision. Stay on the track and give up 13th place at the biggest race of the season or come to the pits for new tires have drop to about 20th.

As the field approached turn four to get the "one-to-go" signal from NASCAR, Ince told Benson if he was coming to the pits come in now.  The crew awaited the decision.  "I think we are going to stay out," Benson said. "I think it might just smoke when I turn it to the right. And I don't plan on turning right. We'll see." 

And with that the green flag fell and Benson drove into turn one at full speed. The first turn went well and so did the second turn. By the time he made it back down the front stretch the tire drama was over and now it was time to see if Benson could hold his position or even gain a spot or two.

The traffic made passing difficult but Benson slipped by a car or two while another car passed Benson.  He crossed the line in 13th place - the fastest Pontiac and the driver who made the most improvement over his starting spot.  Not bad for the fourth provisional starter.

"You know as frustrated as we all were after qualifying on Saturday, it just shows you can never give up in this sport. We fought all day long to make this car better. James made some incredible calls in the pits and it all paid off today."  Benson said the team is starting to run better. "We are slowly creeping back to where we think we want to be. We have a long way to go. This team was in victory lane not that long ago and we will do everything we can to get back there again."

Kevin Harvick pulled away from the field on the final restart and earned his first Brickyard 400 victory.

As part of 2004 preparations, NASCAR decided to take cars of Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon (Chevrolet), Matt Kenseth and Elliott Sadler (Ford), Jamie McMurray and Rusty Wallace (Dodge) and Ricky Craven and Johnny Benson (Pontiac) the wind tunnel in Marietta, Ga. on Tuesday.

In the day's scariest moment, Dale Jarrett spun on pit road and struck his jackman John Bryan. Bryan was taken from pitlane in an ambulance and taken to the infield car center. Bryan was awake and alert complaining of pain in his shoulder and pelvis area. He was released from the hospital Sunday night.

Race Results

1. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 180 - 5 bonus points

2. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 175 - 5 bonus points

3. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 170 - 5 bonus points

4. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 165 - 5 bonus points

5. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 160 - 5 bonus points

8. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 142

9. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 143 - 5 bonus points

10. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 134

11. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 135 - 5 bonus points

12. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 137 - 10 bonus points

13. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 124

14. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 121

16. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet, 115

18. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 109

19. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 106

20. (1) Jeff Green, Chevrolet, 108 - 5 bonus points

21. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 100

22. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 97

23. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 94

24. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 91

25. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 88

26. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 85

27. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 82

28. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 79

29. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 76

30. (57) Kevin Lepage, Ford, 73

32. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 67

33. (0) Jason Leffler, Pontiac, 64

34. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 61

35. (01) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 63 - 5 bonus points

36. (37) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 55

37. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 52

38. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 49

39. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 46

40. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 43

41. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 40

42. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 37

43. (81) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 34

Time of race: 2 hours, 58 minutes, 23 seconds.

Margin of victory: 2.758.

Winner's average speed: 134.548 mph.

Caution flags: Five for 25 laps.

Lead changes: 17 among 12 drivers.

Lap leaders: Harvick 1-17; Elliott 18

Pont Standings

1. Matt Kenseth, 3152

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 2866

3. Jeff Gordon, 2834

4. Jimmie Johnson, 2656

5. Michael Waltrip, 2653

6. Bobby Labonte, 2642

7. Kevin Harvick, 2623

8. Kurt Busch, 2569

9. Ryan Newman, 2498

10. Rusty Wallace, 2467

11. Robby Gordon, 2442

12. Jeff Burton, 2437

13. Tony Stewart, 2420

14. Terry Labonte, 2392

15. Mark Martin, 2362

16. Sterling Marlin, 2339

17. Bill Elliott, 2244

18. Ricky Craven, 2174

19. Elliott Sadler, 2151

20. Greg Biffle, 2126

21. Jamie McMurray, 2092

22. Ward Burton, 2075

23. Johnny Benson, 2036

24. Dave Blaney, 2003

25. Joe Nemechek, 1999

26. Ricky Rudd, 1990

27. Jimmy Spencer, 1948

28. Dale Jarrett, 1918

29. Todd Bodine, 1885

30. Jeremy Mayfield, 1873

31. Kenny Wallace, 1843

32. Steve Park, 1736

33. Jeff Green, 1719

34. Casey Mears, 1612

35. Kyle Petty, 1475

36. Tony Raines, 1475

37. Ken Schrader, 1431

38. Jack Sprague, 1284

39. John Andretti, 1275

40. Mike Skinner, 1067

41. Jerry Nadeau, 844

42. Larry Foyt, 829

43. Mike Wallace, 771

44. Derrike Cope, 442

45. Christian Fittipaldi, 432

46. Brett Bodine, 308

47. Boris Said, 155

48. Johnny Sauter, 152

49. Ron Fellows, 151