Benson on
Watkins Glen
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson knows he isn’t
going to be listed as one of the favorites for this
weekend’s road course race at Watkins Glen
International Raceway on Sunday. In addition to the normal
highly competitive fields, several teams will bring in road
racing specialists to compete against
the regular Winston Cup drivers.
Benson and his Crew Chief James Ince admit it puts then at a
disadvantage but a very productive test session and the
momentum from an impressive 13th-place run at Indy are on
the Valvoline team’s side this weekend.
Benson is no slouch on the road courses. He led ten laps at
Sears Point – the series only other road course race in
2003.
Johnny Benson on Watkins Glen Strategy:
“We think we have a lot of momentum after Indianapolis. A
13th-place finish isn’t something you normally celebrate,
but when you start from 40th at a tough
place to pass like Indy and climb as high as we did you
should feel pretty good. I’m not sure Watkins Glen would be
the track we would pick if we want to
continue with that momentum but we tested at Virginia
International Raceway right after New Hampshire and we found
some things that we think will work for
this weekend. Everybody’s eyes will be on all the road
racers, so we’d like to sneak up on people and get a good
finish.”
Benson on Leading 10 Laps at Sears Point:
”That was a lot of fun. I’d trade all ten of those laps for
leading the last lap on Sunday.”
Benson on Watkins Glen Strategy:
“You absolutely have to take care of the transmission and
stay on course at Watkins Glen. That’s hard to do. But, if
you do that all day long you will
finish pretty good. Now, if you can do that and maintain
track position then you have a shot to win. As soon as you
can make it on gas and tires you’d like
to pit even if it is under green. It takes so long to get
around that track that there is really no way you can lose a
lap even pitting under green. If a
yellow come out and all the other guys have to pit then you
move into the lead.”
Benson on Road Course Ringers:
“Yeah it makes it tough on us regular drivers, but the guys
they are bringing in are the best in the business so it is
fun to match your skills against these
guys. I’m not a road course racer and don’t have the
experience some of these guys have, but it doesn’t mean I’m
going to race the wheels of the car on
Sunday.
“I think you can if you can stay with them. They have an
advantage of knowing the racetrack. They have an advantage
of knowing road course racing. It would
be no different than if their series ever ran ovals and we
came over and did that. We’d have an advantage. This weekend
puts a lot of pressure on those guys
because everyone thinks they are going to win.”
Crew Chief James Ince On Difference Between Road Course
Racing and Oval Racing:
"It's one hundred percent different. You are turning left
and right so you have to think backwards to what we normally
do when it comes to springs, wedge and
track bar. It changes your whole thinking process. The road
course car versus the oval car acts totally different. What
we do normally never involves turning
right."
Benson Career at Watkins Glen
Year S F
2002 38 25
2001 26 16
2000 15 27
1999 34 38
1998 21 9
1997 25 11
1996 36 15
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
Pocono 29 20
Indianapolis 40 13
THE RACE: SIRIUS at The Glen
Winston Cup Race #22 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, August 10, 2003 in Watkins Glen, NY
TV: NBC - 1:30pm/et
Pre-Race Show: NBC - 1:00pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber
One-hour recap of the race on Wednesday, August 13th at
7:00pm/et and again on August 14th; a full three-hour race
show will re-air at 3:00pm/et on Thursday,
August 14th.
Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach
Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave
Burns
Purse/Race Awards: was $3,634,749 in 2002
2002 Race Winner: Tony Stewart, 82.208mph, started 3rd
Race Speed Record: Mark Martin, August 1995, 103.300
Track/Race Length: 2.45 mile road course, 90 laps, 220.5
miles
Pit Road Speed: 35mph
Practice
Practice: Friday, August 8th, 11:00am - 1:00pm/et; and
Saturday, August 9th,
9:30 - 10:15am/et
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, August 9th, 11:10 -
11:55am/et on TV-Speed
Channel live.
Qualifying
Qualifying Draw: Friday, August 8th, 2:00pm/et
First Round Qualifying: 1 lap for positions 1-36, Friday,
August 8th at
3:05pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live, re-air at 6:00pm/et and on
Sat. August 9th at 1:00am/et.
Track Qualifying Record: Dale Jarrett, August 2001,
122.698mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Ricky Rudd, 122.696mph
Track Specs:
a 2.45-mile paved road course.
It has 11 turns with a variety of banking in turns ranging
from 6 degrees to 10
degrees.
The length of the frontstretch is 2,150 feet and the length
of the backstretch
is 2,600 feet.
Watkins Glen International has hosted the Sirius Satellite
Radio at The Glen
since 1986.
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
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