The last time Nascar Winston Cup Series
visited Dover, Del. rain had altered racing during 8 of the
14 Nascar weekends that had been run in 2003. This weekend
it appears not only rain, but Hurricane Isabel will dominate
the pre-race discussion. The powerful hurricane is predicted
to land near the Dover area forcing race teams to keep an
eye on the weather and possibly alter travel plans or even
race plans.
Benson On Hurricane:
“Sure we have been tracking the hurricane. We had the
weather radar up on the truck at New Hampshire last weekend
trying to figure out where it was going. We are concerned.
On the one hand we don’t want it to come to the Carolinas
because that’s where most of us live. On the other hand we
don’t want it to go anywhere around Dover either. Right now
that’s where they are saying it is going. Its a pretty
powerful storm and could do a lot of damage so that's reason
enough to hope it goes away. Plus, we have been on the road
since February and our guys don’t want to have to make up a
race on an off weekend after Miami. We did that a few years
ago on Thanksgiving and we don’t want to have to do anything
like that again.
“I grew up in Michigan and we had to
worry more about tornados and blizzards. I ’ve never been in
a hurricane before and sure don’t want to start. Those
things look pretty bad. The people around Charlotte I have
talked to said you really don’t want any part of a hurricane
and I’ll take their word for it.”
I don’t know what NASCAR will do. I’m
sure they will do the right thing though. I suspect they
will be in touch with all the police and weather folks and
come up with a plan. We might leave early for Dover. But who
knows. We’ll be just like the race fans and watch television
and the Internet.”
Benson On Dover:
“We want to run Dover. That’s
one of my favorite tracks. We finished fifth there last race
and have run well there in the past. I said last time I wish
we raced every race at Dover. For a track its size, it’s
amazing how important qualifying at Dover has become. Most
of your race winners start up front. We look at it as the
race starts on Friday. We’ve got to get a good lap in and
get a good starting spot. It also helps in picking a pit. If
we qualify well then we get to choose a pit before the other
teams. I think the major key is to start out front, avoid
trouble and race the last 100 miles.”
The audio segment
below is Johnny Benson
discussing
the
upcoming race at Dover
Click Play to Listen
Benson Dover Record
Race Start Finish
Spring 2003 30 5
Fall 2002 22 10
Spring 2002 DNS Injury
Fall 2001 37 31
Spring 2001 4 41
Fall 2000 3 2
Spring 2000 34 15
Fall 999 24 18
Spring 1999 28 7
Fall 1998 25 15
Spring 1998 14 41
Fall 1997 29 28
Spring 1997 29 21
Fall 1996 30 24
Spring 1996 23 17
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
Watkins Glen 27 27
Michigan 35 10
Bristol 32 14
Darlington 11 40
Richmond 9 9
Loudon 22 25
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THE RACE: MBNA America 400
Winston Cup Race #28 of 36 for the
2003 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, September 21, 2003 in
Dover, DE
TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et
Pre-Race Show: TNT - 12:30pm/et -
hosted by Bill Weber
Scheduled Race Re-Air: One-hour recap
on Wednesday, September 24th at 7:00pm/et and again on
September 25th at 1:00am/et; and a full three-hour race show
will re-air at 3:00pm/et on Thursday, September 25th
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
Purse/Race Awards: was $3,920,256 in
2002
2002 Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson,
120.805mph, started 19th
Track Race Record: Mark Martin, Sept
1997, 132.719mph
Track/Race Length: 1.0 concrete oval,
400 laps, 400 miles
Slowest Race Record: David Pearson,
June 1975, 100.820mph
Oldest Winner: Harry Gant, 52 years, 4
months, 21 days, May 1992
Youngest Winner: Jeff Gordon, 24
years, 1 months, 13 days, Sept 1995
Most Laps Led [400 lap race]: Jeff
Gordon, June 2001, 381 laps
Most Cautions: 16 - September 1993
Fewest Cautions: 0 - June 1971
Most Caution Laps: 103, Sept 1993
Worst Starting Spot to Win: Kyle
Petty, June 1996, started 37th
Pit Road Speed: 35mph
Practice: Friday, September 19th,
11:05am - 1:00pm/et; and Saturday, September 20th, 9:30 -
10:15am/et
Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, September 20th, 11:10 -
11:55am/et on TV-TNT tape delay at 12:00noon/et.
Qualifying Draw: Friday, September
19th, 10:00am/et .... First Round Qualifying: 2 laps
for positions 1-36, Friday, September 19th at 2:35pm/et,
TV-TNT live Track/Event Qualifying Record: Rusty Wallace,
Sept 1999, 159.946mph
Last Year's Pole Sitter: Rusty
Wallace, 156.822, finished 15th.
Track Specs:
Superspeedway: 1.0-mile oval
Banking: turns: 24 degrees; straights:
9 degrees
Straights: Frontstretch - 1,076 feet;
Backstretch - 1,076 feet
Pit Stalls: 42 (1 shared) 15" wide x
28" long
Attendance: ~140,000
#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: 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
