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Wreck Ruins Benson's Day At Talladega,
Finishes 41st
#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny
Benson’s post-race interviews have lasted longer than his
Talladega races in 2003. Wrecks have limited Benson to
little more than 13 competitive laps. But, what makes it
even more frustrating is neither wreck was of Benson’s
doing.
“I think saying we have bad luck here
is an understatement,” Benson said. On Sunday, Jeremy
Mayfield cut down a left rear tire on lap ten sending
Mayfield to the top of the track triggering a multi-car
melee that involved Benson, Jimmy Spencer, and Larry Foyt as
well as several others who sustained less damage. Benson's
car suffered severe damage and stopped on pit road.
The accident was very similar to an
incident on lap 3 in April when Ryan Newman encountered tire
trouble, spun and took out half the field including Benson.
“Sure it’s frustrating beyond belief,” Benson said after the
wreck on Sunday. “We were biding our time at the
beginning. Everyone was saying how wild it was getting and
then all of a sudden Jeremy has a problem and takes all of
us out. There isn’t much a driver can do when
something like that happens because everything happens so
fast here.”
Benson’s Valvoline crew spent more
than two hours working feverishly on the car after the wreck
before sending Benson back onto the track for a few laps
late in the race. The work moved Benson from 43rd to 41st
position.
Results
1. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet,
180 - 5 bonus points
2. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet,
175 - 5 bonus points
3. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 165
4. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 160
5. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 165 -
10 bonus points
6. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 155 - 5
bonus points
7. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 151
- 5 bonus points
8. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 142
9. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 143 - 5
bonus points
10. (09) Mike Wallace, Dodge, 134
11. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 135
- 5 bonus points
12. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 132
- 5 bonus points
13. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 129 - 5
bonus points
14. (22) Ward Burton, Dodge, 126 - 5
bonus points
15. (90) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 118
16. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 120 -
5 bonus points
17. (77) Dave Blaney, Dodge, 112
18. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 109
19. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 106
20. (23) Kenny Wallace, Dodge, 103
21. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 100
22. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 102
- 5 bonus points
23. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 94
24. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 91
25. (25) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 88
26. (1) Jason Keller, Chevrolet, 85
27. (01) Mike Skinner, Pontiac, 82
28. (44) Christian Fittipaldi, Dodge,
79
29. (98) Jason Jarrett, Ford, 76
30. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 78 - 5
bonus points
31. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 70
32. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 72 - 5
bonus points
33. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 69 - 5
bonus points
34. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 66
- 5 bonus points
35. (60) David Green, Chevrolet, 58
36. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 55
37. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 52
38. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 49
39. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 46
40. (00) Buckshot Jones, Chevrolet, 48
- 5 bonus points
41. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 40
42. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 37
43. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 34
Average speed of race winner: 156.045
mph.
Time of race: 3 hours, 12 minutes, 17
seconds.
Margin of victory: 0.095 seconds.
Caution flags: 5 for 23 laps.
Lead changes: 41 among 17 drivers.
Lap leaders: E. Sadler 1; J. McMurray
2-13; M. Waltrip 14; T. Labonte 15; J.
McMurray 16-22; B. Jones 23-41; M.
Waltrip 42-43; W. Burton 44-48; J. Gordon
49-50; J. Johnson 51; M. Kenseth 52;
K. Harvick 53; J. Gordon 54-85; R. Wallace
86-87; K. Harvick 88; R. Gordon 89-90;
J. Gordon 91-101; K. Harvick 102; E.
Sadler 103-104; J. Gordon 105-106; K.
Harvick 107; J. Johnson 108; E. Sadler
109-122; M. Waltrip 123; K. Busch
124-125; J. Burton 126; R. Gordon 127-128; J.
Johnson 129-141; M. Waltrip 142-143;
B. Elliott 144-145; J. McMurray 146; E.
Sadler 147-152; W. Burton 153-155; R.
Wallace 156-164; D. Earnhardt Jr 165-166;
B. Labonte 167; D. Earnhardt Jr 168;
B. Labonte 169; K. Busch 170-176; M.
Waltrip 177; K. Busch 178-179; M.
Waltrip 180-188.
Points
1. Matt Kenseth, 4227
2. Kevin Harvick, 3873
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 3843
4. Jimmie Johnson, 3751
5. Ryan Newman, 3738
6. Jeff Gordon, 3707
7. Bobby Labonte, 3528
8. Kurt Busch, 3527
9. Tony Stewart, 3456
10. Terry Labonte, 3396
11. Michael Waltrip, 3386
12. Robby Gordon, 3321
13. Jeff Burton, 3245
14. Rusty Wallace, 3239
15. Bill Elliott, 3202
16. Mark Martin, 3131
17. Jamie McMurray, 3089
18. Sterling Marlin, 3019
19. Greg Biffle, 2984
20. Elliott Sadler, 2955
21. Ward Burton, 2942
22. Ricky Craven, 2887
23. Ricky Rudd, 2880
24. Jeremy Mayfield, 2870
25. Joe Nemechek, 2792
26. Johnny Benson, 2782
27. Dale Jarrett, 2725
28. Dave Blaney, 2713
29. Jimmy Spencer, 2538
30. Kenny Wallace, 2481
31. Steve Park, 2376
32. Todd Bodine, 2348
33. Jeff Green, 2200
34. Casey Mears, 2136
35. Ken Schrader, 2053
36. Tony Raines, 2011
37. Kyle Petty, 1976
38. John Andretti, 1808
39. Mike Skinner, 1682
40. Jack Sprague, 1284
41. Mike Wallace, 1037
42. Larry Foyt, 955
43. Jerry Nadeau, 844
44. Christian Fittipaldi, 796
45. Derrike Cope, 607
46. Jason Leffler, 546
47. Johnny Sauter, 356
48. Kevin Lepage, 348
49. Brett Bodine, 308
50. Hermie Sadler, 260
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