It was good while it lasted, but Johnny Benson's encounter with Rusty Wallace
Saturday night while battling on the Charlotte track seemed to stop the
Valvoline Pontiac's charge to the front of the field.

When the checkered flag finally fell, Benson was left with a respectable 16th
place finish but  just a little frustrated.

"With that first run I thought we were going to really have a good night,"
Benson said. "But it felt like a totally different car after that deal with Rusty. We weren't bad after that, just not nearly as good as we were."

Benson started the Saturday night race in 23rd but rocketed up to 15th and
looked like he was going to be a factor before the conclusion of the 500-mile
race.  "JB you are two-tenths quicker than the rest of the field," Crew Chief Jay Guy told his driver.

Benson lost spots on his first two pit stops but he stayed in the top-20 and
seemed to be resuming his run to the front of the field when Wallace and Benson made contact at the lap 155-mark. Benson had to pit to repair the right side damage and later came in to check the alignment.

Some good pit stops later in the race kept Benson hovering between 14th and
17th place. It wasn't until late in the race when leader Ryan Newman slipped
past Benson to put him a lap down.  Benson ended the race the first car down a lap.

"We had a really good car tonight," Benson said. "We were fast. It is something we can build on. If we are this good at Atlanta then I think we are going to have a pretty good day."

Before Atlanta, the Valvoline team travels to Martinsville where Benson
finished second in this race last year.