#10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny
Benson felt like he was part of a three-hour traffic jam
Sunday in Phoenix except it wasn't on the local Interstate
or highway.
The 43 NASCAR Winston Cup cars jammed
into the flat one-mile oval made for a lot of
follow-the-leader, single-file racing for most of the day.
Unfortunately, Benson began the race
in 35th and had a hard time working his way up through the
field.
"It was all about track position
today," he said after the race. "We struggled with having a
car that we couldn't get to turn in the center. We weren't
bad in clean air but you aren't going to get a lot of clean
air here back where we were."
Benson bided his time picking cars off
slowly and using each pit stop to bolt on four tires.
On the pit stop sequencing Benson moved as high as 13th and
as low as 24th but spent most of the day around 20th.
He was 21st when the checkered flag
fell.
"We probably got the finish we
deserved today," Benson said. "I wish we could have
qualified better. If we could have got up front we might
have been able to stay there."
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race.
Benson and his teammates will race in
Rockingham, N.C. next weekend where they are the defending
champions.
###
Results
1. (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet,
180 - 5 bonus points
2. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 175
- 5 bonus points
3. (12) Ryan Newman, Dodge, 170 - 5
bonus points
4. (97) Kurt Busch, Ford, 170 - 10
bonus points
5. (15) Michael Waltrip, Chevrolet,
155
6. (17) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 150
7. (24) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 146
8. (99) Jeff Burton, Ford, 142
9. (22) Scott Wimmer, Dodge, 138
10. (6) Mark Martin, Ford, 134
11. (40) Sterling Marlin, Dodge, 130
12. (42) Jamie McMurray, Dodge, 127
13. (25) Brian Vickers, Chevrolet, 124
14. (9) Bill Elliott, Dodge, 121
15. (16) Greg Biffle, Ford, 118
16. (1) John Andretti, Chevrolet, 115
17. (21) Ricky Rudd, Ford, 112
18. (20) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 109
19. (74) Tony Raines, Chevrolet, 106
20. (38) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 103
21. (10) Johnny Benson, Pontiac, 100
22. (54) Todd Bodine, Ford, 97
23. (4) Kevin Lepage, Pontiac, 99 - 5
bonus points
24. (77) Dave Blaney, Ford, 91
26. (09) Mike Wallace, Dodge, 85
27. (49) Ken Schrader, Dodge, 82
28. (14) Larry Foyt, Dodge, 79
29. (88) Dale Jarrett, Ford, 76
30. (5) Terry Labonte, Chevrolet, 73
31. (01) Joe Nemechek, Pontiac, 70
32. (31) Robby Gordon, Chevrolet, 67
33. (2) Rusty Wallace, Dodge, 64
34. (29) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 61
35. (45) Kyle Petty, Dodge, 58
36. (18) Bobby Labonte, Chevrolet, 55
37. (43) Jeff Green, Dodge, 52
38. (32) Ricky Craven, Pontiac, 54 - 5
bonus points
39. (30) Steve Park, Chevrolet, 46
40. (7) Jimmy Spencer, Dodge, 43
41. (0) Ward Burton, Pontiac, 40
42. (41) Casey Mears, Dodge, 37
43. (19) Jeremy Mayfield, Dodge, 34
Standings
. Matt Kenseth, 4828
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr., 4600
3. Jimmie Johnson, 4587
4. Jeff Gordon, 4528
5. Ryan Newman, 4499
6. Kevin Harvick, 4477
7. Tony Stewart, 4260
8. Bobby Labonte, 4055
9. Kurt Busch, 3983
10. Bill Elliott, 3966
11. Terry Labonte, 3912
12. Michael Waltrip, 3842
13. Jeff Burton, 3842
14. Jamie McMurray, 3769
15. Rusty Wallace, 3757
16. Robby Gordon, 3680
17. Mark Martin, 3665
18. Greg Biffle, 3508
19. Sterling Marlin, 3477
20. Jeremy Mayfield, 3411
21. Ricky Rudd, 3408
22. Ward Burton, 3369
23. Elliott Sadler, 3325
24. Joe Nemechek, 3226
25. Dale Jarrett, 3224
26. Ricky Craven, 3212
27. Johnny Benson, 3207
28. Dave Blaney, 3033
29. Jimmy Spencer, 2976
30. Kenny Wallace, 2894
31. Steve Park, 2756
32. Todd Bodine, 2731
33. Jeff Green, 2507
34. Tony Raines, 2498
35. Casey Mears, 2492
36. Ken Schrader, 2396
37. Kyle Petty, 2347
38. John Andretti, 2269
39. Mike Skinner, 1914
40. Jack Sprague, 1284
41. Mike Wallace, 1189
42. Larry Foyt, 1034
43. Christian Fittipaldi, 857
44. Jerry Nadeau, 844
45. Derrike Cope, 788
