Sunday’s NASCAR Winston Cup Race at the newly reconfigured Homestead-Miami Speedway marks the final race for Pontiac in NASCAR, the final race for Winston as the series sponsor and the final race for Johnny Benson in the #10 Valvoline Pontiac.

Benson hopes a two-day Goodyear tire test on Oct. 28-29 will give him an
advantage over other drivers who will see the reconfiguration for the first
time on Wednesday during a day-long test session.

Benson On The Final Race:
“You always want to do well, but when you know it will be the last time for
everyone together on this team, the last time for Pontiac and the last time for
Winston then this race is probably a little extra special.

“Things change in this sport pretty fast. Everyone is looking to the future now
but I think we will always remember the things we have done in the past. Hey we went from this team being nearly bankrupt in 2000 to winning a race. All of the credit goes to the crew guys who have worked on this team.

“Winston and Pontiac leaving the sport just proves that nothing ever stays the
same. Both have been great for the sport and helped get it to where it is these
days. But I’ll miss the people with Winston and Pontiac the most. We welcome
the new folks coming in, but it’s kind of hard to see the others leave.”

Winning On Sunday:
“They say you are only as good as your last race. Well if you win Sunday in
Miami you are going to be great all the way into February when we take the
green flag at Daytona. Doing well Sunday can make the off season a whole lot of fun.”

Will Homestead Be A Better Race Under The New Configuration?
"I believe so. But, it will be unfair to expect side-by-side racing right off the bat. No new track has had that immediately. Some of the NASCAR people are
down here and they are looking at different ideas to make it a two-groove track. I think we should put pylons down on the bottom and make everyone practice in the second groove. I think that will help develop that other groove and make the side-by-side racing come quicker. It's just going to take time but if we speed up the process it will be even better."

Does Homestead Now Compare To Another Track?
"Each track has its own characteristics and this track is no different. You are
in the gas pedal for an awful long time. It gives you the sensation of the old
Atlanta track. I think everyone liked the old Atlanta track so they will
probably like this as well."
 

First Day at Miami - JB's Comments
“The track is good. We came down here and did a little Goodyear tire testing. I liked it then and now that it’s got a little more rubber, it’s good. You’d have to ask some of the other drivers, but I like the track. It’s going to produce some great racing, and it’ll be a fun place to race.”

WITH THE EXCESSIVE GRIP, DOES THAT CHANGE YOUR SETUP?
 “You’re going to change it just because it’s new asphalt. It’s different. You get the car kind of neutral getting into the corner, but then you get a little tight in the center off, which is normal when you have new asphalt. We’ll have to work around that aspect and free up the car center off.”

DO YOU THINK THERE’LL BE ROOM TO RACE?
 “I think so.  We’ve had a couple times where guys are out there passing some people already, and I think that’s a positive. It’s not like you just get behind them and follow them. You have some options. Like any track, it’s hard to pass on because it’s new asphalt, and everyone is still learning the track, but it looks like it’s already starting to widen out.”

Winston Cup Testing at Miami - Some Speeds:
Moving at speeds approaching 180 mph, Winston Cup Series drivers took to the NEW Homestead-Miami Speedway and its state-of-the-art, 20-degree, variable banking for the first time today. The drivers were busy preparing for Sunday's Ford 400, the season-finale for the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Although no official speeds were available, unofficial reports from the teams placed speeds from today's session more than 20 mph and nearly five seconds faster than Kurt Busch's winning pole speed of 154.365 last season [qualifying record: Steve Park, 156.440mph, Nov. 10, 2000].  Most teams randomly surveyed in the garage reported running race trim only today. Speeds and times reported were:
     #10-Johnny Benson: 177.632mph
     #8-Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: 176.471
     #20-Tony Stewart: 175.896
     #12-Ryan Newman: 175.325
     #48-Jimmie Johnson: 174.757
     #88-Dale Jarrett: 174.191
 

THE RACE: Ford 400
Winston Cup Race #36 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season
Race: Sunday, November 16, 2003 in Homestead, FL

TV: NBC - 1:00pm/et

Pre-Race Show: NBC - 12:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber

Scheduled Race Re-Air: on Speed Channel a one-hour recap of the race scheduled for:  Wednesday, November 19th at 7:00pm/et and again on November 20th at 1:00am/et;  and a full three-hour race show will re-air at 3:00pm/et on Thursday, November 20th

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: $4,444,009 (was $3,868,755 in 2002)

2002 Race Winner: Kurt Busch, 116.462mph, started 1st

Race Record: Tony Stewart, Nov 1999, 140.335mph

Slowest Race Record: Kurt Busch, 2002, 116.462mph

Most Wins - Active Driver: Tony Stewart, 2

Most Poles - Active Driver/All-Time: 4 races, 4 different drivers

Most Top 5s: 3 - Mark Martin and Jeff Burton

Most Top 10s: 3 - Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, Mark Martin and Jeff Burton

Oldest Winner: Bill Elliott, 46 years, 1 months, 3 days, 11/11/2001

Youngest Winner: Kurt Busch, 24 years, 3 months, 13 days, 11/17/2002

Most Cautions: 6 - Twice, most recently 11/17/2002

Most Caution Laps: 41, Twice, most recently 11/17/2002

Fewest Cautions: 1 - 11/14/1999

Fewest Caution Laps: 5, 11/14/1999

Most on the Lead Lap: 25 - 11/11/2001

Fewest on the Lead Lap: 6 - 11/12/2000

Most Running at the Finish: 42 - 11/11/2001

Fewest Running at the Finish: 35 - 11/12/2000

Worst Starting Spot to Win: Tony Stewart, 2000, started 13th

Most Lead Changes: 19 - Twice, most recently 11/11/2001

Fewest Lead Changes: 12 - 11/17/2002

Most Laps Led by a Race Winner: 166 - Tony Stewart, 11/12/2000

Fewest Laps Led by a Race Winner: 28 - Kurt Busch 11/17/2002

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Practice

Practice: Wednesday, November 12th, 9:00am - 12:00noon/et; 1:00 - 5:00pm/et;
Friday, November 14th, 10:00am - 12:00noon/et; and Saturday, November 15th,
8:30 - 9:15am/et

Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, November 15th, 10:10 - 10:55am/et, LIVE on
TV-Speed Channel


Qualifying

Qualifying Draw: Friday, November 14th, 9:00am/et

First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, November 14th at 1:35pm/et, TV-Speed Channel live and will re-air at 8:00pm/et and at 1:00a,/et on Saturday, November, 15th.


#10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information

Pit Contact: Jay Guy or Drew Brown
Owners: Valvoline (Jim Rocco)/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton)

Crew Chief/Car Chief: Jay Guy
Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports
Spotter (Race Day) Mark Green
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