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MOORESVILLE, NC
JUNE 9TH, 2004
Reiser Enterprises and Bayer
HealthCare are pleased to announce that veteran NASCAR
driver Johnny Benson will pilot the No. 17 Bayer Ford for
the Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night
June 19th. Matt Kenseth was unable to fulfill his duties
of driving the No. 17 machine due to constraints on his
schedule involving the Nextel Cup event weekend at the
Michigan International Speedway.
Benson, a native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has an
impressive racing resume that showcases more than 10 years
of experience in both the NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup
Series’. In addition to winning the 1995 NASCAR Busch
Series Championship, Benson has also been crowned the 1993
American Speed Association (ASA) Champion to go along with
his NASCAR Busch Series (1994) and NASCAR Winston Cup
Series (1996) Rookie of the Year titles. Benson captured
his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup victory at North
Carolina Motor Speedway in November of 2002 while driving
the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac for MBV Motorsports. Benson
most recently competed in 10 events this season with
Phoenix Racing and the No. 1 Yellow Transportation Dodge
on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit before a mutual
agreement to pursue other opportunities was made by both
parties following the Gateway International Raceway event
in May. During his 10 race stint with Phoenix Racing,
Benson posted one pole (Rockingham), one-top five and four
top-ten finishes.
“I am excited to have Johnny in the No. 17,” stated team
owner John Reiser. “I believe he is an excellent choice
for our team and sponsor that has run well in the Busch
Series in the past and will put us in position to run up
front. When we started looking at who might be available
to fill in for Matt (Kenseth), we were very pleased to
find that Johnny was free and was willing to help us out.
We have a strong, veteran team that I believe will fit
well with Johnny’s experience. I am looking forward to a
good weekend at the track.”
So far this season, the No. 17 Bayer HealthCare crew has
teamed with Matt Kenseth to produce one win (Texas), three
top-five and three top-ten finishes in four events.
Kenseth will resume driving duties of the No. 17 Ford at
Chicagoland Speedway next month.
“I was surprised and delighted when I got the call from
John (Reiser) concerning the Kentucky event,” stated
Benson. “From a driver’s perspective, it is always
exciting to have an opportunity to compete in top-notch
equipment that you know is going to be well prepared and
give you a chance to run up front. Although it is a
one-off, one race deal, if we perform well, then maybe the
team will consider me next time Matt isn’t able to run
some of the other races. I am just glad, one they called
and second that it is this opportunity. I am excited and
looking forward to giving the team and Bayer a good race.”
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