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#51 Photos
Here are some
photos of the #51 Midget prepared by Lou
Cicconi Jr. that Johnny will be racing
during the Indoor Auto Racing event at
Atlantic City's Boardwalk. This
race is scheduled for February 3rd and
4th. For complete details - check
out their website.
http://www.aarn.com/acindoorrace2012.html
Benson to Run Atlantic
City Indoor Midget Races in February
Speed51.com - 11/17/11
ISMA Supermodified star and past NASCAR
Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World
Truck standout Johnny Benson, Jr. is the
latest driver to file an entry for the
Indoor Auto Racing event to be held at
Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall in
February.
Benson, 48, earned a total of 17 career
wins among NASCAR’s three national
circuits, including one Sprint Cup
triumph, at Rockingham, N.C., in 2002.
Benson has proven to be a quick study
throughout his career. In three
different series, ASA, NASCAR Nationwide
and NASCAR Sprint Cup, Benson has earned
Rookie of the Year honors. He
subsequently earned ASA and Nationwide
Series championships, indicative of his
ability to adapt quickly. Lou Cicconi
Jr. is preparing a new Drinan-chassis
for Benson to drive.
Down ‘N Dirty: Michigan’s Berlin Raceway
Covering Pavement With Clay For World of
Outlaws Late Model Series Weekend On
Sept. 21-22
Huge 100-lap,
$20,000-To-Win Event Will Return
Showplace Oval To Its Dirt-Track Roots
MARNE, MI – Jan. 20, 2012 – Berlin
Raceway is going to get down and dirty
in 2012.
Harkening back to the famed facility’s
beginnings as a dirt track six decades
ago, the new management team of the
Michigan speedway has announced plans to
cover the 7/16th-mile oval’s asphalt
surface with a layer of clay for a
spectacular season-ending program
featuring the renowned World of Outlaws
Late Model Series.
Keyser Manufacturing Co. of
Coopersville, Mich., has signed on to
sponsor the huge weekend scheduled for
Sept. 21-22, providing fans from the
Midwest and beyond the unique
opportunity to witness dirt Late Model
superstars sliding around one of the
country’s most storied and popular paved
tracks.
A 100-lap WoO LMS A-Main paying $20,000
to win will serve as the highlight of
the historic, as-yet-unnamed weekend.
Berlin Raceway’s management is setting
up a fan contest to solicit ideas for
the race’s title, adding interactive
flair to arguably the biggest dirt Late
Model event ever contested in the state
of Michigan.
Happy New Year JB Fans!
I wanted to give you an update on what's
happening in 2012. Unfortunately, Johnny
does not plan to run full time in the
Camping World Truck Series in 2012
as sponsorship did not come through.
We appreciate your support and enthusiasm
for Johnny's racing endeavors and will
keep you posted on his racing schedule.
At this point in time, he will return to
racing in the ISMA supermodified series
which is making a return visit to Berlin
Raceway on August 25th.
Best wishes to you and your family in
2012! Barb
Auto racing book
explores driving personalities with
Michigan roots
By Steve Kaminski
West Michigan auto racing
fans might think they know all there is
to know about John Benson Sr. of Grand
Rapids.
Benson won seven Berlin Raceway Late
Model track championships in the 1970s,
and he was a successful Supermodified
driver as well. His son, Johnny Benson
Jr., has won titles in NASCAR’s
Nationwide and Camping World Truck
divisions.
But author Rick Sigsby of Coleman is
confident that even the most diehard
race fans don’t know everything.
"When I interviewed John Benson, it felt
like I was riding along in the car with
him," Sigsby said. "He talked about how
a good driver uses all of his senses,
even smell. He said you can smell when
something isn’t right. He said boiling
water smells different, and when he
smelled boiling water, his first
instinct was to pull down because
someone’s engine is going to blow. He
said a good driver can smell gear lube
and motor oil."
Sigsby has written "Living On The Edge:
A History of Auto Racing in Michigan."
The 314-page soft-covered book is
available at rsigsby.com for $14.95.
The book traces the sport in Michigan
back to Oct. 10, 1901, when Henry Ford
won a challenge race against world speed
record holder Alexander Winton at Grosse
Pointe Racetrack. Sigsby then goes on to
feature more than 50 racing
personalities with Michigan roots who
emerged in the century that followed,
from drivers such as two-time
Indianapolis 500 champion Gordon
Johncock of Hastings and American Speed
Association’s all-time winningest driver
Bob Senneker of Dorr, to promoters such
as the late Chester Mysliwiec, who
founded the Berlin Raceway in Marne.
Sigsby grew up in Midland and enjoyed
attending races as a child, so he is a
lifelong fan. He writes a newspaper
column, Rick off the Record, for the
Gladwin County Register. It was Michigan
Motor Sports Hall of Fame driver Cy
Fairchild of Gladwin County who
suggested to Sigsby that he write the
book.
"Cy Fairchild said to me that no one has
sat down and done a good definite
history of auto racing in Michigan,"
said Sigsby, who also is a retired park
ranger. "I told him I wasn’t interested
in doing a reference book. He said, ‘Why
don’t you do a book like you do your
column?’ That’s how it started."
One of his favorite subjects was Dick
Harroun, 97, who originally is from
Detroit and now lives in Florida.
Harroun’s father, Ray Harroun of
Detroit, won the first Indianapolis 500
in 1911.
It wasn’t easy tracking down Johncock,
who lives in West Branch.
"He lives out in the middle of nowhere
in the heart of Northern Michigan, and
he loves it," Sigsby said. "As far as
racing, he has dropped out of the
picture. He was a hard-charging driver,
he did it seven days a week, but he
looked at it as a job. When he was done
with racing, he did something else,
which is farming and the timber
business."
Sigsby has written four other books,
including "The Valley of the Greats --
Athletic Greats of the Saginaw Valley
Conference from 1904-2009." It took him
about a year to complete his latest
project.
"I was very lucky and grateful to get
the cooperation from the people I
interviewed," Sigsby said. "An awful lot
of those guys are humble, and they were
like, 'What do you want to talk to me
for?'"
2012 ISMA Schedule
The ISMA
series have released a tentative 2012
schedule for the ISMA supermodifieds.
The good news is that the series is
scheduled to back at Berlin Raceway on
Saturday, August 25th. For the
complete schedule,
click here
Berlin Raceway operating under a new
management team for 2012
Berlin
Raceway's 2012 season will have a
various number of changes starting with
NEW MANAGEMENT! As previously announced
a group of investors led by Mr. Don
Dewitt has purchased the lease from
previous owner / promoter Mike Blackmer.
The new ownership has recently begun
assembling a new leadership team led by
Mike Bursley, Kurt Dietrich and Brian
Dewitt who have been working hard in
establishing a new staff, new traditions
and to continue the legacy of Berlin
Raceway.
Bursley, 28, of Holland, MI a former
track champion at Berlin Raceway was the
former owner of Perfect Circle Racecars
and is the current owner of Brian
Campbell's Super Late model racing team,
which will be following the CRA Super
Series schedule in 2012. Bursley
purchased Perfect Circle Racecars in
2007 from the family of the late
founder, Lee Anderson. The company has
recently merged with Port City Racecars
of Muskegon, MI.
"Our goal is continue the legacy of
Berlin Raceway that was built by Chet
Mysliwiec and his family. We have one of
the premier short track facilities in
the nation and our job is to bring it
back to where it once was", stated
Bursley.
Dietrich, 33, of Grand Rapids is the
owner of Speed Media a vehicle graphics
and wrap company with deep roots in the
motorsports industry. He is also a
former member of Tim Steele's racing
team and has worked with drivers, Lee
Anderson and Chris Anthony.
"What we look forward to doing is
bringing Berlin Raceway back to a family
fun entertainment venue. We are looking
to build on the many improvements put
into place by previous management and we
have our work cut out as far as
promoting the events and bringing not
only the old fans out but attracting new
as well, added Dietrich.
Dewitt, 42, who was on the previous
Berlin staff will continue to manage the
facilities of the raceway and maintain
the integrity of one of the most
outstanding short tracks in the USA.
One of the new traditions that we have
started is beginning the season a week
earlier with a later afternoon race
called " The Ice Breaker 100" which will
be held on April 14th. Other featured
schedule events are the Rowdy 251,
featuring NASCAR star Kyle Busch as well
as the ARCA presented by Menards Racing
Series on August 11 . The new management
will also bring back the ISMA modifieds
and a huge end of the year event called
"The Chet" Championship Weekend
September 6-8.
Other notable changes will be within the
Sportsman and Super Stock divisions. The
Sportsman division, formerly Pro Stocks
will undertake some changes to make it
more of an entry level cost effective
solution for racers looking to get in on
the ground level. The Super Stock
division will be looking to get a
jumpstart on a mandatory 2013 rule
change featuring the muscle car Chevy
Camaro and Ford Mustang bodies. Any team
looking to make the change early is
eligible for certain benefits in both
purchasing and rule wise.
The new website has been launched and
features a tentative 2012 racing
schedule as well as rules for all
divisions except for the 4 cylinders,
which will be making some small changes.
For more information and any questions
please call the Berlin Raceway office at
616.662.2051 and keep checking for
updates at www.berlinraceway.com
RacingAwareness.com Give Back
The RacingAwareness.com team
(a Michigan based 501 C3 nonprofit organization)
is proud to announce a charitable donation
of $35,000 to the Helen DeVos Children’s
Hospital of West Michigan. The 2011 donation
matches that of 2010 bringing the combined
two-year total to $70,000. RA would like to
thank all of our great partners and loyal
supporters. RacingAwareness.com was launched
in April 2010 in an effort to help sick and
injured children. Plans for 2012 will be
announced soon.
~~~~~
Missed the News?
Have you been gone
for the week and missed on the news on johnnybenson.com? All you
need to do is check out the press release page.
Click Here
Remember When
Take a trip down
memory lane by season. Click on the year.
1994 -
Rookie in the Busch Series
1995 -
Busch Series Champion
1996 -
Rookie in the Winston Cup Series
2010 - In
Memory of Barb Kurtz
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