Pennzoil Pontiac Race Preview: Benson Ready for Daytona
1 July 1997
Benson Ready to Race Different Daytona Track Pennzoil Pontiac driver Johnny Benson hopes to continue his success on the superspeedways this Saturday when he and the NASCAR Winston Cup drivers race in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Benson, now 13th in the 1997 Winston Cup point standings, crashed while racing in the top ten at the Daytona 500 in February and finished tenth at Talladega in May. Although this weekend marks the second visit to Daytona in 1997, Benson said the 2.5-mile tri-oval is a different race track from its February condition. ...July race vs. February race: "It's the same track, it hasn't moved, but it drives like two different tracks The biggest difference is the heat. In February, you are almost in the dead of winter and with the cooler temperatures the car doesn't seem to slide around on the track like it does in the heat of July." ...Daytona in February: "It was a pretty frustrating couple of weeks. We didn't test well, we didn't practice well and we didn't qualify well. And, we weren't very good for most of the race. Then toward the end of the race, we started drafting with some cars that worked for us and all of a sudden, in the final ten laps, we were running in the top ten and moving up. I was pretty excited. With just a few laps left we were touched by another car and wrecked. We finished down in the order. That hurt. I broke my toe, but it also killed our car. It's one of those things you hate to have happen. We're going to get a good finish and then it all went away." ...drafting: "The drafting at Dayonta is absolutely crucial. The more races you run there the better you get at drafting. I wish I could tell everyone more about what you learn, but drafting is something I can't just sit down and explain." Benson's Winston Cup Record at Daytona S F LC TL STATUS MONEY 1996 Daytona 500 27 23 197 200 Running $ 51,775 Pepsi 400 5 25 160 160 Running $ 25,195 1997 Daytona 500 17 28 195 200 Accident $ 61,935 For More Information Contact: Drew Brown Cohn & Wolfe (404) 880-5269 drew_brown@cohnwolfe.com