Johnny Benson Third in Winston Cup Mileage Race
11 August 1997
Johnny Benson's Mileage Pennzoil Pontiac driver Johnny Benson is 12th in the 1997 Winston Cup Point Standings. He is 66 points behind 10th-place Bill Elliott and 45 points behind 11th-place Ted Musgrave. Benson is third in miles completed in 1997. Benson returns to his native Michigan on Sunday to race in the ITW DeVilbiss 400 at the Michigan Speedway. Miles Completed in 1997 (8,103.60 possible) 1. Dale Earnhardt 8,027.48 2. Dale Jarrett 7,974.07 3. Johnny Benson 7,931.60 4. Bill Elliott 7,861.63 5. Michael Waltrip 7,813.67 Benson on: ...position in the points standings: "Yes, we are surprised. That is pretty good for just my second year in the Pennzoil Pontiac. It's been tough getting up there and it will be tough just trying to remain there with so many good cars behind us. If you look at the standings, guys like Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace, Sterling Marlin and Michael Waltrip are behind us. They will be tough to beat. And, we have guys like Bill Elliott Ted Musgrave, Jeremy Mayfield and Ricky Rudd in front of us." ...secret to success: "We have been consistent in finishing races this year with only two DNF's and that has played a big part in getting us up in the points. On the bad side, we haven't had as many top 10's as we like and we haven't had a top five finish yet. Like the old saying `to finish first you must first finish.' Well we are doing that, now it's time to start finishing first." ...key to improvement: "There is nothing specific we have to improve. This series is so competitive. If we knew that something specific would enable us to race faster then we would have already done it. People sometimes forget just how tough this series is. I have been in ASA and the Busch series and they don't compare to this series." Johnny Benson's Winston Cup Career At Michigan Speedway 1996 S F LC TL Status Money Miller 400 37 37 130 200 Engine $16,165 ITW DeVilbiss 400 19 7 200 200 Running $35,515 1997 Miller 400 7 10 200 200 Running $33,625 For More Information Contact: Drew Brown Cohn & Wolfe (404) 880-5269 drew_brown@cohnwolfe.com