Pennzoil Pontiac Racing Report: Benson Posts Best Finish of Season
3 November 1997
Johnny Benson Finishes 7th; Equals Best of the Season Somebody in sports once said they would rather be lucky than good. In auto racing, the key to a good day is being both lucky and good; and that's just what happened to Pennzoil Pontiac driver Johnny Benson and his Bahari' Racing teammates on Sunday in the season's penultimate race at Phoenix International Raceway. Not only did the Pennzoil Pontiac benefit from a timely pitstop call by crew chief Doug Hewitt, but the bright yellow car was good -- very good. So good that it equaled its 7th-place finish at Indianapolis --the best of the season. Sunday's strong performance in a race that went the final 183 laps caution-free moved the Bahari' team to a tie for 12th in the points race with a reasonable shot at catching Ted Musgrave who occupies 10th place some 45 points ahead of Benson. "Man, to finish seventh is great especially after considering we were about the worst car after that Friday morning practice," Benson said. "We just kept working and working and working at it and finally got the Pennzoil Pontiac running pretty good to qualify eighth and then to do this well today is pretty cool." Dale Jarett won Sunday's race and inched past Mark Martin for second place by 10 points in the points race but he trails leader Jeff Gordon, who finished 17th, by 77 points. Benson ran among the leaders until the first round of pit stops. The narrow, one-mile oval makes passing difficult so Hewitt and Benson elected to change only two right side tires on lap 42 and beat the cars making four tire stops back on the track. "We were pretty loose then and it got real hard to drive the car," Benson said after the race. "But, we just couldn't risk coming in." As the race proceeded, Benson persevered and stayed on the track sometimes struggling with only two fresh tires. Several top runners pitted to take advantage of new tires around the 115-to-120-lap mark. Benson and company planned a pit on lap 128 hoping for a caution to come soon. Suddenly, Ward Burton's Pontiac careened into the first turn wall bringing out the yellow flag and catching several teams a lap down or at the tail end of the lead lap. Benson managed to stay on the track and then pit under yellow on lap 130. Instead of falling a lap down, the timely pit strategy enabled him to remain one of about 13 cars on the lead lap. When the race resumed Benson began his charge to the front using every inch of the track and on one occasion brushing the wall to reel in the leaders. "After that the car ran pretty well and we were able to work ourselves up to seventh place," Benson said. "It was getting pretty hard to drive at the end, but things turned out well." There were no caution flags for the rest of the race and a 19 second pit stop on lap 227 enable Benson to finish the race among the leaders One of Benson biggest supporters in the pit on Sunday was Jac Haudenschild, Pennzoil's World of Outlaws driver who raced at nearby Manzanita Speedway near Phoenix during the weekend. Benson along with several Bahari' crew members attended the World of Outlaws races on Friday and Saturday night. "The Wild Child" attended his first Winston Cup race as a guest of Benson on Sunday. Benson and his teammates will enjoy an off weekend before the season-ending race at the newly reconfigured Atlanta International Speedway. Points race 1. Jeff Gordon 4598 2. Dale Jarrett 4521 3. Mark Martin 4511 4. Jeff Burton 4224 5. Dale Earnhardt 4096 6. Terry Labonte 4077 7. Bobby Labonte 3916 8. Bill Elliott 3781 9. Rusty Wallace 3531 10 Ted Musgrave 3486 11 Ken Schrader 3473 12 Jeremy Mayfield 3441 13 Johnny Benson 3441 14 Ernie Irvan 3402 15 Bobby Hamilton 3304 Contact: Drew Brown Cohn & Wolfe (404) 880-5269 drew_brown@cohnwolfe.com
