Pennzoil Pontiac Race Report: Benson Misses Top 10 by 1 Point
17 November 1997
Pennzoil Race Report Napa 500 Nov. 16,1997 Atlanta Motor Speedway Benson's 10th-Place Leaves Him A Single Point Out of Top-10 in Point Standings After ten months of week in and week out travel all over America, more than 32 races, more than 150 pitstops, thousands of laps, plus tens of thousands of man hours working on the cars, a single point turned out to be all that kept Pennzoil Pontiac driver Johnny Benson from climbing into the top ten of 1997 Winston Cup point standings. Bobby Labonte won the race for the second consecutive year -- the first time at Atlanta since Richard Petty in 1970 and 1971. Jeff Gordon clinched the 1997 championship on Sunday. It was Gordon's second title and inches him closer to Petty and Dale Earnhardt who each have seven trophies. Benson's charge to ninth-place near the end of Sunday's season-ending race at Atlanta Motor Speedway appeared to put him on the cusp of an accomplishment few have earned so early in their careers, but a next-to-the-last lap pass by Ward Burton moved Benson to tenth. More importantly the pass cost Benson 4 points thus making Kenny Schrader's 20th-place finish good enough to garner the 10th spot and ensure a podium appearance at the New York City awards banquet next month. Schrader ended the season with 3,576 points while Benson tallied 3,575 points. Benson trailed Schrader by 32 points before the race. "As I said before the race if we finished tenth today we would have had a good season," Benson said. "If we finished 11th or 12th we would have also had a good season. Sure the one point difference is frustrating but this is the best finish ever for Bahari' and Pennzoil and nobody has any reason to hang their head." Benson started Sunday's race in 12th place and stayed in the top-15 throughout the day. Crew Chief Doug Hewitt pitted the Pennzoil Pontiac every 40 laps because the high speeds on the newly configured track took a dramatic toll on right rear tires worn down to the cords after each segment. Going into the race, Benson trailed Ted Musgrave and Schrader, but tied with Jeremy Mayfield. Benson outran that trio on Sunday with Musgrave finishing 31st, Mayfield 19th and Schrader 20th. However Schrader needed to finish one position worse or Benson one position better for Benson to move into the top 10 in points.. The Atlanta race was the final with Bahari' Racing for both Benson and Pennzoil. Benson joins Roush Racing next season and Pennzoil moves to Dale Earnhardt Inc., and driver Steve Park. Gumout takes over as the Bahari' sponsor with driver Derrike Cope. "We are all proud of this team and Johnny's performance this year," said car-owner Chuck Rider. "We wish him well. We feel like we accomplished a lot this year and look forward to next year with Derrike." 1997 Final Point Standings 1.Jeff Gordon 4710 2.Dale Jarrett 4696 3.Mark Martin 4681 4.Jeff Burton 4285 5.Dale Earnhardt 4216 6.Terry Labonte 4177 7.Bobby Labonte 4101 8.Bill Elliott 3836 9.Rusty Wallace 3598 10.Ken Schrader 3576 11.Johnny Benson 3575 12.Ted Musgrave 3556 13.Jeremy Mayfield 3547 14.Ernie Irvan 3534 15.Kyle Petty 3455 16.Bobby Hamilton 3450 17.Ricky Rudd 3330 18.Michael Waltrip 3173 19.Ricky Craven 3108 20.Jimmy Spencer 3079 For More Information Contact: Drew Brown Cohn & Wolfe (404) 880-5269 drew_brown@cohnwolfe.com
