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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



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