Johnny Benson About To Lose Underdog Status
Dateline: 08/21/2000Johnny Benson's MB2 Motorsports team announced this weekend in Michigan that it had signed Valvoline to be the primary sponsor for the 2001 Winston Cup season. Johnny celebrated that announcement on Sunday by doing what he has done all season, almost beat the heavily funded multicar teams to the finish line.
The 1996 Winston Cup Rookie of the Year was just starting to reach his stride after a two year stint at Bahari Racing when he was lured away to drive for Jack Roush. A weak 1998 season was followed by a truly dismal 1999 season that lead to a career-worst 28th place points finish. Johnny was granted a release from his Roush contract after making public comments that not all Roush teams are treated equal.
So far the 2000 season has been remarkable for Johnny. He almost won the Daytona 500 before getting shuffled back late in the race, he just ran out of time in Bristol this spring as he was second and closing fast on the leader when the race ended, Johnny charged to a sixth place finish in Las Vegas and was very impressive again when the team returned to Daytona with an all white unsponsored car.
Johnny is currently 13th in the Winston Cup points standings. This is miraculous considering that he was forced to sit out the race in Atlanta when qualifying was rained out and his new MB2 team didn't have enough points in 1999 to get him in the show.
How does a small team stand up to the "superteams?" The answer isn't all that simple.
Part of the answer sits in the driver's seat every week. Johnny Benson is rock solid behind the wheel and rarely brings home a damaged car. This allows team owners Morton, Bowers and Beard (MB2) who bought out Tyler Jet Motorsports earlier this year to spend their limited budget on innovation instead of repairs.
Another part of the equation is crew chief James Ince. Despite being one of the youngest crew chiefs in Winston Cup James brings a great deal of experience and a winning history with him to the team. His past experience includes truck series wins for Roush Racing and a Daytona 500 victory for Robert Yates Racing with Dale Jarrett. James knows what it takes to win races at this level and is a key part of Johnny's success.
The final contributor to his NASCAR success is the mysterious factor known as "chemistry." Chemistry is defined in NASCAR as how all of the team members communicate and work together. From the team owners down to the guy that sweeps the floor back at the shop, everybody on the team needs to be speaking the same language and stay focused on the goal.
Beginning next season this team will have one of the premier sponsors in all of motorsports with Valvoline on the hood. Valvoline is used to winning and knows that it takes money to move a team to the next level. Add this supportive sponsor to an already potent combination and I'm expecting big things from Johnny next season.
Hard work and dedication have finally paid off for Johnny B. I believe that Johnny will have his first Winston Cup victory by the end of next season and will make his first appearance on stage in New York next fall as a top-ten finisher in the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup points.
