Finally, Benson Ends His Long Winston Cup Winless Streak

Johnny Benson ended one of the longest winless streaks in NASCAR on Sunday, holding off Mark Martin to win the Winston Cup Series Pop Secret 400 at Rockingham, N.C., for his first victory in 226 starts.

Benson, known as the best driver to never win a Winston Cup race, led the final 28 laps but had to battle Martin over the final dozen laps at North Carolina Speedway.

Martin, in the thick of the Winston Cup championship chase, was racing for the win and several times drove his Ford onto the bumper of Benson’s Pontiac.

When he couldn’t bump Benson out of the way, he tried to pass him in the lower grooves of the race track.

None of it worked and the 39-year-old Benson beat him to the finish line by .261 seconds to become the fifth first-time winner this season.

“It was a long time coming, Johnny Benson, but you got your win,” crew chief James Ince radioed him as he crossed the finish line.

Benson then started a long slide across the infield grass before turning the traditional celebratory doughnuts, so many that his car ran out of gas and had to be pushed into victory lane.

“I thought for a couple of years that I’d never get a win,” Benson said. “I was always going to be the best guy who never won a race.”

Kurt Busch, who came into the event on a two-race winning streak, led 105 laps but faded and finished third. Jeff Burton was fourth, giving Roush Racing three Fords in the top four.

Jeff Gordon finished fifth in a Chevrolet, Mike Skinner was sixth and was followed by Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth, the fourth Roush entry. Ricky Craven and Jeff Green rounded out the top 10.

Martin’s strong finish, coupled with struggles for points leader Tony Stewart, tightened the title chase considerably.

Stewart was angry when he exited his Pontiac, stopping only to say the car was the worst he had driven.

He came into the event with a 146-point lead over Martin, but had handling problems early in the race and his car fell a lap down early. He fought with the car the entire race and finished 14th, reducing his lead to 87 points.

Jimmie Johnson, who was 150 points behind, had mechanical problems and finished 37th. He’s now 219 points behind Stewart, probably too great a margin to overcome with only two races left in the season.

Ryan Newman, the rookie who started from the pole, led two times for 41 laps but finished 23rd.

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Bud Kaeding won the $100,000 Budweiser Oval Nationals sprint car race late Saturday night on the half-mile clay oval at Perris Auto Speedway.

Kaeding, the Northern California sprint car champion from Campbell, is the first back-to-back winner in the event’s seven-year run. He earned $30,000 for winning the 100-lap race.