Benson Racing Solidly in Civil War Top Five After Napa Valley Challenge Event

When the Benson Racing Team survived a frustrating night at Placerville Speedway two weeks ago with their top five position in the point standings intact it provided something positive to reflect on after an otherwise forgettable evening. This past weekend at their home track of Calistoga Speedway there were a few positives on a good night of racing but none more worth celebrating than advancing into fourth place in the California Civil War Series standings. Having it happen in front of the home town crowd was just icing on the cake.
Thirty-one teams rolled through the pit gate of the scenic Calistoga Speedway on August 9th but none had a shorter tow than the Benson Racing Team unless they were camped outside the speedway on the Napa County Fairgrounds. Driver Mike Benson was the eleventh car to qualify and set the quickest time of the evening at that point with a 18.435 second lap of the half-mile speedway. In the end only one car turned a faster lap and just barely so by turning a 18.399 second lap.
With a good qualifying time the team had their work cut out for them since they would be starting sixth in the second eight lap heat race. The racing surface was dry and the racing groove was narrow which made passing a premium commodity. The Benson Racing Team benefited from a little luck as two cars running in the top four fell victim to mechanical gremlins allowing the necessary fourth place direct transfer position into the feature event to be within reach. Any competitor who has been in the racing world for a significant length of time will tell you they don’t mind being either lucky or good and this night ended up being having good examples of both.
Starting ninth in the 22 car field for the 20 lap feature event the team was confident in the face of the challenges presented by the racing surface, a still narrow racing groove, and the wicked fast straightaways Calistoga Speedway is known for. The first seventeen laps went non-stop and Benson was able to improve his position by three spots to sixth when the yellow flag flew for an incident in turn two. When the checkered flag fell three laps later a well earned sixth place finish was the final result.
While mingling with the sizeable home town crowd gathered around the silver Benson Racing #77 after the races team members speculated that fourth place in the standings could very well be theirs. With the release of the official results on Monday it was confirmed that they were solidly in fourth place in the standings. There are five races left in the 2008 California Sprint Car Civil War Series and the next one isn’t until September 3rd at Silver Dollar Speedway. As a result of the break in 360 ci division racing the crew will take the opportunity to thoroughly check the readiness of the car for the remaining events on the 360 ci division racing schedule.

Non-Wing Update

The non-wing car is very close to being completed and the finishing touches will be wrapped up this week as the team heads to Santa Maria Speedway for their “Traditional” sprint car racing debut this Saturday. Anticipation is building in the California racing community as the “Louie Vermeil Classic” rapidly approaches and “Traditional” sprint car racing returns to Calistoga Speedway August 30th – 31st. The Benson Racing Team looks to be poised to not only be a competitor in the event but a competitive force to contend with in what looks to be shaping up to be a stellar field of racing talent.