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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.

This past Saturday July 26th the Benson Racing team finally got a break at a track that hasn’t been too kind to them so far this season. On July 5th the team was poised to finish strong when a flat left rear tire sent them to the pits with five laps down. The team was running fourth at the time after starting outside the second row but the flat sent them to the back of the pack which relegated them to a thirteenth place finish.
Fast forward two weeks and you have a performance that was the team’s strongest night of the season so far. Driver Mike Benson turned in the eighth quickest qualifying time out of 32 cars, a second place finish in the heat race (after starting 5th), and a solid second place finish in the feature event after starting third. The racing surface was very tricky with multiple ruts mixed in with the usual ultra tacky Petaluma Speedway clay which resulted in multiple yellow and red flags for the crashes of other competitors.
A look at the top three finishing drivers shows just what kind of competition Benson had to deal with to secure a second place finish. Petaluma Speedway regular Adam McCarthey maintained the top spot while hot on Benson’s heels was Alissa Geving who is another strong speedway regular. In the end it was Benson’s ability to balance fending off the challenges of Geving while looking for any opening that appeared to take the top spot from McCarthey which all had to be done without the benefit of lapped traffic due to the number of caution periods in the race.
The additional bonus that came out of the team’s strong Petaluma performance was that it helped maintain their fifth place position in the California Civil War series points standings with just six races left. The Benson Racing Team actually entered the top 5 after a strong night at Silver Dollar Speedway on July 18th that ended with a seventh place finish. In addition to a desire to pick up their second win at Calistoga Speedway the team is also very focused on a top five finish in the final Civil War Series point standings.

Quick Trip to the Midwest

Benson Racing Team members Mike Benson, Dave Moore, and Augie “Karl” Grube traveled to the hotbed of sprint car racing that is Indiana. The one week trip had the trio taking in the United States Auto Club’s ever popular “Sprint Week” for “traditional” (non-wing) sprint cars the week of July 9th. Also on tap was the 25th Annual famous “Kings Royal” which is a $50,000 to win event for winged 410ci sprint cars at the ominously high banked Eldora Speedway (the first sprint car race in the history of the sport to pay a winner’s share of that amount). Coming up quick is the Knoxville Nationals in Knoxville, IA. for winged 410 ci sprint cars that Benson intends to attend the first four days of. The trip to the Nationals will be sandwiched between Civil War events at Placerville Speedway (August 2nd) and Calistoga Speedway (August 9th).

Taking the Lid Off

Following the Civil War event at Silver Dollar Speedway on July 18th the team began assembling a second car for their first ever venture into “traditional” (non-wing) racing. With very few minor exceptions the car will be identical to the one they have campaigned so far. The most significant differences are that this car will not have either a front or top wing mounted on it and it will have the 410 ci engine under the hood. The team plans on running the USAC /CRA event at Santa Maria Speedway August 16th as their first “traditional” sprint outing.
All of this effort is with an eye towards competing in the historic return of “traditional” sprint car racing to Calistoga Speedway August 30th-31st with the running of the “Louis Vermeil Classic” (http://www.hammerdownusa.com/calistoga08.html). This event marks the return of “traditional” sprint racing to the famous half mile after a 23 year absence and is significant to the entire team since they all grew up watching the spectacular racing waged without the wings at Calistoga Speedway. For Benson in particular the significance cannot be underestimated as Vermeil’s shop was just across the creek from the house he still calls home and veteran drivers like LeRoy Van Connet, who was his boyhood racing hero, will be in attendance. Vermeil is considered by many to be the “father” of sprint car racing in Northern California for his tireless efforts to promote racing at Calistoga Speedway in particular but all over the northern part of the state as well.

The Benson Racing Team competed on the two biggest tracks the Civil War Series schedule has to offer on June 14th and 21st. June 14th featured the half mile Calistoga Speedway which is the team’s home town track and the one they want to win at more than any other. The June 25th event required the team to make a fairly long tow to American Valley Speedway which is a 3/8ths mile track high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains located in the logging town of Quincy.
As the defending “Calistoga Cup” champion the stakes were high for the team in front of the home town crowd. Mike Benson was the sixth car to qualify and being early in the qualifying order proved to not be an advantage on this evening. The only car that qualified in the top five that was among the first six cars to take time trial runs was Willie Croft who went out just ahead of Benson in the qualifying order and ended up fifth quick. The remaining four of the top five fastest cars came out twenty-first or later to qualify. After 37 cars took time trial runs Benson Racing was 19th quickest.
The good news about the time trial run was that it placed the team on the outside of the first row in the third heat race. Needing to finish fourth or better to transfer directly to the feature event Benson was able to accomplish that by maintaining his starting position and finishing second in the event. The team went to work preparing the car for battle in the feature event and kept an eye on the changing track conditions.
With a starting position of sixteenth the team definitely had their work cut out for them. The feature event was twenty laps and the racing surface had dried considerably by the time the green flag was dropped. After the checkered flag was flown twenty laps later the team was in eleventh and, while far from a victory, they were satisfied that they were able to improve their starting position by five spots.
Fast forward a week to American Valley Speedway and the team was competing at a facility they had never even seen before. In fact a majority of the thirty two teams set to compete in the event had never competed at this speedway. To help with this the event promoters hosted a practice session on June 20th. The Benson Racing team participated in the practice session and gained valuable knowledge that they quickly put to use on Saturday.
The team was able to qualify ninth quick which they were enthused about as it placed them “in the inversion” should they be able to transfer directly out of their heat race. Unfortunately the narrow and “paper clip” style race track made it difficult not only for the Benson Racing team to transfer out of their heat race but a majority of the fastest competitors ended up having to compete in the evening’s semi main. With a seventh place finish in the first heat race the team found themselves in fast company in the twelve lap semi main which transferred six cars to the feature event. Unfortunately the team found themselves on the outside looking in when they were unable to improve on their seventh place semi main starting position.
With two tough weekends under their belt the team takes a week off and looks forward to the annual Fourth of July Parade in downtown Calistoga. The Benson Racing 77 will be among the parade participants which is a continuation of a tradition the team has since its inception. After a celebration of Independence Day the team will be competing on July fifth at Petaluma Speedway in round seven of the California Civil War Series for winged 360ci sprint cars.

It’s here. The one year anniversary of the biggest win in Mike Benson’s thirteen year career driving winged sprint cars. One year ago this weekend Benson was able to lead every lap of the “Calistoga Cup” and call his father from victory lane with the best Father’s Day gift Bob Benson has every received. All in all it was an incredible and emotional night for anyone who was ever involved with Benson Racing.
Defense of the “Cup” or the prospect of any victory at Calistoga Speedway whips the mostly Calistoga based team into a state of focus and determination that may be hard to understand for some people. It’s not about the money. It’s not about the trophy. For some people who have been involved with sprint car racing most of their lives dreaming about winning a race at Calistoga Speedway has become an obsession that cannot be defined in logical terms. Every member of the Benson Racing Team can be considered to be consumed by this obsession and one victory at Calistoga one year ago isn’t enough to put it to rest.
The entire Benson Racing Team looks forward to competing this weekend at Calistoga Speedway in what will be round five of the California Civil War Championship Series for 360ci winged sprint cars but the first of the year for what will be a very short four race Calistoga Speedway 2008 season. “We’re throwing everything we have at the two 360 races at Calistoga scheduled for this season” said Benson from his Calistoga shop. “We purposely went racing with the 410ci motor the past two weekends so that we could get the 360ci motor ready for this weekend. Winning last year was awesome but it’s just like guys who win their first Knoxville Nationals. It’s a huge deal but you immediately start thinking about how you can get another one. See you in Calistoga!”

410ci Three Race Highlights

The Benson Racing team competed in three 410ci winged sprint car events over the past two weekends on 5/31, 6/6, and 6/7. Here are the highlights:

Full results are here:

• http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com/gsc/2008/results/05/31.html
• http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com/silverDollar/2008/results/06/06-s.html
• http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com/gsc/2008/results/06/07.html

Best Finish in the Main Event: fifth place 6/6 at Silver Dollar Speedway

Best Qualifying Effort: seventh quick 6/6 at Silver Dollar Speedway

Best Heat Race Finish: third at Placerville Speedway 5/31 and Silver Dollar Speedway 6/6

All in all Benson racing transferred directly from their heat race to the main event two out of three times and transferred from the semi main to the main event with a third place finish the night they missed the transfer out of their heat race (Petaluma 6/7). Their worst main event finish of the three races came at Petaluma Speedway on 6/7 when the motor started to stumble early in the race and the team exited the race early after pulling the car into the pits to investigate the problem. Late in the week it was discovered that the 410ci motor had suffered a broken rocker arm which caused trouble they were experiencing on 6/7.

The evening started out on a high note with Mike Benson piloting the Benson Racing number 77 through qualifying posting a time good enough to be thirteenth quick out of a stout field of 48 360ci winged sprint cars. Time trials proved to be, after considering the entire evening’s results, the “easiest” thing the Benson Racing team did all night. Perseverance ended up being the theme of the evening when all was said and done.

With such a good qualifying time Benson faced an inside second row starting position in the first heat race. The first heat race had some pretty heavy hitters in it including previous night’s main event winner Willy Croft and fast qualifier of the evening Kyle Larson. Both Larson and Croft were on a mission to transfer out of the heat race which both were able to accomplish by establishing themselves solidly in the top three. With Benson holding down the fourth and final transfer position to the feature in the late stages of the race Kyle Hirst was able to slip by forcing the team to settle for a fifth place finish.

While having to compete in the Semi-Main event is viewed by many as a setback there are others who view it as an opportunity to get a closer read on what the track conditions are right before the Main event. The team actually had three heat races and the C-Main to gather knowledge about what direction the track conditions were going in. After the twelve lap semi main Benson had secured a third place finish which secured a transfer to the evening’s 30 lap finale.

With twelve laps of knowledge about the track conditions the Main Event field faced and enough time to make the relevant changes to the car the team lined up for 30 laps of battle outside the sixth row. The main event was a marathon with many cautions slowing the pace and one red flag period with eight laps left in the race. Some times race officials make the decision to have an “open” red flag period which allows the crews to make adjustments to the cars. In this case officials made the decision to keep the work area closed. After 30 laps of competition the setup of the car and “never give up” attitude of the entire team was good for an eighth place finish.

An additional positive on the evening was a five position improvement in the team’s position in the 2008 Civil War Championship point series standings. Benson racing entered the evening in fifteenth position but their perseverance paid off by allowing them to enter the top 10 in the ultra competitive series. With just four races in the books out of the scheduled fifteen the team hopes to continue to improve their place in the standings.

The 410 is Back!:
After receiving the parts back from the engine shop and putting everything back together the team is ready to compete again in the top California series for 410ci winged sprint cars which is the Golden State Challenge Series. The GSC is making a stop at Placerville Speedway this weekend May 31st which was the scene two weeks ago of the team’s best run so far of the 2008 season. Hopes are high to use this event as a positive start to a solid 410ci program to compete in upcoming events scheduled for the division this season.

Great run in the Gold Country Foothills:
The team made their second appearance at Placerville Speedway this past weekend and did so in fine fashion. The event was round seven of the lightning quick red clay quarter-mile facility’s seventeen race speedway championship series. It turned out to be the best outing of the season for the team thus far.
Time trials started off the evening with Mike Benson turning the fifth quickest lap out of 25 cars entered in the evening’s events. Benson’s time was notable when you consider that he turned the lap going out 23rd in the qualifying order. In contrast the quickest time of the evening was posted by the driver who was the third driver to qualify.
Another strong performance was turned in during the second heat race when Benson was able to pass two cars en-route to a fourth place finish. A fourth place or better finish is key since only the top four cars transfer directly to the evening’s 25 lap main event finale. The direct transfer also meant that Benson would be “in the inversion” which refers to the top 10 drivers by qualifying time that transfer directly into the main event guaranteed to start in the first five rows of the event.
A little luck led to Benson starting the main event outside the first row. The “inversion” is determined by a blind pill draw so the team benefited from similar luck that had them starting in the pole position (inside first row) in last year’s Calistoga Cup in which a historic victory was posted. After 25 laps the Benson Racing #77 finished out a successful evening with a third place finish.

410 Program Woes:
The team’s 410ci motor made what was expected to be the first of three scheduled appearances in the car at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico on May 9th. The night started out looking good with the motor running strong in hot laps. Benson turned two quick and smooth laps with the quickest one being good enough for tenth quick out of 21 cars entered.
Unfortunately the night took an unfortunate turn during the first heat race when Benson noticed while idling under caution that the oil pressure gauge had dropped to zero. Benson made the quick decision to shut off the engine as the team arrived on scene to get the car back to the hauler and assess the damage. It was quickly determined that the oil filter had imploded which potentially could have sent metal shards into the oil circulation system. As a result the night was over pre-maturely.
An early start to May 10th found the team tearing down the 410ci motor to further investigate the extent of the damage. At first there was optimism that there would be little to no damage when the team found most of what they would expect to find in the engine’s oil pan. Upon further inspection, however, it was determined that there was damage to internal engine components that necessitated them being sent to the team’s motor shop for repair.

Fair Time up next:
The team will make a rare Sunday race appearance in round four of the California Civil War Series which occurs during the annual Silver Dollar Fair in Chico. Since both the 410ci motor and 410ci division racing in general are taking Memorial Day Weekend off the team will be competing with the 360ci motor under the hood in what is a 360ci series.
Like all auto racing fans the team will begin the day with eyes glued on the annual running of the Indianapolis 500. The entire Calistoga based team will break with tradition somewhat by watching the “500” and having breakfast away from home probably for the first time in many of their lives. Long time Benson Racing Team supporters Chris and Kristine Lovett recently moved to Dayton, CA. which is minutes from Silver Dollar Speedway. The Lovett family will be hosting the team for breakfast / lunch / Indy 500 race viewing before sending off to the speedway to compete in the evening’s events.

The racing season finally began for Calistoga’s Mike Benson this past weekend in what was expected to be a busy two days for his race team. To start out the weekend Benson Racing’s silver number 77 sprint car was on display at an open house Friday afternoon for a Santa Rosa distributor of main team sponsor HASA Inc.’s products. Additional appearances are planned throughout the 2008 season for the team as they are actively involved in representing HASA both on and off the racetrack.

Saturday March 29th at Petaluma Speedway became the first competitive event of the 2008 season for the team. Prior to Saturday the team had participated in a practice session at Petaluma and attempted to compete in the “Civil War” series opener at Placerville Speedway on March 15th before mother nature stepped in to rain out that event. Fourteen 360 c.i. winged sprint cars signed in for what was Petaluma Speedway’s season opener and first event of their weekly series for 2008.

The night started off on the wrong foot due to circumstances the team had no control over. Speedway officials cut short “hot laps” (practice sessions for competitors) and additionally decided against allowing competitors to make qualifying laps known as ‘time trials” to position the cars in the evening’s events. A simple pill draw was used to line up the heat races which there were two of. Benson ended up starting and finishing third in the second heat race of the evening.

The twenty-five lap A-Main event (the final event of the evening) found Benson starting on the outside of the third row. As the race progressed Benson was able to challenge for fourth and it appeared the team would start off the year with an encouraging top five finish. When the checkered flag fell, however, the team had to settle for seventh as the car’s setup was clearly a better match for track conditions present early in the race.

The next stop for the team headed by veteran crew chief Mark Porter heads to the Gold Country Foothills for an event at lightning quick Placerville Speedway. It is a venue that Benson has many competitive laps at going all the way back to his 1993 rookie effort in a class of cars called “minisprints”. Minisprints are a smaller version of the cars Benson competes in now powered by 1200 cc motorcycle engines. Because of the tight confines of the quarter mile speedway less emphasis is put on horsepower and more on the quick reflexes of the driver. The fast time at Placerville last weekend was just 10.023 seconds.

The 2008 season for Benson Racing features a schedule of their own design with a mixture of competition in both the 410 c.i. and 360 c.i. winged sprintcar divisions at a variety of Northern California dirt ovals. You can keep track of the team at http://www.bensonracing.com/ as well as team sponsors and supporters. The 2008 season would not be possible without the generous support of sponsors HASA, Stadelhofer Construction, Calistoga Beverage Co., Downing Paint, Fulton Auto Body, Calistoga Chiropractic and Diamond Quality Water Features Inc. Every effort on the track is also the result of the dedicated members of Benson Racing:

Crew Chief Mark Porter has been a key part of Benson Racing since 1995 and is also part owner of the team

Dave Moore has been with the team since 1999 as both a sponsor (Moore Brothers Racing) and a team member. Dave now resides in the Lake Berryessa area but grew up in Iowa not far from the famed Knoxville Raceway

Kenny Flynn has been with the team since 2002 and is in charge of Chassis tuning and fabrication. Kenny started working on sprint cars when he was 16 years old for Calistoga driver Don Meyer who Benson also helped during the early 1980′s

Kyle Vella has been with the team since 2004 and is in charge of engine performance in addition to driving the race car hauler. The 360 c.i. engine that powered Benson racing to victory at the Calistoga Civil War race last year was the 1^st sprint car engine that Vella ever built

Benson’s brother Chris Benson has painted every car he has ever driven and did another fine job this year

Phil Seavey of P.C.S. Specialties has been a big help in various aspects of the team. Seavey is one of Benson Racing’s main sponsors as well as a team member.

Cody Thomas started in 2007 and came aboard as our team cook but also works on the car as well as helps with race day operations.

2008 PROPOSED RACING SCHEDULE

[Map] Print Race Schedule | Subscribe

[Map] Print Race Schedule | Subscribe