Benson's victory one to feel good about

When Johnny Benson was battling Mark Martin at Rockingham last weekend in the closing laps, deep down you had to be rooting for Benson just a little bit.

	Tim Packman

Even if he's not "your" driver, for the long journey he took to get that elusive first Winston Cup victory, Benson deserved some credit. Matter of fact, he and the team deserve every bit of credit and congratulations that rains down upon them.

A win like Benson's renews your faith in the sport and humanity that good things do indeed happen to good people.

From a Busch Series rookie of the year in 1994 to the series champion the next, Benson seemed poised to roll to sure success in Winston Cup. Sure enough, he captured rookie of the year honors in the top division in 1996.

Benson was on his way. But, which way was in doubt.

He drove for now-defunct Bahari Racing that freshman year, winning a pole at Atlanta and leading the Brickyard 400 late in the race. Two years later, Benson joined Roush Racing where he became a teammate to Martin.

To say that didn't work out too well would be an understatement.

He was granted a release in August of 1999 to pursue other options. That option became the No. 10 owned by Tim Beverly for the 2000 season. Unsponsored, the team went to Daytona to try their luck for Speedweeks.

Their luck was pretty good. Benson was leading the field toward the checkered flag until a caution came out. On the restart with four laps remaining, Dale Jarrett got by for the win as Benson fell to 12th.

	Johnny Benson had plenty to celebrate this week after his first Winston Cup win. Credit: Autostock

As the season went on, sponsorship woes nearly forced the team to disband. On the verge of closing the doors, the team continued on until Valvoline stepped into save the day -- and Benson's career.

Through all the crap the team went through in 2000, they stayed together for the most part. Crew guys didn't jump ship; they dug in and rowed with their driver and crew chief James Ince.

This year, Benson busted his ribs up twice and was forced out of the car for six races.

He came back.

At Martinsville, he had winner Kurt Busch in his sights as the laps wound down. But, as tempting as it was to spin him for the win, nice-guy Benson didn't do that because he just didn't want to get his first victory that way.

Late in the race at The Rock, Benson was in command and holding off his former teammate Martin and another Roush driver in the young Busch as they raced for the checkers. Funny how the old saying, "what comes around goes around," seemed to apply during those last five laps.

In Victory Lane, the whole team couldn't stop smiling and Benson wasn't thinking of himself in his time of triumph. He said he wanted the win more for his team than he did.

You don't hear that too much anymore.

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I ran into he and Ince in the garage afterwards and the smile was tattooed on both of them. Even though the trophy was as cheap as a second-hand watch, it didn't matter to Benson -- it was his.

They invited me to stop over to the MBV Motorsports shop to partake in some post-victory festivities. Benson was still smiling ear-to-ear as the team laughed and talked about their day.

I just kind of stood back and watched the display of raw, joyous emotion that they shared. Having gotten to know Johnny at and away from the track, it was indeed a feel good win.

Not only for him, but also for the sport and all those that struggle to be triumphant. Let's just hope that's not the last Victory Lane visit for one of the true gentleman of NASCAR.

Go Johnny go, you deserve it.

Tim Packman's column appears every Saturday on NASCAR.com

The opinions listed here are solely those of the writer.