Benson to drive Kenseth's Busch car at Kentucky

MOORESVILLE, N.C. -- Reiser Enterprises and Bayer HealthCare are pleased to announce that veteran NASCAR driver Johnny Benson will pilot the No. 17 Bayer Ford for the Meijer 300 at the Kentucky Speedway on Saturday night. Matt Kenseth was unable to fulfill his duties of driving the No. 17 machine due to constraints on his schedule involving the Nextel Cup event weekend at the Michigan International Speedway.

Benson, a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., has an impressive racing resume that showcases more than 10 years of experience in both the NASCAR Busch and Nextel Cup Series. In addition to winning the 1995 NASCAR Busch Series Championship, Benson has also been crowned the 1993 American Speed Association Champion to go along with his NASCAR Busch Series (1994) and NASCAR Winston Cup Series (1996) Rookie of the Year titles.

Benson captured his first and only NASCAR Winston Cup victory at North Carolina Motor Speedway in November of 2002 while driving the No. 10 Valvoline Pontiac for MBV Motorsports. Benson most recently competed in 10 events this season with Phoenix Racing and the No. 1 Yellow Transportation Dodge on the NASCAR Busch Series circuit before a mutual agreement to pursue other opportunities was made by both parties following the Gateway International Raceway event in May. During his 10 race stint with Phoenix Racing, Benson posted one pole (Rockingham), one-top five and four top-ten finishes.

"I am excited to have Johnny in the No. 17," stated team owner John Reiser. "I believe he is an excellent choice for our team and sponsor that has run well in the Busch Series in the past and will put us in position to run up front. When we started looking at who might be available to fill in for Matt (Kenseth), we were very pleased to find that Johnny was free and was willing to help us out. We have a strong, veteran team that I believe will fit well with Johnnys experience. I am looking forward to a good weekend at the track."

So far this season, the No. 17 Bayer HealthCare crew has teamed with Matt Kenseth to produce one win (Texas), three top-five and three top-ten finishes in four events. Kenseth will resume driving duties of the No. 17 Ford at Chicagoland Speedway next month.

"I was surprised and delighted when I got the call from John (Reiser) concerning the Kentucky event," stated Benson. "From a drivers perspective, it is always exciting to have an opportunity to compete in top-notch equipment that you know is going to be well prepared and give you a chance to run up front. Although it is a one-off, one race deal, if we perform well, then maybe the team will consider me next time Matt isnt able to run some of the other races. I am just glad, one they called and second that it is this opportunity. I am excited and looking forward to giving the team and Bayer a good race."