Remembering BP always ends in long, fun stories (cont'd)

We were doing a race at Michigan a number of years ago and I stumbled onto a Roush team making an engine change on Sunday morning. Back then it wasn't uncommon to find a team changing engines during the weekend, but this was a little late on Sunday morning for the guys to be taking on this task. I found out the reason from the crew, they had found some metal shavings in an oil filter and did not want to take the chance that significant damage had been done to the engine, so they were making the change. I make no secret of the fact that I am not an engine specialist, so I tracked down BP and told him what was happening.

"Weber, let's go check this out," he said.

By the time we were done, Benny and Jack Roush were under the hood giving me a lesson on engine parts, engine oil and the Oberg filter that had trapped the metal shavings. I don't remember how the car did that day but I do remember telling the story on the air, complete with an Oberg filter as a prop. Again, not being the engine guy, I wanted to make sure I got the story right.

"Benny," I said on the air, "is that pretty accurate?"

"Weber," he said, "I am impressed. That's exactly how Jack told us it happened."

Benny made his comments with that "tone" in his voice that I loved the most, that not only had someone accomplished something, but that he had seen the project from start to finish, and was able to contribute to it being successful. Teamwork.

It is going to be hard to keep this column short, which was my original goal, because every time I tell one Benny story, I think of another. But, when he got that "tone" in his voice, you knew something good had happened to someone good.

To the viewers, the best evidence of that was the Golden Benny that we created in the early years of our TNT/NBC races. It was the perfect opportunity to let Benny do something he loved the most, acknowledging the people who work in the sport for a special accomplishment. As it turns out, the Golden Benny will be forever linked in lure to the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. We would tape the Golden Benny piece over the weekend and air it Sunday in the Countdown to Green. But it seemed whoever got the award that morning, had terrible luck that afternoon.

As I recall, we gave it to Randy Dorton at Talladega for something that had occurred in a previous race. Randy was the head of the engine department at Hendrick Motorsports, a wonderful guy and a very good friend to Benny and myself. Randy was always a soft-spoken guy who liked the shadows more than the spotlight. But BP convinced him to accept the award. Roll tape.

"Congratulations, Randy!" Benny bellowed in front of the camera.

"You and your boys in the engine department are this week's winner of the Golden Benny!" And with that he stuck out that big paw of his, shook hands with Randy, and handed him the Golden Benny.

We ran the piece in the pre-race show at Talladega. In the race that day, all four Hendrick cars blew up. It might have been five Hendrick cars. It might have been more. I think two of their rental cars wouldn't start after the race. It was unbelievable.

It wasn't funny then. But as time passed, the story has grown and we all shared a laugh over it. Something else that Benny and Randy had in common was a love for red wine. We lost Randy in the Hendrick plane crash in Martinsville, Va. I feel certain those two have shared a laugh about that day at Talladega over a glass of red wine.

To our broadcast family, Benny was our leader, to some, a father figure, to others, a best friend. He knew everyone's name and everyone's job. One of his most endearing qualities was that he could bust on anybody about anything, and they could bust on him. Fun with Benny meant fun for everyone.

The stories of Benny helping people are endless, and I do mean endless. And if someone tells you a story about BP, there is a good chance the story will involve them, and something Benny did for them, or with them. You know, it might just be about getting his autograph or taking a picture or seeing him win a race or waving to them on his way to the booth. There's also a chance it might have involved a meal, but I am not going down that road! (Continued)