Benson Turns Down Pole At His Track: Johnny Benson turned down the pole before the 50-lap feature last Saturday night in a late model race at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Mich. Benson qualified 10th fastest, but he could have started on the pole. Berlin, like many short tracks, likes to create a little more excitement by inverting the qualifying order before the race. On Saturday night it used the roll of the dice after qualifying to determine the inversion. Benson’s teammate, Lee Anderson, set fast time, but the dice roll came out 10 so that would normally have moved Benson, the 10th place qualifier, to first. However, Benson passed on the pole and chose to charge through the field. Why would any driver turn down a pole? It’s simple – he owns part of the half-mile, race track. The native of nearby Grand Rapids felt moving to the front might raise the eyebrows of fellow competitors. After three cautions in the first three laps, the race went green. Benson picked his way through the field and ran as high as third, but finished third. Terry Senneker Jr. won the race.(Stock Car Fans Newsletter)(7-5-2001)
