Stewart, Benson put on a show at Berlin: Afternoon rain didn’t stop Berlin Raceway from hosting an exciting special event Tuesday night, as Winston Cup stars Tony Stewart and Johnny Benson, in town for the UPS Grand Haven Race Car Festival, entertained a full house crowd of 8,658 in the Festival 100. The non-points Coors Light Late Model event was delayed by afternoon rain, but the skies cleared in time for a full slate of racing excitement. Benson started the evening off in good fashion by qualifying his #61 Port City Racing car at 102.476 mph, the fastest time of the night. Stewart, who had arrived directly from the UPS Grand Haven Race Car Festival at 6:30 p.m. and promptly jumped into the #1 Devrou Chevrolet owned by current points leader Randy Sweet for a few hot laps, turned a quick lap of 101.828, finishing as third fastest qualifier behind Benson and #161 Lee Anderson. Next up was the first of two 50-lap qualifying races. Benson started on the pole by virtue of his qualifying time and led the first half of the race until he got in an accident and spun and hit the wall. Benson’s car had some front end nose damage and he retired from the race to make repairs for the main event, having earned a provisional starting position by his fastest qualifying time. In the second 50-lap qualifier, Stewart jumped out to a huge lead early and won the race running away. The Festival 100, which began shortly after 10 p.m., proved to be an even better show for the fans. After the inversion, Stewart started from the 10th position and Benson from the 25th, meaning Stewart would have to pass traffic for the first time of the night if he were to win the race with his strong car. Stewart went on to win in convincing style, leading Anderson and DeVos across the finish line. #101 Joe Bush finished fourth, followed by #98 Bob Curry and Gritter in sixth. The race lasted 56 minutes and ended with only 11 cars on the lead lap. The race was Stewart’s second appearance at Berlin Raceway, the first coming in a USAC Sprint Car in 1992. Benson and Stewart then signed autographs in the pits. Stewart earned praise for signing autographs for every single person in a long line, lasting past 12:30 a.m.(Berlin Raceway Site)(6-12-2002) (6-11-2002)
