Word in the Daytona International Speedway garage area Monday is that Johnny Benson would make an unexpectedly quick return to the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Benson is expected to test James Finch’s Phoenix Racing #09 car when the final three-day round of Nextel Cup Preseason Thunder opens Tuesday morning. Benson was released at the end of last season by MBV Motorsports, despite having another year on his contract, and has been seeking another ride. Finch has run a limited schedule of Winston Cup races in past seasons, most recently with Mike Wallace in 2003.(NASCAR.com Buzz)(1-12-2004)
UPDATE: David Stremme’s site says Stremme is out of the #1 Phoenix Racing Dodge Busch ride and that he will run for Braun Racing [#19/#30] with support from Chip Ganassi. Rumor has Benson running the full season in the #1 Busch Dodge.(1-13-2004)
UPDATE 1a: The plan is for Benson to drive the #09 Dodge, owned by James Finch at Daytona. He will be part of the field qualifying for a spot in the Daytona 500. Benson will NOT be testing the car at Daytona this week. Joe Ruttman will be handling the testing duties. The plan is for Benson to run eight Cup races in this car in 2004. No word on the Busch team/plans.(1-13-2004)
UPDATE 2: hearing that Dodge is pushing to get John Andretti in the #1 Phoenix Racing entry.(BGNRacing.com)(1-13-2004)
UPDATE 3: Pheonix Racing car owner James Finch has signed Johnny Benson to run the Busch Series full-time in the #1 Yellow Transaportation Dodge. Benson will also compete in eight to fifteen next Cup events in the #09 Dodge. Finch said John Andretti was also considered.(PRN’s Garage Pass Radio Show)(1-15-2004)
UPDATE 4: Days before he was expected in Daytona to begin testing for the upcoming season, David Stremme found himself at odds with Phoenix Racing, for whom he drove the #1 Yellow car in 18 Busch races last season. When the curtain closed on 2003, Stremme had been promised by Phoenix a full Busch schedule of 36 races in 2004. He then learned that the future of a race car driver can change off the track just as quickly as it can while pushing 200 mph down the backstretch. As testing day for Daytona drew closer, Phoenix wavered on its commitment. Without full support, Stremme went in search of a new employer. He officially found a new home Friday, thanks to an old friend from Northern Indiana. The 26-year-old Stremme has signed to run full-time with Braun Racing, formerly of Winamac and now based in Mooresville, NC. “I’ve been impressed with David for years,” said company owner Todd Braun, who first met Stremme when the two raced as teenagers at New Paris and Plymouth speedways. “Right now, David’s got the ride.” When the car owner first heard last week that there might be problems regarding Stremme’s deal with Phoenix, he delayed final negotiations with Casey Mears to drive his #19 Dodge in the Busch Series. If the 2003 rookie of the year was available, Braun knew it would make little sense for any car owner not to be interested. By early Thursday afternoon, Mears was out of a job, and Friday, the one-year deal with a full-time sponsor was in place for Stremme. Several additional details needed to be finalized before Braun would officially name a sponsor. Why Phoenix racing wavered on its support of Stremme — who earned over $378,000 in prize money with seven Top 10 finishes last season — nobody will say. A story that appeared Thursday on NASCAR’s official web site, www.NASCAR.com, said that Phoenix dropped Stremme because he no longer had the financial support from racing heavyweight Chip Ganassi. That is not true. “He is still part of our driver development program,” Ganassi public relations representative Jason Wise said of Stremme. “That’s never changed.”(in part from the South Bend Tribune)(1-17-2004)
