Johnny Benson was racing at Berlin Raceway in Michigan last night in a supermodified. He crashed with another car then the wall and his car caught fire. Latest I read was he was in serious condition with broken ribs and burns. Keep him in our prayers.
Cara,
He has some broke ribs and he puntured a lung. Minor, very minor burns. He is ok and hospital just keeping observation on him because of puntured lung.
thought’s and prayer’s for a speedy recovery!
I was at the race in Toledo, and talked to Johnny… his engine was missing toward the end of the Friday race, but until then, he was running as fast as the leaders. Up close, it was one of the most beautifully constructed race cars I’ve ever seen. Sure would be nice to get the ISMA cars down here once. This was Toledo’s annual IMSA vs. Super Sprint show… a sprinter set a new track record in qualifying, but one of the mods was right behind him, both under 13 seconds on a half-mile. That’s fast. 59-year-old Jeff Bloom won the sprint feature, with his top wing laid down so far – about half the angle of the rest of the field – that I don’t see how he went that fast through the turns.
Also noticed that Benson was wearing a HANS, and a lot of the other supermod drivers were still wearing a Hutchens. As fast as they go, and as hard as they hit, the HANS was a smart move. Sounds like the safety crew at Berlin, a track Benson used to co-own, really did a good job.
Johnny’s Car Before and After
100g?s and 2 years to build, gone.
I don’t think you are to far off the 100 grand. I am pretty sure Johnny had all the work done by someone else plus the motor. So if I had to take a true guess 50 to 70 grand. There is still some things can be used. Look at the right front tire, still looks good.
Reused? Let’s make a list… right front tire, right front wheel…