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Sunday, May 05, 2002

By The Associated Press

Johnny Benson did not drive in last night's Pontiac Excitement 400 Winston Cup race in Richmond, Va., because his ribs were injured in a crash Friday night.

Benson's right rib was broken when he crashed just 23 laps into the Hardee's 250 Busch race at Richmond International Raceway. Joe Nemechek was scheduled to drive the car in the injured driver's place.

Benson spent last night at Bon Secours Regional Memorial Medical Center for observation, and team officials said he planned to watch the race from the hospital.

Pole win is Bliss

Mike Bliss, back as a regular in the NASCAR truck series after a two-year absence, edged Dennis Setzer to win the pole yesterday for the Dodge Ram Tough 200 at Gateway International Raceway in Madison, Ill.

Bliss qualified his Chevrolet at 129.549 mph and will start on the pole today for the first time since May 16, 1999. It was his 15th career pole, matching Mike Skinner for third in series history.

Keller beats caution

Jason Keller insists that Richmond International Raceway is his favorite track. Now he has a result to back it up.

He passed Bobby Hamilton Jr. with 12 laps to go Friday night and cruised to victory in the Hardee's 250, an event that tied the track record of 11 cautions for the series and slowed the pace for 85 laps.

"I've always said that Richmond is my favorite race track, and that's kind of odd because I'd never won here," Keller said after his third victory in the first 10 races on the schedule, this by 1.878 seconds. "I just feel really confident when I come here."

The victory moved Keller from 32 points behind leader and pole-sitter Jack Sprague to 34 ahead. Sprague crashed early and finished 18th.

Earnhardt's bounce

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is bouncing back from a hard hit in California with a trip to one of his favorite tracks.

"I'm pretty sore, but I'll be ready to go at Richmond," said Earnhardt, who drove in a test session Tuesday after escaping the crash April 28 with only a slightly bruised right ankle.

He has won the 2000 spring race at Richmond International Raceway and also has two Busch Series victories on the 0.75-mile track.

Double duty

Ken Schrader is taking advantage of a rare Sunday afternoon break in the Winston Cup schedule to compete in his hometown truck race.

Schrader drove in the Winston Cup race last night in Richmond, Va., and is returning to the St. Louis area today for the Craftsman Truck Series race at Gateway International Raceway.