W
Ward Burton
Guest
Johnny Benson loved his superspeedway car #4518.
It was the white car he used to lead 38 laps and nearly win the 2000 Daytona 500.
It was a car that ran well at most superspeedway races after that. But it was also the car he was racing in the top 10 at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona last year when he was wrecked on lap 8.
Benson suffered three broken ribs on his right side in that wreck and missed the Chicago and New Hampshire races.
The team retired the car, but Benson didn't want to let go of his favorite superspeedway car.
So what do you do when you are a race car driver who has a car you really likes but it's too damaged to race again?
It's easy. You make it into a coffee table for your race shop.
Last month, Benson took the damaged Valvoline Pontiac up to a salvage yard in Statesville, N.C. and crushed the car into a cube.
Now he's going to make it in a table to put it in his race shop.
"Hey, it was a great car," said Benson. "I didn't want to get rid of it so we put it to some good use. It's going to be the No. 10 Valvoline coffee table now instead of a Pontiac."
Benson is putting the finishing touches on the table and expects to be complete in a few months.
"It will look good when I get done. I guess you would call it a really heavy cube right now. It was just something to do for an afternoon."
Benson races again on July 5 in Daytona. Obviously, with a new car.
"Hopefully, this time we will get a trophy we can put on the table," he said. "I don't plan on making another table out of a race car ever again."
It was the white car he used to lead 38 laps and nearly win the 2000 Daytona 500.
It was a car that ran well at most superspeedway races after that. But it was also the car he was racing in the top 10 at the Pepsi 400 in Daytona last year when he was wrecked on lap 8.
Benson suffered three broken ribs on his right side in that wreck and missed the Chicago and New Hampshire races.
The team retired the car, but Benson didn't want to let go of his favorite superspeedway car.
So what do you do when you are a race car driver who has a car you really likes but it's too damaged to race again?
It's easy. You make it into a coffee table for your race shop.
Last month, Benson took the damaged Valvoline Pontiac up to a salvage yard in Statesville, N.C. and crushed the car into a cube.
Now he's going to make it in a table to put it in his race shop.
"Hey, it was a great car," said Benson. "I didn't want to get rid of it so we put it to some good use. It's going to be the No. 10 Valvoline coffee table now instead of a Pontiac."
Benson is putting the finishing touches on the table and expects to be complete in a few months.
"It will look good when I get done. I guess you would call it a really heavy cube right now. It was just something to do for an afternoon."
Benson races again on July 5 in Daytona. Obviously, with a new car.
"Hopefully, this time we will get a trophy we can put on the table," he said. "I don't plan on making another table out of a race car ever again."
