Racebeat
by Rich Romer

NASCAR Winston Cup: Johnny Benson needs a new nickname. "The Best Driver to Never win a Race'' no longer fits. Benson ended one of the longest winless streaks in NASCAR holding off Mark Martin to win the Pop Secret 400 for his first victory in 226 starts. Benson led the final 28 laps, but had to battle Martin over the final dozen laps at North Carolina Speedway. Martin, in the thick of the Winston Cup championship chase, was racing for the win and several times drove his Ford onto the bumper of Benson's Pontiac. When he couldn't bump Benson out of the way, Martin tried to pass him in the lower grooves of the race track. None of it worked and the 39-year-old Benson beat him to the finish line by 0.261 seconds to become the fifth first-time winner this season.

Afterward, Martin's No. 6 Ford failed inspection because the left-front springs did not meet the minimum number of coils. NASCAR will punish the team next week, and the standard penalty this season has been a deduction of 25 championship points. That would be a huge blow to Martin, who sliced Tony Stewart's lead to 87 points Sunday. Kurt Busch, who came into the event on a two-race winning streak, led 105 laps but faded and finished third. Busch wasn't disappointed with his finish even though he had one of the stronger cars in the race. Benson knew he had fuel issues to contend with over the final portion of the race because crew chief James Ince told him there was a chance he could run out of gas. And he did -- but it happened during his celebratory doughnuts along the frontstretch. Jeff Burton was fourth, giving Roush Racing three Fords in the top four.

Jeff Gordon finished fifth in a Chevrolet, Mike Skinner was sixth and was followed by Bobby Labonte and Matt Kenseth, the fourth Roush entry. Ricky Craven and Jeff Green rounded out the top 10. Stewart came into the event with a 146-point lead over Martin but had handling problems early in the race, and his Pontiac fell a lap down early. He fought with the car the entire race and finished 14th. He was angry when he exited his Pontiac, stopping only to say the car was the worst he had ever driven. Jimmie Johnson, who was 150 points behind, had a loose wheel that dropped him 12 laps down and he finished 37th. He's now 219 points behind Stewart, probably too great a margin to overcome with just two races left in the season.

NASCAR Busch Grand National Series: Jamie McMurray's magical streak continued as he won the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Sam's Club 200 after Michael Waltrip and Jeff Green crashed each other out of the race with two laps left. Driving a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, McMurray claimed his second straight Busch Series victory. He also won at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte earlier this month in just his second NASCAR Winston Cup start. Green was in front when Waltrip pulled aside the leader. The cars touched and both spun out before hitting the fourth-turn wall. McMurray inherited the lead and drove to victory under the yellow caution flag. McMurray won the previous Busch event at Atlanta Motor Speedway after the leader, Joe Nemechek, ran out of fuel at the end of the race. Points leader Greg Biffle finished second, 0.539 seconds behind McMurray, although he all but clinched the series title. Randy LaJoie was The last pit stops came with 20 laps to go following a caution flag after Curtis Davis hit the wall in the fourth turn. Green retained his lead and was followed by Biffle's Ford. Green led the field to the green flag on lap 181 and began to pull away from Biffle and Waltrip, building a six car-length lead by the time he exited the second turn. Biffle couldn't hold off Waltrip, who took over second place in the third turn.

But after three laps, the yellow flag waved again for debris in the third turn that was left from the earlier crash. The green flag waved again on lap 187 with 11 laps to go. Once again, Green drove away from the field with ease while Waltrip, McMurray and David Green followed. Waltrip wouldn't give up as he put his Chevrolet on the bumper of Green's, leaving the two full-time Winston Cup drivers to settle the race. But a hard crash in the third turn wall by Hermie Sadler and Kerry Earnhardt brought out another caution flag. Earnhardt got into the rear of Sadler's car, turning it sideways and into the wall. Earnhardt was able to drive away from the crash while NASCAR officials brought out the red flag with seven laps remaining to ensure a green flag finish. The green flag waved on lap 194 and the field set out on a four-lap dash to the finish. Waltrip tried to track down the leader, who was just close enough to tantalize the second-place car. But Green slowed in the third turn and Waltrip was able to get within inches of the rear bumper of the leading Chevrolet. That was before the two cars went side-by-side in the third turn, tapped and spun out to decide the race.