Benson Enjoying Homecoming Week

Johnny Benson earned the second pole of his NASCAR Winston Cup career - and first this season - with a speed of 183.332 mph in his Pontiac Grand Prix for Sunday’s DeVilbiss 400 in Brooklyn, Mich.

“It caught me by surprise,” said Benson, who was born and raised a few miles up the road in Grand Rapids but now lives in Charlotte, N.C..

Mark Martin, in a Ford Thunderbird, will start beside Benson, after turning the 2-mile oval at 182.945. Ricky Craven got his Chevrolet Monte Carlo around in 182.927 and will start down low on the second row, just behind Benson.

The only other pole for Benson, who was the NASCAR Winston Cup rookie of the year in 1996, came last season. He has never won a race.

Spokane’s Chad Little drove his Pontiac 181.759 mph, good for the 18th spot.

Pacwest teammates Mauricio Gugelmin and Mark Blundell recorded the fastest laps in provisional qualifying for Sunday’s PPG CART Texaco-Havoline 200 in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

Gugelmin turned a record lap of 142.342 mph on the four-mile, 14-turn road course at Road America to take the provisional pole. Blundell was close behind his teammate with a lap of 142.242.

Mike Bliss, looking for his first victory of the season, won the pole for today’s Craftsman Trucks Federated Auto Parts 250 at Nashville Speedway USA in Tennessee. Bliss drove his Ford to a record lap of 110.495 mph to claim his fifth career series pole.

Jimmy Kite, 21, turned in the second-fastest practice lap in his bid for his first Indy-car victory, Sunday’s IRL Pennzoil 200 in Loudon, N.H. He covered the 1.058-mile oval at New Hampshire International Speedway in 159.933 mph, behind only Scott Goodyear’s 160.729.