SVRA - NASCAR CHAMPIONS BENSON, BODINE ENTER VROC AT IMS

Todd Bodine last year, at the SVRA Vintage Race of Champions

 

Former Truck Series Champions Add More NASCAR Muscle To VROC Field   

Southlake, TX (July 25, 2019) – Two NASCAR champions – Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson – have filed entries for Sportscar Vintage Racing Association’s (SVRA) Vintage Race of Champions (VROC) Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS). With the previously announced Mike Skinner, the two bring the number of former NASCAR Truck Series Champions to a total of three. Benson is one of only three Truck champions to also win the Xfinity series, bringing home that trophy in 1995. The VROC Pro-Am August 3 race is part of the sixth SVRA Brickyard Invitational, now a classic on the American vintage racing calendar.

“These two champions bring a lot of NASCAR muscle to our VROC field, and we are honored to have them,” said SVRA President and CEO Tony Parella. “We’ve already announced Mike Skinner and, more recently, Bobby Labonte. Stay tuned, we have a stellar field lining up with us.”

Todd Bodine earned a career total of 37 NASCAR wins, with 22 in Trucks and 15 more in the Xfinity series. He won the Truck series championship in 2006 and again in 2010. In a NASCAR career that extends back to a single Busch series (now Xfinity) race in 1986, Bodine has amassed, in addition to race wins, 21 top tens and five poles in Cup competition, 160 top tens and seven poles in Xfinity, and 124 top tens and seven poles in Truck racing. Todd is a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports.

Benson is one of only 37 drivers to have won a race in all three of NASCAR’s major series – Cup, Xfinity, and Trucks. He is also one of only three drivers to have won championships in Xfinity and Trucks, the others being Greg Biffle and Austin Dillon. Early in his career, Benson also scored an American Speed Association (ASA) championship in 1993. He was ASA rookie-of-the-year in 1990, and also won the same honor after stepping up to the Cup series in 1996.  

Benson has a career total of 18 NASCAR race victories with one in Cup, three in Xfinity, and 14 in Trucks. His Xfinity and Truck championships came in 1995 and 2008 respectively. He represented the Xfinity series in the IROC invitational in 1996, finishing an impressive third in the season standings. Other drivers in the VROC field with IROC on their resumes include Johnny Rutherford, Bobby Labonte, Geoff Brabham, Davy Jones, Roberto Guerrero, and Mark Dismore.

The VROC Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch is a Saturday feature event at the Brickyard Invitational. The cars are 1963 to 1972 vintage Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs of SVRA “Group 6” A and B Production.  The professionals will be paired with amateur drivers. Amateurs will start the race and be required to drive a maximum of seven laps.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Brickyard Invitational VROC Charity Pro-Am will benefit the Morgan Adams Foundation. The foundation supports laboratory and clinical research in the area of pediatric cancer, with an emphasis on tumors on the brain, spine, and central nervous system. Morgan Adams was a five-year-old girl who lost her battle with brain cancer in 1997. The foundation has a history of working with vintage racers to support their cause.

In addition to the Pro-Am, there will be a festival of other activities at the Brickyard Invitational including professional Trans Am by Pirelli series races on Saturday and Sunday. The weekend also presents the Hagerty Insurance “cars & caffeine” car corral, and 300+ vintage racers ranging over 100 years of automotive history racing in SVRA Groups 1 through 12.

Brickyard Invitational ticket information: Fans can order Brickyard Vintage Racing Invitational tickets for either or both days of the event online through the Speedway or by calling 800-822-INDY or 317-492-6700 between 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday.  Fans can also visit the ticket office at the IMS Administration Building at 4790 West 16th Street between 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (ET) Monday through Friday. Tickets for groups of 20 or more also are available. Contact the IMS Group Sales Department at (866) 221-8775 for more information. Children 15 and under are admitted free each day when accompanied by an adult. RV camping passes in the IMS infield start at $60 and camping access begins Friday, August 2.

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Volume 2019, Issue 7, Posted 8:47 AM, 07.25.2019