SOUTHLAKE, Texas – Two NASCAR champions – Todd Bodine and Johnny Benson – have filed entries for Sportscar Vintage Racing Ass’n’s Vintage Race of Champions Charity Pro-Am presented by Chopard Watch at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
With the previously announced Mike Skinner, the two bring the number of former NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series champions to 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 race on Aug. 3 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.”
Bodine earned a 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 Xfinity Series race in 1986, Bodine has amassed, in addition to race wins, 21 top 10s and five poles in Cup competition, 160 top 10s and seven poles in Xfinity, and 124 top 10s and seven poles in Truck racing. Bodine is a NASCAR analyst for FOX Sports.
Benson is one of 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 Ass’n 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 total of 18 NASCAR 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 International Race of Champions in 1996, finishing third in the season standings.
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.