My interview with George Benson

Updated on Sunday, September 4, 2011 at 3:20 PM by Logan Molen

George Benson in driver's suit by the Watson-Offy he drove at the March 1968 Hanford 200-mile Champ Car race. Oliver Johnson, owner of the midgets Benson drove from 1963-70 is just right of Benson. Benson's fishing buddy Ted Matta is at the far right. A friend of Johnson's is at the far left. (Photo courtesy of George Benson)George Benson accomplished many things in his long career as a racer, car builder and author -- Turkey Night Grand Prix winner and inductee of the Motor Sports Press Association Hall of Fame -- and he may be among the very few who raced during all three major incarnations of Marchbanks Stadium, Marchbanks Speedway and Hanford Motor Speedway. 

Benson's time at the Hanford track covered a half-dozen races, beginning in 1955 in a jalopy and ending in two 1968 appearances in Champ Cars. His high finish at the track was a 1959 hardtop win. 

Benson is the author of "The Racing Years: A Memoir of the Life and Times of a Racer, 1952 to 1987." The 472-page book has 157 photos and tons of info on West Coast dirt track racing during that period, as well as a few branches into race trips in the Midwest and Indy. There's also a complete history of the 26 GMB midget race cars Benson built from 1968-85. If you're an aficionado of West Coast racing during this period, particularly at San Jose and Kearney Bowl speedways or car design and construction, you'll appreciate the detail.

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