Johnny Benson's Hometown Time Capsule: Inside The Benson Family's Backyard Race Shop!

People would laugh. Not the old people, the old people would get it. We don't call them cheater parts, but they may be in a gray area. My dad and I built the ASA shop next door. The latest date that this was probably made would have probably been in 1993. The first race car from the ground up, I was 13. Chris is, "Where'd you get this?" He points at me and he goes, "Where'd you get this?" I said, "I made it." And he goes, "No, like really, where'd you get this?" I go, "I made it." So, we're in Grand Rapids, Michigan with Johnny Benson and we're going to see uh where he came from. Well, this is kind of where it all started for me. You know, I grew up in this house and then the small side, just been added on a little bit. Small side is actually where I started working in the shops and then this shop here was built with probably when I was like 5 years old and we ran my dad's cars through there. And then we also build uh race cars, parts, pieces, quick change rear end spindles. We do all kinds of stuff. So, most of that all took place here. When I started racing and started I started on the dirt and then I was outside. We didn't have the other shop or this shop yet and then we finally built this when I started late in my uh late model stuff and then when I started running ASA, I then I run that out of this garage. So, my majority of my life I've spent in this shop though. Let's see what's in there. We have not been in there yet. We try not to we try not to see or ask any questions that before we start filming so it's uh Probably not a bad thing. Probably got to figure out to turn the lights on and then uh watch and learn at the same time we do. Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, Shelby's going to Yeah, come on in. We get lights. See what that light is. It's very dark in here. So, hopefully your camera will uh we're doing. So, my dad, he you know, he still does some stuff in here and things of that nature. Uh with uh spindles and axle tubes and things of that nature, but um we used to have a plate that I pushed back in that corner and then we'd actually pull it out here to uh uh to build the cars. So, um I mean, we weren't building tons of cars, but I I think I've I probably built about 200 of them over the years. So, I'm not we're but we do maybe four or five during the off-season for customers and it could be asphalt, it could be dirt. And and then of course all the parts and mainly do parts is what we do. So, we do uh spindles and like I say, quick change rear ends and stuff like that and my dad also makes or used to make spindles for Larry Shaw. He's um uh build them for um other people also and then of course we use that all that stuff on our own cars. The way it is in here is the same way it's always been pretty much? Pretty close. I mean, it's uh I mean, it's it's it's small. Of course, we added on in the back so the the back's, you know, we got tubing and things of that nature. Now, that that wasn't here most of my time, but um at the at the end it was. So, then uh a lot of old, you know, things of that nature. So, we don't like I say, we don't build cars anymore. When I moved down south in what, '94, I was when I built the cars. So, when when that happened, my dad didn't do anything with the cars. I I took care of that. And then so he continued on with the the parts and like uh uh axle tubes and spindles, things of that nature and brake ducts and dump cans. He did for Motor State uh or Lane Automotive. Up until recently, I think that my dad's 86 now and uh axle tubes are kind of heavy so he's like, "I don't want to make those anymore." So, he doesn't uh he doesn't carry on with that. Now, he still does dump cans. Did he build the shop and the addition himself or He did. He had built the shop. He he actually built the house. So, my sister was born he started on the house. He finished the house when I was born. And then I of course he built that. Um I remember him building this. My dad and I built the ASA shop next door. And so I I think I believe I probably helped on this this back part of the addition, but um yeah, my dad is is he's he's going to make it or he's going to build it. He doesn't uh farm job a lot of stuff out. I mean, that's where I learned pretty much everything, you know, this as a kid I would come down and watch him. At times I'd watch him weld and then I thought that was kind of cool and uh then pretty soon he's like teaching me how to weld and it wasn't long and then I was um welding aluminum race seats at 7 years old. So, that was uh that was kind of crazy and then I ran some of the machinery up in the um the machine shop and you know, cut pieces and and then as as the years go, you know, he keeps teaching you more and more stuff. So, I actually built the first race car from the ground up, I was 13. Uh frame, I mean, bend it, build it, welded it and the whole deal I was 13 years old. You did that in here? I did was just right here. When you're standing in here looking at some of these parts and pieces or things on the wall, what comes to your mind? Like what are you drawn to? You come in here and you're going to look at something and think about a fond memory, where do you go? That's a great question. I've never been asked that. Um I you know, I always picture you know, the the jig and like you say, we wheeled it back here, we wheeled it up there and I don't know if I really think of of one thing. Um you know, spindles we made at many st- he's he's got a bunch on the shelf, you know, people this and that, whatever, but or and he doesn't he doesn't make them near as much as he used to. A lot of places now have uh like Shaw and all them, they've you know, of course they're down in uh Arkansas so if they they started making their own stuff and and so it's been less and less and then of course when I built I still built cars when I was down North Carolina up until about 7 years ago. And my dad would make all the spindles for that. So, um he's slowing down. He's slowing down a little bit and enjoys working outside, playing with the garden. He does still some machining here and there and and some welding. People want something fixed or something, he does all that now. She doesn't care we're trying to film something. She's like just throwing a ball. It's all good. It's awesome. You know, all this machinery was here when I was a kid. So, this stuff's been around for a long time. These things are dangerous. I remember I've been I've been hit a couple times with the belts and stuff like that and and I mean, so that thing's I couldn't tell you how old that is. Let's see, it's got to be I bet you it's at least 45 years old. This welder, I mean, I remember getting that or my dad getting that when I was probably 18 1890s 1820 somewhere in there. And um and they don't make it anymore cuz I was it's probably the best welder I've ever welded with and uh w- when I was down there when I was start building cars uh uh down down in the south there. Now, most of our stuff came up here. My dad our stuff that we build doesn't they don't race down there. So, the stuff will come up here, but I was looking for a welder and I wanted to get one of those. My dad tried to find one. He says, "I don't I don't think they make them anymore." And I said, "I'll buy a brand new new one and I'll take that one." He goes, "No." But um that is even today that's still the best welder I've ever welded with and and he's I mean, like I say, that thing's every bit of 40 years old and I don't think it's ever been worked on. It's it's incredible. I'd uh like I say, I tried to buy one and I I couldn't. Is the welder that you used when you were 7 still in here? That is not. I think that I don't know where that one's at. I don't know um unless it's held back in the other shop. I've not seen it in many years so I don't know if it exists. Where was your work station when you were making a seat or spindle or something like that? Right here. We do all that. Now now as far as welding and things of that nature, obviously use all the equipment, saws and and and all that stuff to uh create the pieces, but this piece of steel has been there as long as I can remember. And and this piece here, we always use that to clamp stuff on and move it around. It's been there for a long time. Of course, we heat by drain oil. I mean, that was here when I was a kid. Not not not quite that old. We we had uh we used wood to start with, but um now I just use the drain oil stuff, but I was I was I was probably in my 20s when he when he built that. So, it's been been working for many years. Normally when we do these things, we go into a building and there's nothing in there and then people are like, "This is where the welder was. This is where the work bench was." But This is all still here cuz my dad still utilizes it. This is like a time machine. Everything is is there. This is really cool. Head back here is this pipe bender I learned learned on and and it's still Now, this is probably it every bit as old as I was cuz my dad built cars obviously when I was four or five years old. So, I mean, this is this has been a something that uh that thing's got to be 50 years old. And it still works. Crazy how it how good it works. What are those wheels from? So, these I I can't take one out and they got a pipe in it. So, these uh my dad actually made these. So, my dad when he first started off, he was in partnership with a guy with safety racing. And so those wheels or I don't know what the I don't know if he got the he's got some upstairs that are two-piece that he built for the wheels when he ran certain modifieds. And then he actually made these. These were I think were on the super also. But then we ran it on uh uh my dad's late model car when raced out at out at Berlin. So, those I couldn't tell you how old those are. And um but they're they're magnesium. And then uh now this one is uh a little bit a little bit different. This is uh we got this from uh one of the guys that runs um my dad runs certain modified with and I think I believe that's a titanium wheel. And then of course we we did a lot of our own wheel. Like we didn't make the we didn't make the shells, but we made the tabs and we would uh put our own wheels together for most of the racing I did. Even up in through ASA, we did our own wheels cuz we didn't heat them and get them as perfect as you could. And uh sometimes buying a wheel, they're not perfect and it's one thing my dad is always big on was you needs to be as perfect as you can. We bought the shells, I think out of Iowa and then uh we had uh burned the tabs out and stuff and made fixtures, put them together and and spun them in a lathe to get them straight and then weld them up. So, made a lot of fair amount of wheels to of my day. Jeez. This is a This saw has been here again as I've been here. And you got all this old equipment is better than anything you'd buy today. Yeah, works very well. I'd take any of this over something you could walk out of a Now, obviously, it's probably put had bearings put into it and probably different motor by now cuz I that thing that thing ran all the time. Every car that you you build was cut off this. Every axle tube that my dad built was cut off this. All the nubbings uh he did all the machining for the nubbings for Bobby Senneker that builds He builds spindles, also. And so, my dad machined all the nubbings and then he would build his own spindles for his stuff. And and he built them, I think, for left-handers or something like that for many years. So, between all the solid bar that this thing's cut and all the chromoly tubing for the axle tubes, she's it's uh I couldn't I I wish we could have kept track of uh how many axle tubes that he had built. When Lane was buying them, he'd buy 30, 40 a week and for as many years as I could remember up in up until recently. I think it I think it was maybe 3 4 years ago, I think my dad finally quit making uh uh axle tubes for the uh quick change rears. I don't even know what to say. This is really neat. He's got like a whole factory in the backyard. Yeah, and there is I mean, it's it's uh my dad doesn't throw anything away. We got fixtures. I don't even know what that fixture's for up there and can't remember and he does he doesn't he doesn't throw stuff away, which is fine. Yeah, some of this stuff is from my my dad's race cars, jigs and pieces. Some of it's mine. Some of it's our dirt stuff that um dirt car stuff that we had uh ran and it's just um Yeah, it's crazy some of the some of the things that get the brake brake ducts that my dad uh make sure they're and we do we make everything on them. We you know, spin the we spin them in the lathe and then, of course, you get two out of each one. You got to you scribe them and cut them out and then you have to obviously, bend them and drill the hole and put that in. I couldn't tell you how many of those I made. Usually, you make those, you make about 50 60 pair at a time. So, you're uh in the dump cans um you know, they start Look at that one. He must have cut this one off one. Um but we roll the roll the cones, we roll the bottoms. We got a roller out back for that and then you weld them up. I always like seeing the the little efficiency things that people come up with in their shops like it's kind of how it builds itself. Like, I want to put this here. I need an airline there or like that. The little crane there, was that there cuz you used to put the chassis Yeah, we lift the chassis up on it and or flip them over and and uh you know, it rolls all the way back here, so you can roll it you know, front to back and you know, like say when I was young and less smaller, I couldn't move them. Like now, I don't have a crane at my place. I just pick them up and roll them, but uh today's stuff's a little bit lighter, but I can I can theoretically roll a chassis over and and weld it and and things of that nature without the crane. The crane would be nice, but I my ceiling of my shop's a lot higher, so I I haven't figured out how to how to hook one of those up in there without getting a scissor lift or something like that, but What's in the uh the ASA shop? Well, we can go take a look at it if you'd love to. Yeah, let's see what's in there. I'm sure there's more stuff to look at in there, but I also want to see what's in there, too. Yeah, probably not. It's kind of like a storage place now. Now, now the If you We can go upstairs in there and there's all kinds of stuff. All the ASA stuff up there. How old were you when you decided that uh being a race car driver is what you wanted to do? I don't To be perfectly honest, I don't know if I ever looked at it that way. I didn't have um at my time, I would say, "Okay, I'm going to go I'm going to start driving." So, the the story on that first car that I built by myself as far as a chassis was is I I built it and my dad says, "Well, we need to make it a roller," which is not unusual. So, he you know, put all the A-frames, spindles, rear end and stuff like that and get that done and then he was like, "Well, put the interior in it," which we we did a fair amount of that. A lot of people like doing their own, but um we would do that. So, I did that and I got to that part where it was done and then all of a sudden he goes, "Well, start putting a body on it." And it was a dirt car at the time. And I was like, "Look, we don't do bodies. We do on our own stuff, but usually customers we don't do bodies. They they do that." And so, I started putting a body on it. And this whole time, I knew every car that was built, who it was for and things of that nature. Well, I'm like, "Who's this car for?" Well, he'd never say anything and then uh one day a customer came in and he was wanting a dirt car and anyways, we get talking and I says, "Well, we got this one, but I'm putting a body on it and all that." Well, he ended up buying the car and when he left cuz I was always in this shop. My dad was mainly up in the other shop unless he was making welding spindles and stuff and and then he was like, "Who was that?" And I go, "I don't know. His name's Chris. That's all I do." And I said he goes and I said, "Well, he bought that car." And the look on his face, I was like cuz I was like I didn't know whose it was and all that and then he was like "Well, well, we were going to finish I was going to let you drive it." And um and and drive it on the dirt stuff and uh and at that point in time, I I was like I like just working on cars and building them. I really didn't have the the desire to say, "Hey, I want to go race." And so, he never brought it up again and um I did drive his car once and somebody else's once just like a practice thing and I was like I can just build cars. It'll be fine. I like working on my dad's car. I like going out there. And and then it was uh my dad retired in I think it was '81. And at that point in time, I was like, "Well, who's going to race for the business then?" And that's when I built the car to go race. And then I I did build the dirt car. I ran 3 years of dirt and then uh then between working here and trying to race the race car and then at that point in time before I had a full-time job in tool and die, also. So, I was trying to work all these all these jobs and I was starting to get burned out and I was like so, I took a year off and then I'd go to the track, help some customers and then just basically, you know, I worked and then um and then worked here, too. Then I got to the point where I built a Nashville car and then started running out at at Berlin Raceway. So, that would have been Let's see. I ran '80 '82 '83 '84, took '85 off, so '86 I started running out of at Berlin and then I ran there 4 years and ran pretty good, but we built like the spindles and rear ends and stuff for uh Butch Miller, which he's not far from here. They were in Coopersville. And when Butch moved down south to run some of the uh the cup stuff and all that, the owner of that asked me to drive the ASA car. So, that's how I got started in ASA. And and of course, I said I says, "Yeah, I don't care." I said it'd be kind of cool. And then I thought, "I don't want to run 300-lap races." You know, I like the 50-lap uh 40-50-lap races. So, that was that was uh interesting to to do that and I think that's what kind of paved the way to uh to move forward, but I really didn't look like, "Okay, what's my next thing?" I just was My dad always taught me, "Run where you're at, be good at what you do, try to win a championship and then move on." And then so, that's kind of what I did. And then we won a championship and then I went to the ASA thing. Well, we went through that and we're fortunate enough to win that. And then I started getting calls from down south and and so, then I did make um that jump to go down there, but it was it wasn't planned to do that. It was just it just happened. So, after Johnny Benson left this shop here in Michigan, he went down to North Carolina, won the Busch Series championship with MB2 Motorsports. He moved to the Cup Series. Johnny's big break in the NASCAR Cup Series came in the Pennzoil car with Bobby Allison which we have actually done a video inside that shop, too. And it was in that Pennzoil car that he established himself as a Cup Series regular. And if you have eyeballs or can read the car behind me here, you'll know that we are also sponsored by Pennzoil and have been for several years now. I can stand here for a long time and tell you till I'm blue in the face why Pennzoil Platinum is a great motor oil, but that's not the point here. The point here is that us as automotive enthusiasts and racing fans, we need to support brands that support things that we've liked. Every single race car you have ever liked watching would not have been on that track without a sponsor. Especially in the '90s, it was really well known that NASCAR fans were super sponsor loyal. I'll buy products that are…