Benson is on track to be the next first-time winner.(NASCAR's Johnny Benson)(Statistical Data Included)

Lost in this season of debates about autopsy photos, seat belts, HANS devices, rules that don't work and NASCAR's failure to join the 21st century has been some pretty good racing.

April should be even better--if everyone makes it out of Talladega in one piece. What can we look forward to this month? Another short-track race; the season's first week off; one more first-time winner, and renewed feuding between Wonder Boy and Smoke. Oh, yeah, and that trip to Talladega. At least the fans are excited about that one.

The big story this season is that three of the first seven winners are first-rime winners: Michael Waltrip, Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler.

Get ready for Johnny Benson to be the fourth. He almost won at Texas last week before fading on old tires to a third-place finish.

Since joining forces with crew chief James Ince last season, Benson has found a place to showcase his talent. Now that the team is under new ownership and has the support of Hendrick Motorsports and the backing of a top sponsor, its potential is sky-high.

The core of any successful team is based on chemistry, and the relationship between Benson and Ince works.

"The best thing I ever did was move to this race team," Benson says. "It's been great working with James Ince. If I was going to own a race team, I'd want that kind of person who wants to go out there and do whatever it takes to win races and eventually win a championship."