NASCAR MODELS by MR NASCAR

JOHNNY BENSON'S 2000 LYCOS PONTIAC (Daytona Version)!!

A strong run in this machine in the twin 125 qualifier caught the eye of the dot-com wunderkids at LYCOS, and they came aboard for the 500. After JB ran upfront all day, and durn near won the thing, LYCOS came on board for the rest of the year. Within a few races, the plain white wrapper had been replaced with a spiff blue, graphics-laden livery, and the 10 car looked like all the rest out there...

But, somethin' in the deal went sour, apparently LYCOS did not meet their commitments in the eyes of team owner Tim Beverly, and the LYCOS signage was ceremoniously removed prior to the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July, and the plain white car, sans sponsor, ran until Aaron's came on board a few races later. Just prior to that, Beverly had sold the team to MB2 Motorsports and Johnny became Kenny Schrader's team mate.

This model represents Johnny's car as it ran at the 2000 Daytona 500. The decal sheet has options for several other versions of the white car (see below...)

The sheet started from some simple number graphics Sam had sent me a few months back, in response to a specific request. Sam had prepared the red numbers only for this car. The Twin 125 car, and the PEPSI 400 car could be built using these and SLIXX contingency decals. At 3 Amigos, we refer to these as the "non-LYCOS" decal set. I thought it would make a neat model, and I'd even got as far as building the chassis, and painting up a plain vanilla body.

But other things (Snoopy, UPS...) seemed to come up, and in late December it was still sittin' on my desk, without the numbers. Then my issue of UMI's 2000 NASCAR yearbook arrived, and there was a glorious shot of the 10 car as it ran at Daytona in the first LYCOS livery. This particular car had to have been cobbled up literally overnight!

I looked at the picture... I looked at my scanner... and after few sorties with Photoshop, using Sam's numbers as a rough template, and some images from the LYCOS homepage, I had all the decals I needed for the Daytona car and more! Further on in the book was another early LYCOS shot, still in white, but now the outline of a dog's head in front of the rear wheelwells, and "Learnframe.com" signage (I have no idea... I just went to their site, and found the logos I needed; didn't read it...) had appeared. No idea what race... I was also able to reproduce these, and Voila! I had my first-ever graphics sheet actually using graphics I'd made, with the capability to build at least four versions of the car; early in 2000, and midway thru the season, after Lycos, but before Aaron's. I chose to build the Daytona car, although a chance to use those dogs and other graphics I'd made was mighty tempting!

This is a very easy car to do. Entire body, including spoiler, is white, with a narrow blue strip around the bottom, and a DayGlo orange strip around the nosecone, for Daytona. I started with PlastiKote white prime, sanded with 600 grit, then several coats of a Canadian Tire Chrysler white touchup lacquer, applied direct from a warmed up rattle-can.

Once the body was sprayed, decal application was simple. Headlights, tire, and grille screen decals came from the war wagon, and the fender contingency decals were from the SLIXX 2000 grouped sponsors decal sheet, and the Revell 2000 CAT Pontiac.

Interior is 1979 Ford Dove Gray. Chassis buildup was normal process, with only oil lines, and plug wires added under the hood to fill out the engine compartment. Seatbelts were added, and a radio mic speaker wire coiled around the padded steering column. Dual valvestems were added to the wheels, and flat fan-style exhaust dumps were scratchbuilt..

Once all decals had had 24+ hours to dry, I applied several LIGHT coats of TAMIYA TS13 clear from the heated aerosol can (Hot Tap Water, only!!). This was left to dry a few days, and then I polished with green Turtle polishing compound.

I am delighted with the way this model turned out, and knowing I created some of the graphics really adds to the sense of accomplishment!

So, what's in store for JB in '01?? All's well that ends well, and JB goes into the season in a few weeks with a good team, and a good sponsor, Valvoline, who moved from Mark Martin after Roush had priced himself beyond Valvoline's means. Hopefully, that first win, and many more, that have eluded JB for his first five years in WC will come in '01, and he'll have a claim to fame beyond straight man on INSIDE WINSTON CUP...

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