Ince signs two-year deal with MB2 Motorsports

Youngest Crew Chief Says His and Benson's Focus Now Is On Trophies

#10 Aarons Crew Chief James Ince and driver Johnny Benson will stay together through the 2001 and 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup seasons, MB2 Motorsports announced on Tuesday.

Ince agreed to two-year contract on Tuesday to remain with the #10 Pontiac that will be co-owned by MB2 Motorsports and Valvoline beginning in 2001. Benson signed a two-year contract last month when MB2 Motorsports purchased the assets of his and Ince's team Tyler Jet Motorsports

"My goal is to do well and retire from this place some day," said Ince who at 29 years of age is the youngest crew chief in the Winston Cup garage. "We began this year without a sponsor, and without a lot of people thinking we would survive. Through all the bad times our guys stuck around here and our future has never looked brighter."

Ince said the new deal changes nothing on the race track.

"Our goal is to win with the Aarons Pontiac this year and the Valvoline Pontiac next year. If they weren't paying us a dime, we would want to win races. I'd trade all the money in the world for a trophy."

Benson said Ince's signing is another piece in the puzzle of building a successful team.

"You hear about communication between a driver and a crew chief so much because it is so important," Benson said. "I have had a number of crew chiefs dating back to my days in ASA and there haven't been any who I communicated with as well as James. He smart, he's aggressive, and he's a leader. He has the support of the guys on the crew."

MB2 General Manager Jay Fry said this was not a tough decision.

"Keeping Johnny and James together was a priority from the moment that we came in here," Frye said.

"James kept this place together when it would have been real easy to fold up shop and go someplace else. That's leadership. All you have to do is look at their performance on the track this year to see that they all work well with each other. We hope that what they have shown this year is just a taste of what race fans will see in the future."

James Ince Fact Sheet

Name: James Ince

Job: Crew Chief

Date of Birth: 11/24/70

Hometown: Springfield, Mo.

Born: Springfield, Mo.

Resides: Charlotte, N.C.

Family: Son Bobby (6/17/98)

Racing Experience:

Ince is the youngest crew chief in the NASCAR Winston Cup garage. In his career as a crew chief, Ince has posted 24 top 10's, 13 top 5's. Won the pole at Miami and presided over best all time finishes for Johnny Benson, David Green, Kevin Lepage, Ted Musgrave and Rich Bickle.

2000 -- Served as Crew Chief for Johnny Benson as Benson led 38 laps in Daytona 500 and posted a second place finish at Bristol. MB2 Motorsports purchased Tyler Jet's assets in July.

1999 -- In May 1999 Ince joined Tyler Jet Motorsports as crew chief working with David Green and Rich Bickle.

1997 -- Named Crew chief for the Roush car driven by Ted Musgrave.

1996 -- Helped Yates Racing win the 1996 Busch Clash and Daytona 500. Returned to Roush Racing during the year as Jeff Burton's chief mechanic. Served as crew chief for Roush's first truck series win with Martin in N. Wilkesboro.

1995 -- Joined Robert Yates Racing in 1995 as chief mechanic for Dale Jarrett.

1993 -- Joined Roush Racing as mechanic on Mark Martin's Busch Grand National car. Won seven of 14 races entered. Became chief mechanic on Martin's Winston Cup car in August 1993 - Martin won four consecutive races.

1989-'93 True Value Goldwrench Mid-American Regional Crew Chief award winner in 1992. Crew Chief For Larry Phillips in Winston Racing Series. Led National Championship efforts in 1991 & 1992. THE RACE: Southern 500 Winston Cup Race #24 of 34 for the 2000 season