TALLADEGA, Ala.: Fighting for his life to stay driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Mustang next season, Matt DiBenedetto nearly pulled off an upset in Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, but instead of finishing second, he was penalized and finished 21st.
In a third NASCAR overtime and running on fumes, DiBenedetto restarted on the inside lane with help from fellow Ford Performance driver Chris Buescher and Denny Hamlin to his outside.
With a push from Buescher, DiBenedetto cleared Hamlin on the backstretch and led the field back to the white flag and that’s when the chaos began.
Doing everything he could to stop the runs, DiBenedetto blocked and eventually shoved William Byron below the yellow flag line entering Turn 4, while Byron recovered, the momentum from the move propelled Hamlin to the bottom and left a dogfight towards the start | finish line.
Hamlin edged DiBenedetto by 0.086-seconds.
Initially, the finish was put under review on whether Hamlin took advantage of the yellow flag rule to score his seventh win of the season. The finish stood with DiBenedetto looking like he had his best finish since finishing second at Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway in February.
“It’s just a crazy finish,” DiBenedetto said thinking he finished second. “I haven’t been able to really process it. I just really want to get this thing in Victory Lane. This Tuscany Faucets team. I feel like this is the same story a lot of times, just heartbreak.
“My wife and I have had a stressful week again just with the uncertainty — always fighting for my life — but I’m so appreciative of this team. The Wood Brothers, I want this 100th win for the Woods so bad.
“Our alliance with Team Penske, Ford — I appreciate them putting me in this car. It’s so much fun to drive and have a shot to win.
“Denny did a great job. Deja vu. Holy cow. Denny deserves all the support in the world. He’s an incredible racer. He was my biggest threat. I tried to block all I could. My spotter, Doug, did a great job. This is tough.”
Little did he know, his night was about to get tougher.
Nearly five minutes after the race, however, NASCAR made the call to penalize DiBenedetto for forcing Byron below the yellow line coming to the checkered flag.
The review cost DiBenedetto to be dropped from second to 21st. Chase Elliott was also punished by NASCAR for the same infraction.
While NASCAR’s decision was unfavorable from the fanbase, the sanctioning body remained consistent after penalizing Joey Logano twice during the race for using the yellow line as a defense.
NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition Scott Miller stood by their decision to penalize DiBenedetto, as they felt it was cut and dry.
“It was pretty clear cut,” said Miller. “The 21 (DiBenedetto) hung a left, drove those guys down below the line. We called that twice on the 22 (Logano) car during the race, so nothing different there.
“On the 24 (William Byron) and the 11 (Denny Hamlin) being down there, I mean, in our judgment they were down there to avoid a wreck.”
DiBenedetto later tweeted about the penalty with a short and sweet sentiment.
“I don’t have many words…just a tough week and that’s at the top of the heartbreak list. Our time will come. Thank you all so much for the support ❤️”
Having your emotions change at Talladega is nothing new. And in fact, it can happen within the blink of the eye.
Matt DiBenedetto will do everything in his power to get Wood Brothers Racing their 100th win before the end of the 2020 season, but the emotions on whether he’ll have a job or not next season will likely see ebbs and flows for days, if not perhaps weeks to come.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
