BROOKLYN, MI.: Matt DiBenedetto continued a positive six-race stretch for Wood Brothers Racing Sunday at Michigan International Speedway by delivering a sixth-place performance in Sunday’s FireKeepers Casino 400.
DiBenedetto’s performance in the penultimate race of the regular season definitely kept him and his Jonathan Hassler-led team in the spotlight on their quest to earn a win and be apart of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs.
After finishing fifth last weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, DiBenedetto showcased the capabilities of his No. 21 Master Tech | Quick Lane Ford Mustang by leading Lap 3 but in a race that showcased itself as a mini-superspeedway event, DiBenedetto would have to fight the challenges of being shuffled from the front to the back.
DiBenedetto not only received from an early race pit road miscue, but battled back from an ill-handling race car in the latter laps to utilize the final restart with eight laps to go to pick up a few spots and claim his seventh top-10 finish of 2021.
“We had a rocket for a while,” offered DiBenedetto. “Then, something went sideways. We didn’t change anything, but we lost the handle on it. I am not sure what exactly happened. Either way, we made good calls and the team did a good job.”
DiBenedetto credited his crew chief and spotter Doug Campbell for assisting in the rebound and tackling the team’s sixth straight top-11 finish in aggressive fashion.
“We got the day going really good and were really fast and then had some things go wrong,” added DiBenedetto. “We had trouble on a pit stop and had the car go a little off and then had to rebound at the end and fight.
“My spotter Doug (Campbell) does an excellent job, and we work together well. We were super aggressive and made it back up. It was a proud team effort.”
DiBenedetto heads to the regular season finale next weekend at Daytona in a must win situation if he wants to propel himself forward in the quest for a championship in his final season driving the No. 21 Ford Mustang.
The victory would be his first in 237 Cup Series races.
Throughout his tenure at Wood Brothers Racing, DiBenedetto, 29, has always been fast on the superspeedways even if he doesn’t have the finishes to back up their on-track performance.
Earlier this year, however, DiBenedetto finished fifth in the GEICO 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway in April after leading 28 laps.
In 12 Cup starts at the World Cener of Racing, he has three top-10 finishes and an average finish of 21.3 and a best on-track result of 12th last summer driving the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
