Avondale, Ariz. – It wasn’t exactly the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut Matt DiBenedetto had envisioned, but the BK Racing driver gained priceless experience during Sunday’s CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix (Ariz.) International Raceway.
After failing to qualify the past two weeks at Atlanta (Ga.) Motor Speedway and Las Vegas (Nev.) Motor Speedway, the Grass Valley, California native successfully qualified on speed Friday afternoon ensuring three BK Racing cars would start a race the first time in 2015.
Prior to the green flag, DiBenedetto and his team kept their objectives simple. And with the lofty goal of just seeing the checkered flag, DiBenedetto stayed out of trouble and finished exactly where he started, 35th.
While the finish isn’t anything to personally boast about, DiBenedetto said it was more about than just the finishing result Sunday.
“I’m very thankful to the whole BK Racing team for giving me this opportunity,” said DiBenedetto. “We protected the car all day for next week and I’m very excited to run more races with them. I couldn’t have asked for more from my Cup debut.”
And while DiBenedetto out-qualified his BK Racing teammates Friday afternoon, teammates J.J. Yeley and fellow rookie Jeb Burton finished slightly ahead in 31st and 34th respectively. Still, the 23-year old’s performance on Sunday was enough to please owner Ron Devine.
“Matt did a great job all day,” Devine said. “We were very impressed with his pace and ability to keep the car clean, especially at a track like Phoenix. The BK Racing team can’t wait to continue to work with him and continue to get better finishes.”
DiBenedetto will attempt to qualify for his second Sprint Cup race next weekend at Auto Club (Calif.) Speedway. The former Joe Gibbs Racing development driver has one prior start at the 2.0-mile track last season in XFINITY Series competition driving for The Motorsports Group (TMG).
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