Matt DiBenedetto won't let his Glory Days pass him by
Photo by Toyota Racing
SONOMA, Calif.—Glory Days blared from the speakers in the grandstands as Matt DiBenedetto was savoring the moment.
The former Joe Gibbs Racing test driver had just scored his career-first top-five finish in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. And at Sonoma Raceway, finishing fourth was not an easy task.
Despite DiBenedetto’s background on dirt and road courses, it truly took a community to elevate the 27-year-old racer, who grew up about two hours north of the track in Grass Valley, California.
J.D. Gibbs provided DiBenedetto with his initial break. Gibbs' mother Pat received a note about an up-and-coming driver from California, and her son put the wheels in motion. He later lobbied for the young driver to move beyond start-and-park status in the Xfinity Series and into a Cup ride when BK Racing opened in 2015. While the situation was far from ideal, it kept DiBenedetto in the game.
“God, I miss him,” said DiBenedetto of Gibbs, the former president of JGR who lost his battle with a degenerative neurological disease in January. “I miss him so bad. He was one of the greatest people I know. I learned so much from him as a person, more than anything.
“I literally would not be standing here without him today. He had so much to do with this. I wouldn’t have gotten a Cup ride without him. I wouldn’t be here today without him or have the relationship with all those guys. Gosh, I can’t begin to explain how much I miss that guy.”
Joe Gibbs, whose drivers Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch finished first and second, respectively, on Sunday, was one of the first people to congratulate DiBenedetto after the race. The technical alliance Leavine Family Racing shares with JGR and Toyota provided DiBenedetto the opportunity to log laps in the simulator as well as providing a level of engineering support he had never enjoyed during his Cup career.
For the last five years, DiBenedetto has been fighting for a place among stock car’s elite. This season, he landed at LFR,where DiBenedetto has benefited from the guidance of veteran crew chief Mike Wheeler, who had worked with Denny Hamlin over the last four seasons.
DiBenedetto’s potential was on full display in the No. 95 Toyota.
“This is a driver’s track,” DiBenedetto said. “It’s the old, slick worn out Sonoma going back to the qualities that I always think stock car racing should be. We’re sliding around, saving our tires, blowing the rear tires off of it. Doing all the things I love as a stock car racer, with a dirt racing background. That’s why we circle off (road courses) to show our strength as a team.
“Not only me, but I couldn’t do this without my team. I’ve been in underfunded equipment and thankful for that. It’s taught me a lot. I made the most of what I’ve had in year’s past with those teams. But when you get in this kind of equipment and have amazing crew chiefs and engineers surrounding you—and then you come to a driver’s track where we can go out and wheel it, save the tires and execute during the race--those days are special.”
DiBenedetto was also grateful for his Crossfit Catawba Valley family. Sunday’s temperatures climbed into the 90s, by far the warmest day of the weekend. With just two cautions—at the end of stage breaks—there wasn’t ample time for drivers to hydrate over the second half of the 2-hour, 42-minute race.
“It was frickin’ hot, terrible in the car,” DiBenedetto said. “Couldn’t drink that whole second stage. There was no time. It was green. Made it tough physically and mentally. The training came in handy. I’m glad those guys pushed me so hard.”
Fellow NorCal racer AJ Allmendinger mentored DiBenedetto leading up to the race. His friend’s advice to “stay smooth, stay on course and not make mistakes” paid off.
“I really beat that into my head every single lap,” DiBenedetto said.
As the laps wore down in the Toyota/Save Mart 350, he passed Jimmie Johnson for fifth place on Lap 80. In the next six circuits, DiBenedetto moved by Kevin Harvick for fourth and held off Hamlin on the white flag lap.
“It’s amazing just to be racing with those guys and learning from them,” DiBenedetto said. “For us to be driving around them and pass them, those are two guys I have looked up to literally since I was a kid—not to make them sound old—but they’re just good, experienced guys. I’ve learned a lot from them.”
For now, DiBenedetto is concentrating on the positives, not the negative buzz that is circulating regarding his status for next season. With a full slate of drivers at JGR and phenom Christopher Bell waiting in the wings, there are currently only five seats available under the Toyota Cup banner. For a kid who had to sell all of his racing equipment to survive, DiBenedetto understands the sacrifice and determination necessary to survive in NASCAR.
“I’ve learned to become really, really mentally tough over the years and it has been a tough journey,” DiBenedetto said. “My whole career—and I mean every single year of my career—I’ve always had to perform.
“It’s been a tough season. We’ve had speed, just no luck. I’ve always had to perform. I don’t let it get to me. I always say to my wife, because she worries all the time. She worries for me. I tell her, ‘If I perform, the rest of it will take care of itself.’”
DiBenedetto found it fitting that Glory Days provided the backdrop following the best run of his career. But he also understands the importance to live in the present.
“It’s cool,” DiBenedetto said. “These are memories. No one should ever forget how special these memories are. I’ll be telling my kids and hopefully my grandkids these stories one day.”
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