At the Talladega Superspeedway, Matt DiBenedetto went from hero to zero in a split second. The driver came ever so close to taking a win, and ultimately finished 2nd. Unfortunately, he was hard done in by a late penalty that dropped him from 2nd to 21st.
Speaking to the media just after the race, he confessed that it was such a crazy finish that he could barely process it. DiBenedetto admitted that he simply wanted to get the car into Victory Lane. Talking about his emotions, he revealed, “I feel like it’s the same story. A lot of times, it’s just heartbreak. But I’m so appreciative of this team, I want this 100th win for Woods so bad.”
Matt DiBenedetto insisted that the car is a lot of fun to drive and he had a shot to win. However, he admitted that Denny Hamlin drove incredibly well and he deserved the win.
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What else did Matt DiBenedetto say?
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The 29-year old knew that Hamlin posed the biggest threat to him. So he tried his level best to block him as much as possible. DiBenedetto also revealed that he had a sense of deja vu from Bristol, where he led at the restart. The driver also confessed that his filthy windshield made his job even more difficult.
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As a parting note, he assured that he was happy that the fans got their money’s worth of entertainment. At the end of the day, he hopes that he can finally win races and he is confident that he can win.
It is worth noting that DiBenedetto’s future in NASCAR is a little uncertain. This is because he does not know whether the Wood Brothers Racing team will retain his services next season in the No. 21 ride. Sadly, he lost the joy of 2nd place by a post-race penalty. Apparently, he forced William Byron out of bounds on the final turn of the final lap of the YellaWood 500 playoff race.