Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang, is battling for one of the final NASCAR Cup Series playoff positions in this weekend’s regular-season finale at Daytona International Speedway. He was part of a question and answer session with members of the media this afternoon and talked about his situation.
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Menards/Dutch Boy Ford Mustang – HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO GET TO THIS REGULAR SEASON FINALE? “I don’t know if it’s excited or anxious or what the emotion is. It’s definitely different going to Daytona with so much on the line than if we were going to a regular short track or whatever you want to call it.”
HAS THERE BEEN DISCUSSION WITHIN PENSKE OF PUTTING THEIR EFFORT BEHIND YOU? “Nothing definite yet, and the thing about Daytona is you can only plan so much, but I think the things we as a team could count on is obviously that we have excellent teammates in Brad, Joey and Ryan, and a lot of great Fords out there. I think the things we can count on is when the situations present themselves, I know that they will work with us well. We’ve always worked with each other very well and I think that they will be sure to not put us in a bad situation. It may be hard to plan. You can come up with all these great plans and be like, ‘We’re gonna work together and we’re gonna line up and do this and that,’ but there are also a lot of other race cars out on the track that will interfere with those plans. But what you can try and do is to not put each other in bad positions and maybe that’s more something that you can plan on and work for, so it’s very tough to plan things at Daytona, but I know we’ll work together very well and they’ve said they’ll work with us.”
DO YOU WANT LOTS OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE IN POINTS DURING THE RACE? “That’s really gonna be our whole race and our intention is gonna be focused on those guys that we’re racing for the playoff spot, and also knowing that there could be a surprise winner in there, too. Somebody could jump in the playoffs as well that’s outside of it right now. Daytona is known for situations like that, so there’s gonna be a lot of variables and things, but that will be a big part of the focus is maybe coming to the end of stages, where those guys are, and then obviously towards the end of the race. It’s probably gonna be a game of survival when it comes down to the very end, especially as desperate as a lot of people will be, but, yeah, we’ll be paying pretty close attention to what those guys are doing, where they’re at, if they’re getting into any trouble or anything like that, but it changes lap by lap at Daytona so we’ll probably do that what you asked within reason.”
WON’T THAT BE TOUGH WHEN YOU’RE TRYING TO FOCUS ON WHAT’S HAPPENING ON THE TRACK? “Yeah, Daytona and superspeedway racing is already hard enough as it is, so my big thing is to make sure that we don’t overcomplicate it and I think our team is pretty good about that. I know my spotter, Doug, and everybody is very good about that. We understand that there’s only so much that you can plan for, so I think we’re making sure we focus on some of the things we can control, pay attention real well through the race, but we’re not gonna over-do it and over-plan, we’re still gonna try and execute it just like any other race for the most part because we can plan all day long and then you drop the green flag and it’ll all go right out the window because there are so many other cars out there trying to get up front and do their thing, especially when you get to the end of the race. All hell will just break loose most likely, so we don’t want to over-think and over-plan it.”
IS THE PRESSURE BECAUSE JIMMIE JOHNSON IS TRYING TO GET IN OR JUST THE FACT IT’S DAYTONA? IT SEEMS YOU HAVE A PACK OF DOGS CHASING YOU. “Yeah, I would say yes to all those things that you said. That kind of sums it up pretty good because there’s just so much going on. It’s a very chaotic week with it being a cutoff race at Daytona. As far as where my emotions are at I haven’t been able to answer it real well because it’s like, man, am I excited that we have a shot to make the playoffs? For sure. Am I frustrated that we had a much bigger cushion and we had a bad couple Dover races and lost a whole bunch of points? Yeah. Am I a little uneasy knowing that the cutoff race is Daytona and not like a short track or some more straightforward race? Yeah. So, pretty much yes to all of those answers, but, like I was saying earlier, all I can do is – luckily I think my experience will pay off and the fact I don’t really get spun out, I’ve been through extremely stressful situations in my life. That’s what my career has been fully comprised of, so nothing really fazes me a whole lot at this point in my career, so all I can do is just not really stress. I let my wife do all the stressing for me. She’s been a basket case of emotion this week, so I pretty much hold it together and just know that whatever is meant to happen will happen and all we can do is do the best we can.”
HOW DO YOU FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE GOING INTO A RACE LIKE THIS WITH SO MANY VARIABLES? “I think just my path and my journey to get here has been so out of the ordinary and so tough, where I fight and claw. It’s just taught me that all I can do is worry about what I can control because there are always gonna be things that are out of my control that I really just can’t sit and worry about too much, and my path to get here has taught me that because I have pushed and pushed and pushed as hard as humanly possible and dedicated my entire life to it, but even aside from all the hard work, a million different things out of my control had to happen for me to still be here and this playoff situation is another one of those instances that my whole career has been packed full of is there’s gonna be things that are out of mine and our control because Daytona is just kind of a crazy race. You can’t be in control of what everybody does in the field that can affect you, so as my dad put it this week he was like, ‘Do the best you can and the rest of it is gonna be in God’s hands, so don’t sit and worry about it too much all week.’”
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? SO YOU VIEW IT AS VALIDATION? “Yeah, I think so. Again, because of my path to get here I appreciate all the little things a whole lot more and this is a big thing. If, and hopefully we make the playoffs, I know my wife would be just absolutely in tears crying and it would be a very special moment for us that just kind of is a small glimpse into the appreciation that we would have as a family for just making the playoffs because the path to get here has really consisted of a lot of fighting and clawing and the little things that make you appreciative, so, yeah, it’s a big deal, but also that was the goal going into the season with a good team here that we knew we could make it into the playoffs. So I would be excited to get in and make it, but also knowing that if we make them we would really be able to perform well in the playoffs, especially looking at the tracks that are ahead and we’ve been getting better as a team – just forget about Dover – but aside from that we’ve been really getting better and faster as a team, so we feel not only just make them and be there, I feel like we fully deserve to be there and compete in the playoffs.”
HOW HARD IS IT TO NOT LOOK AHEAD? “I think I’m a one step at a time kind of guy. Honestly, I’ve been so focused solely on making the playoffs that I forgot Darlington was even the race next week after Daytona until I saw a commercial for it, so if that shows you how one-track minded I’ve been on getting to Daytona and making the playoffs, so I’m just kind of a one step at a time kind of guy, but, to your point, this stuff is life-changing for me if we make the playoffs because not only knowing that we could just make them and be there, knowing that we have the speed and the team to really go and compete and hopefully make it through rounds and make a big splash in the playoffs and you’re in the fight for a championship. All that is a huge deal and a life-changer for me and a really big deal for this whole team, so there’s a lot on the line and it’s gonna work out however it’s supposed to work out, I guess. I really, really hope that we make it in this thing because it’s gonna mean a lot to all of us.”
HOW DOES THIS WEEK COMPARE TO WHAT YOU WERE FEELING AND EXPERIENCING? ARE YOU MORE RELAXED AT THIS MOMENT? “Luckily, I don’t think anything quite matches the emotion I was going through around this time last year when I was unsure if I had a job or anything. That was next level, so this situation is a little bit different, but stuff like that though, the example you gave, my situation last year and all that is what’s made me a lot mentally tougher to come up on instances like this, where there’s a lot of pressure and a lot on the line — going into Daytona, which is crazy, and trying to make the playoffs and your whole season basically rides on right now. A lot of normal people would probably be freaking out and on edge, kind of like my wife is. That would be normal. She’s having a normal reaction. She’s kind of a basket case every day and having heart failure and just can’t wait until Saturday night gets here and praying every day that we make the playoffs. Those are normal human reactions to this type of stressful situation, and I think I’ve just been groomed and been through so much stress and crazy situations to fight to get here that being in this really tough situation has made me extremely mentally tough and prepared for something like this to where I’m able to stay very focused.”
LAST NIGHT OTHER SPORTS LEAGUES POSTPONED GAMES IN LIGHT OF RACIAL INJUSTICE AROUND THE WORLD. WAS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT DOING SOMETHING THIS WEEKEND OR ADDRESSING THAT AS A GROUP? “No, honestly I’ve just been so focused on competition stuff. I’ve been pretty well removed from anything else, but I’m just proud and glad that I was raised very well by a great family. I love and respect all people no matter their color or race or anything like that. It’s just a crazy year.”
HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE A SHOT AT THE PLAYOFFS NOT ONLY FOR YOURSELF, BUT THE WOOD BROTHERS AS WELL? “It’s crazy the timing of everything is unreal and that’s kind of the stuff I was talking about earlier of so many things happening out of my control. The timing of all these things like go to BK Racing and then the 32 and then the 95, Kasey Kahne had to step out of that ride and retire for me to have that shot, and then Paul Menard had to step out and retire for me to get the 21. The timing, everything has worked out perfect, and to drive the 21 car is unreal and, yeah, it’s a big deal for us – for the 21 team, for the Wood Brothers, for us to be fighting. To make the playoffs would be an amazing accomplishment for us and for the team most importantly. It’s so cool to be having this opportunity, but I think 2020 has been a crazy year, a lot of variables thrown in that we didn’t expect, but I think us as a team are just getting started. I really feel like we have a lot of room for improvement still. I feel like we’re just barely getting on our feet to be honest with you. I think in years to come we have way, way more to continue to gain. We’re just barely getting going and 2020 obviously threw a lot at us when we’re a new team, new crew trying to work together. My first year with the team and everything. I feel like there’s a long ways to go and a lot of great things to come with us together.”
STARTING 15TH ON SATURDAY ARE YOU PLANNING TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE FRONT OR DROP BACK AND WAIT UNTIL LATER TO STRIKE? “That kind of goes back what I was talking about earlier where you can only plan so much. I’ve learned over the years, I don’t know if it’s the right thing because I’ve crashed at many speedway races just like everyone else too, but I just play the races a lot by feel and play it by ear. So, we drop the green and I’ll be kind of what I call patiently aggressive, my normal style. I’ll play it by ear. Don’t put ourselves in any stupid positions or cause any crashes or anything, especially not so early in the race, so I would like to work our way up there in a smart fashion. I always try to make sure that I’m a guy at speedways that people feel comfortable and confident being around, making smart decisions and smart moves and work our way up there in a good manner. We know the Fords are fast. The 21 car is really fast. We’ve got the Roush Yates power under the hood. We’ve got all the great things to know that we have a race car to work our way up there, but there’s a lot of variables and you’ve got to play it by ear and by feel.”
