Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane team are headed to Daytona International Speedway, where they will kick off their 2021 Cup Series campaign with Tuesday night’s Busch Clash on the track’s infield road course. Once that checkered flag falls the action shifts to the 2.5-mile superspeedway for the Daytona 500 festivities that culminate with the Great American Race on Feb. 14.
Then DiBenedetto and his Cup Series peers will make an encore run on the road course on Feb. 21 for the second points-paying event of the season. That race was moved to Daytona from Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., due to challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Running on a course other than the superspeedway during Speedweeks may seem unique for some, but DiBenedetto’s Wood Brothers team competed on the old 4.1-mile beach-road course in the 1950s, before the “big track” opened in 1959.
Team founder Glenn Wood was one of the stars of the beach-road course. He swept the pole and the class win in the Sportsman division for its final three races on the beach, and in the 1958 finale set the overall fast time in his Sportsman car, outrunning the Modifieds that had an advantage rules-wise.
News reports from the time described Wood’s 139.679 miles per hour pole run as the biggest shocker of Speedweeks time trials. Mr. Wood considered his pole win that day the highlight of his driving career.
DiBenedetto, speaking during a Zoom call with reporters, said he’s hoping to carry forward the momentum he and the No. 21 team enjoyed during the closing weeks of the 2020 season, when they posted four top-10 finishes in the final seven races, three of those coming in the final three races.
He said the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team was able to work through the challenges brought about by COVID, which were especially tough on a new team with its members trying to learn each other.
“It felt like the last half of the season – especially the last third of the season – is where all of a sudden it really clicked for us as a team,” DiBenedetto said. “That’s why you saw us clicking off top 10s consistently, running up front, competing for wins.
“That momentum, I feel confident, is going to carry directly over into the season just because we have all that time together, we have all those notes together and that’s where it’s really coming together.”
DiBenedetto, who earned a starting spot in the non-point Busch Clash due to making the Playoffs last season, said he’s hoping the extra laps on the road course will help him, crew chief Greg Erwin and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane team prepare for a 2021 schedule that features seven points-paying Cup races on road courses. In addition to the Feb. 21 race on the 14-turn, 3.61-mile track at Daytona, the Cup Series will compete on the familiar tracks at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and the Charlotte ROVAL. New to the schedule are the Circuit of the Americas in Texas, Road America in Wisconsin and the infield course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“I look at [the Clash] as a great opportunity, because I felt like our road-course program last year was where we needed the most improvement,” DiBenedetto said. “Not that it was terrible, it just needed some work.
“We know the things that we need to work on, so I still feel very good about our chances [on Tuesday]. We basically have a race to evaluate what gains we’ve made and how to continue to get better at those places because our speed on the short tracks, on the intermediates, on those places were excellent, especially the last bit of the year.
“We were really flying at those places, so glad we get an extra opportunity at the Clash to go out there and try and see what we’ve gained on and go try and win.”
The starting line-up for the Clash will be determined by a draw on Monday night, and the 35-lap race is set to start Tuesday at 7 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on Fox Sports 1.
About Motorcraft:
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Omnicraft:
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visit www.omnicraftautoparts.com or contact your local Ford or Lincoln Dealership.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.
