Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Menards/Duracell team enter this weekend’s Bank of America ROVAL at Charlotte Motor Speedway on a road-course roll.
Sunday’s 253-mile race on the 2.28-mile, 17-turn track is the seventh and final road-course race of the 2021 Cup Series season. In the previous six, DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team got off to a slow start but have come on strong in the last three.
That surge began with a 10th-place finish at Road America, which was followed by an 11th at Watkins Glen then a fifth on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
DiBenedetto said the turn-around over the course of the season have him optimistic heading into Charlotte, where races on the unique ROVAL, which is part road course and part oval track, have been unpredictable affairs.
“We have made big improvements at the road courses, but the ROVAL is its own animal that provides good excitement,” he said. “There’s no room for error there, and you’ve got to keep the car clean.”
He said he’s also encouraged by the team’s overall improvement since that 10th-place finish at Road America back in July. That run was the first of five top-10 and eight top-12 finishes in the past 12 races.
“Our Menards/Duracell team has been really good everywhere the last few months, so if we keep it up we can have a shot to win before the season is over,” he said.
There will be no practice or qualifying prior to the start of Sunday’s race, which will consist of 109 laps, with Stage breaks at Laps 25 and 50.
DiBenedetto will start 30th, the line-up having been set based on results from Talladega.
The green flag is set to fly just after 2 p.m. Eastern Time with TV coverage on NBC.
Menards
A family-owned and run company started in 1958, Menards is recognized as the retail home center leader of the Midwest with 236 stores in 15 states. Menards is truly a one-stop shop for all of your home improvement needs featuring a full-service lumberyard and everything you need to plan a renovation or build a home, garage, cabin, shed, deck, fence or post frame building. Menards is known for friendly Customer Service and as the place to “Save Big Money” with low prices every day, and sales too! For more information, please visit Menards.com to learn about our store locations, offerings and services.
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.
