Toyota Racing – Matt DiBenedetto
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS)
Talladega Superspeedway – April 26, 2019
Leavine Family Racing driver Matt DiBenedetto was made available to the media in Talladega:
Matt DiBenedetto, No. 95 Procore Toyota Camry, Leavine Family Racing
How did practice go for you?
“We didn’t get to draft yet so I actually had to watch pretty closely to see what to expect. We were working on single car stuff and getting some of our little quirks and little issues right. There was different single car stuff that we had to work on and get right. I don’t know, it’s weird and it’s different. I think the runs are really big and I hope I’m wrong, but I think there’s going to be the potential for more crashes because the runs are so big. When we led at Daytona, we were able to kind of manage both lanes and lead for a long time. I think it’s going to be harder to do that now.”
What is your plan for final practice?
“I think we’re going to try to get out there in a little group now and see how our car is when we get up to speed. We haven’t been up to group speed yet. Get out there and make sure the car drives okay and basically for us to learn and figure out what its going to drive like, how it will suck up and how are we going to be able to race and make moves.”
Do you come here with more confidence after the run at Daytona?
“I think one because it was encouraging how we worked with our Toyota teammates and how fast our cars were, how good of a job the team did, but two it was nice that we gained a lot of respect from others so that helps you when you are racing at a plate track and gives you more confidence. You gain the respect of some others and little trust in you and then you can work together better.”
Could there be a possibility to work with the Chevrolet teams like you did in Daytona?
“I don’t know and I don’t have a good answer. I think as far as working with other people, you’ll still want your dancing partners and we’ll be looking for our Toyota teammates. We’ve got a good little group of us out there this weekend. We showed at Daytona that we worked together really well. I don’t know what the strategy will be because we still have a lot to learn here in second practice. We haven’t been in a draft yet so we have a lot to learn in another practice. Racing will be different, runs will be bigger so it’s going to be a lot of learning as you go.”
