Matt DiBenedetto – No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Toyota Camry Preview
FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway
No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Camry Notes:
· DIBENEDETTO BY THE NUMBERS: In eight Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series career starts at Michigan, Matt DiBenedetto has an average start of 31.9, an average finish of 31.1, and he’s completed 1,442 of 1,473 (97.9 percent) career laps at the 2.0-mile track in Brooklyn, Michigan.
· THE TOYOTA EXPRESS MAINTENANCE DIFFERENCE: When your Toyota needs factory-scheduled service, Toyota Express Maintenance (TXM) helps keep our guests moving with quality, speed and value. Toyota Express Maintenance provides precision service that’s precisely timed to fit within the busy schedules of Toyota owners. The pit crew-inspired approach helps get our guests in and out quickly, all at the right price with the quality they expect from a Toyota dealer. Toyota Express Maintenance emphasizes quality workmanship, competitive pricing and fast service. Services performed under Toyota Express Maintenance include oil and filter change, brake inspection, tire rotation, fluid inspection/replenishment and multipoint vehicle inspection. Additional expedited services are available.
· RACE INFO: The FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway (2.0-mile) begins at 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 9th. The race will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1, Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN Radio.
DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Michigan:
Date Event: S F Laps Status
06/14/15 Quicken Loans 400 43 39 136/138 Running
08/16/15 Pure Michigan 400 32 30 197/200 Running
06/12/16 FireKeepers Casino 400 31 34 185/200 Crash
08/28/16 Pure Michigan 400 34 32 195/200 Running
06/18/17 FireKeepers Casino 400 28 28 199/200 Running
08/13/17 Pure Michigan 400 27 26 200/202 Running
06/10/18 FireKeepers Casino 400 30 36 131/133 Running
08/12/18 Consumers Energy 400 30 24 199/200 Running
Races Wins Top 5s Top 10s Poles
Cumulative 8 0 0 0 0
DiBenedetto’s 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
14 0 0 0 0 50 21.7 24.7
DiBenedetto’s Career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Stats:
Starts Wins Top-5’s Top-10’s Poles Laps Led Avg. Start Avg. Finish
154 0 0 4 0 73 30.3 28.5
From the Driver’s Seat:
Matt DiBenedetto: “I think that Michigan is going to be its own deal since I can’t really think of anywhere truly comparable to it that we’ve raced at so far this year. I think that qualifying will have us completely wide open with the pedal to the floor, so it will be up to the teams to see what they can do to find whatever advantages they can for qualifying. Your car will still need to be set-up more for the race in race trim though since qualifying is an impound session. Before this package at Michigan, we needed a good-handling car in order to be able to sail it off into the corner at over 200 m.p.h., so you worked on making sure that you had the most security in your car and getting the handling good enough to carry a bunch of speed, but we were also out of the gas before. Now this weekend, I think we’re going to be wide-open and it’s going to be figuring out the mix of speed that you need in your car as well as the right handling mix. The more speed you typically put in your car is when you sacrifice handling, as far as just straightaway speed. We’ll work and figure out during practice where the balance is. Most places you still focus on the handling, but Michigan is so big that we don’t know if it’s going to be mix of superspeedway racing and mile-and-a-half racing together in a weird blend that we’ve never seen. Michigan has widened out enough where we should be able to find some clean air. That’s been a challenge at the single-lane tracks is that we can’t pass because we can’t find the clean air. Michigan isn’t as widened out as Kansas but it’s enough where we should be able to find some lanes to be able to get some decent handling in the corner and then be able to get that draft on the straightaway. I just don’t know how the racing will be this weekend since Michigan is big and fast, we’ll see how it all goes once we get there.”
From the Pit Box:
Mike Wheeler: “Michigan this weekend might look more like Kansas and Fontana. As far as the racing this weekend, hopefully the track will widen out enough to where you can have multiple grooves to pass, but in recent years, Michigan has been a one-groove track that’s been hard to pass and that’s been one of the harder challenges of it. If the track widens out pretty well, then I think we’ll see a race similar to Kansas and California. Tire falloff at Michigan is generally low, so strategy-wise, staying out on tires, taking rights or taking lefts, and keeping track position is easier to do there compared to other tracks that have greater tire falloff. The biggest question going into this weekend will be how wide will the track get and how many passing lanes will we see this weekend? The races at Kansas and Charlotte were good because guys were able to run multiple lanes in order to go fast. Pocono ended up being a very single-lane track and that’s why it was really difficult to pass and make anything happen to get out of the dirty air. If Michigan can widen out enough, it could be a race that has more passing in it. Otherwise, with low tire falloff and the speeds that we’re at right now, it might be a difficult track to pass at if we don’t have enough space.”
No. 95 Toyota Express Maintenance Camry Team:
Driver: Matt DiBenedetto Crew Chief: Mike Wheeler
Car Chief: Greg Emmer Spotter: Doug Campbell
Engineer: J.R. Houston Engineer: Etienne Cliche
Mechanic: Bill Mares Mechanic: Matt Kimball
Shock Specialist: Sean Studer Mechanic: Zach Marquardt
Tire Specialist: Tony Ramirez Jackman: Charles Thacker
Fueler: Brian Eastland Rear Changer: Deven Youker
Front Changer: Adam Hartman Tire Carrier: Chris Hall
Hauler Driver: Damon Lopez
About Toyota:
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