Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
Ford Zoom Media Availability | Tuesday, July 13, 2021
MATT DIBENEDETTO, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Mustang — DO YOU HAVE PLANS FOR THE TWO-WEEKS OFF OR ARE YOU GOING TO USE THAT VACUUM CLEANER BEHIND YOU? “Speaking of this vacuum cleaner, during that two weeks off we are going to be moving to our new house, so our house looks like a little bit of a hurricane blew threw it in parts, so we’re super excited about that, so we’ve been working on that. The house built for about a year. It’s the best time ever to be sponsored by Menards, but it’s all been good. Those are the big plans. We’ve got family coming into town at the same time, so it’ll be a pretty crazy couple off weeks.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO KNOWING YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT POINTS NOW WITH WHERE YOU ARE IN THE STANDINGS? “Obviously, it’s not a situation we want to be in, but that’s out of our control. There’s no sense putting any energy into that, just like you were talking about — focus on the positives of it. I’ll give you the lists of the positives. One, we are the best we’ve ever been as a team. You guys see it. Our team has clicked. I’ve talked about it a lot here lately. Our team has clicked to a level it never has. Jonathan Hassler, ever since he’s taken over our whole team has just clicked very fast. We work together incredibly well. We’re executing our races and it’s showing. Since he’s stepped in we’ve been in the top 10 almost every week. Nashville, we were up in the top 10 and had electrical issues. Road America, we led laps and finished in the top 10. We go this past weekend and had a solid day with the car and finished ninth. What I’m getting at is we are the strongest that we have ever been. I’m thankful to the team and for everybody working through that whole process and the results are showing, so we are in the best position we have ever been in to go out there and feel like we can absolutely win.”
HOW HAS YOUR WILLINGNESS AND WHAT YOU’RE WILLING TO DO IN LATE-RACE SITUATION AS THE YEAR HAS PROGRESSED? “I think I’ve been lucky to gain the respect of my competitors out there and always race smart and know what situations when you do have to push and throw big blocks and race really hard and aggressive, and also when to race respectfully, so I think I’ve always had a good balance on that because it is important to gain respect of everybody else. But, yeah, I think everyone knows too, when it comes down to that situation, the level of desperation that is there. If we’re in that situation to have a shot at winning, you’ll get more aggressive and you’ll get more desperate because desperate is the word. We are in that situation. You’ve got to do anything for your team if you have a shot at winning, whatever it may be, even if it is like crossing the line a little bit on racing hard or super aggressive or whatever it is. I don’t know those situations, though or what it is. I’ll find out if hopefully we’re in that spot or if we are contending for the win, hopefully here at New Hampshire, which is a good track for us and I’ll have to just play it by ear and continue to know that I’m fortunate to have been in the series a long time and pretty level-headed and I use my best judgment.”
HAS YOUR MINDSET CHANGED IN THAT THROUGH THE YEARS AND IS IT BECAUSE OF HOW THE SPORT IS CHANGING OR HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO KEEP YOUR SAME GUIDELINES IN SUCH SITUATIONS? “I think the racing is more aggressive than it’s ever been. It’s just a different code of conduct than maybe years ago when I was watching and looking up to guys like Mark Martin and Tony Stewart, where they would race hard but also respectfully. I think you see bigger blocks, and part of that is the aero package at the mile-and-a-halves in particular I would say and obviously the superspeedways. Maybe not quite as bad I’m sure on short tracks, but I think some of that style of racing has just changed and we’ve kind of had to adapt a little bit with that to how big track position is and you have to do moves and some things that sometimes you just don’t want to do, but I still feel fortunate that I’ve always found a balance on when to do those things because I don’t want to be known as the guy that races stupid and with disrespect or affects outcomes of races or wins. Things like that. I always want to find that right balance and I think I’ve always kind of treaded that line, where I’m very aggressive. Last year, we were the number one restart team — made up the most positions on restarts throughout the year, so aggressive when it’s necessary, but not wadding up the field or doing silly things.”
HAVE YOU ALLOWED YOURSELF TO DAYDREAM ABOUT WHAT VICTORY LANE WOULD FEEL LIKE WHEN YOU WIN A CUP RACE? “Yeah, absolutely. What’s interesting is I’m actually fortunate for a lot of things, but the short version is I’ve said that winning a Cup race I thought that would complete my life and that’s everything is winning a Cup race, winning a Cup race. That level of desire has not changed one bit, but the perspective on it has changed. That would have been an empty feeling if I thought that’s what was gonna complete my life, so my faith journey and my relationship with God is what changed my life, and that was the biggest victory I ever got. So, what I’m getting at and where that pertains to racing to answer your question is, yes, I used to envision it all the time. I still envision it all the time, but my perspective is different and it actually keeps me a little bit calmer, so it actually gives you a better perspective even when you’re inside the race car, so maybe you’re a little more level-headed and it’s an extra veteran type move, or whatever you want to call it, that you’re just kind of calmer. I don’t know if that answers your question very well, but I just have a better perspective on things and calmer and when that situation comes it might help to make sure you don’t make stupid mistakes or anything like that. If you’re in the lead, you’re just gonna head down digging knowing this is your job and this is your job to win for your race team.”
HAS THERE BEEN ANY PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE WHO HAVE KEPT YOU GROUNDED IN THESE TIMES OF STRESS? “Yeah, that’s an excellent question. When I look at it and when I think of it with the way you worded it, I’ve had a lot of people that have kind of asked a similar question. I should, I guess, be extremely stressed, but I’m not. I’ve learned to just focus on the things that are 100 percent in my control because I have that perspective and my level of faith, it directly affects my racing career and all for the positive. I don’t show up to the racetrack miserable or grumpy or pissed off that we’re on the bubble or because we have bad circumstances to start the year or this or that. It doesn’t change your fight and your drive and that I live for this stuff 24/7, and I’m meant to be driving race cars. I feel like I’m meant to win and all these things it doesn’t change that, but it changes your perspective and it’s all for the positive on the racing side, and there were a lot of people in the industry. My wife was one that changed my life. She’s always had strong faith. I was stubborn and I chose to reject it for a long time, to be honest with you, and then I started to dig into it. People in the industry, which is the amazing part. I wish we did more stories on this. There is so much that goes on in the industry that’s not heavily talked about and it blows my mind, but Michael McDowell was a huge part in changing my entire life. My relationship with my wife, everything. And Aric Almirola, there’s many people that MRO — Motor Racing Outreach — at the racetrack. All of those people were a part in changing my life, people in the industry’s lives and all this which is absolutely incredible and would probably be a pretty cool story to cover and share. What goes on within our industry is truly amazing.”
WHAT WAS THE AHA MOMENT FOR YOU IN SOLVING NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY? “Riding in some fast hot rods, that’s the best part. Having a really good team, our 21 team is usually really good there. Our car was super fast there, so team side, I feel really good about our cars and we’re going to what I call a short track at a time where we’re getting stronger and stronger and more competitive as a team and all the things I talked about with the crew chief scenario, our whole team clicking, all that. I’m super pumped to go to New Hampshire. On a personal driving style side, everyone knows — it’s no secret, I’m pretty outspoken about it — I love the high horsepower, low downforce races. They fit my style. I get the most excited to run them as well. I grew up short track racing and such, and stock cars should be slip sliding around and all the things that we do at New Hampshire, which makes it a really fun race.”
LAST WEEK YOU DROVE A MIDGET. HOW WAS THAT? “It was a blast. I drove for Tyler Thomas Motorsports and went to, I’ve talked about it, I grew up dirt racing and talked about wanting to try out a midget and see if it all came back to me, like riding a bike, because any time I’ve hopped in a dirt car the few times I’ve usually won or ran really well or taken to it well, so it was kind of a personal thing. I just wanted to see how I adapted to it, how quick could I adapt to it and maybe think about running the Chili Bowl. I’m not sure. First step was just to kind of see how I ran and obviously NASCAR takes first priority, so I’ll see where things lead me for next year and all that stuff. It has to play out, but it was awesome. I took to it way faster than expected. I won the heat race by a ton and then in the feature we were flying through the field and actually ended up getting caught up in a crash when I got up to fourth, but, ultimately, we were super fast. It was an absolute blast to drive and would love to do more of it.”
THERE ARE TWO MORE ROAD COURSES UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS. ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THOSE? “Yeah. That was our weakness was road courses in our 21 program. We were just off on speed and the feel of the car and you know what’s amazing is at the scene, being able to see the results and see the gains, like communicating with the team and being like ‘Man, we need to work on this. We need to work on lateral grip. We’re still lacking here and here and here.’ Because at the 95 team we were flying. The road courses were our biggest strength and we were probably weaker at other places, so it’s the flip side here and seeing the work of the team translate directly over to the racetrack is amazing, so it makes you more excited to go to those places. Road America was extremely encouraging that we made those kind of strides. We still have room to go and continue to get better, but it’s encouraging when we know we’ve got to win one of these races coming up that we’re tying our whole program together and we as a team we’re working excellent together. Jonathan Hassler has been a real game-changer on the 21 team.”
ANY UPDATE ON 2022 PLANS YET? “No, sir. Nothing yet. Everyone knows I’m a super open book, so what I’m telling you is 100 percent everything that I know, which is I don’t know anything more than any of you guys know. There have been no talks, no nothing. From the Team Penske side, they’re usually pretty quiet. When I say pretty quiet, like very, very quiet. They like to keep it all kind of internal communication until they have a plan and then they communicate it to you. It’s kind of a wait-and-see game. The cool part is that we are showing that we have made good efforts to make our 21 team better and that we’re here to win, and the proof is in the pudding. We’re now performing, running up front, leading laps. We’ve turned this whole program around. It’s clicking and all these things, so that does nothing but just help my situation moving forward, showing that we have the ability to go out there and contend for wins. We just have to continue to work on this 21 team to make us execute better and be better as a team and that’s my job as a driver is to do those things, even sometimes when they’re the hard and difficult talks you don’t want to have, but that’s my job and that’s what they pay me for and hopefully I can continue to be in that camp. Hopefully, the Wood Brothers — I know we have a strong alliance with Team Penske — so obviously they’re a big part of it, Ford, there are a lot of people that go into this decision-making process, but that’s my family and I hope to stay here.”
IT SEEMS THE SUMMER MONTHS HAVE BEEN STRONG FOR YOU IN PAST SEASONS. IS IT SOMETHING ABOUT THE SCHEDULE OR JUST TRYING TO PROVE YOURSELF? “No, it’s nothing about proving myself. That’s every day I ever step foot in a race car, whether it’s practice, qualifying, race, whether I’ve been doing this for two years or 10 years. That never changes. It’s funny you asked that question because I was laughing about that this week. I was like, ‘Man, it always seems like the second half of the season.’ I’ll give you the reason why. At the 95 team, the first half of the season we were really a new group of people working together. We were a small team. We were behind at the shop and really had a ton of work to do to get caught up, and you kind of hit that halfway point in the season and it was like, ‘All right, now we’re actually working ahead on the race cars and proactive.’ We all had a chance to click. We were getting things together and more organized at the shop and all these things that people don’t see — that fans don’t see — and when you do that, then you’re working ahead and you’re proactive and we’re getting more out of the race cars and running top five, top 10 week in and week out. On the Wood Brothers side, it’s kind of a similar situation in the sense that we’ve had to have some of those hard talks. We had to make a crew chief change in the middle of the season. That’s hard, but, then again, we’re working through these things. It’s hard work. Hard talks sometimes, and we do them. We make a big change in the middle of the year and it’s no disrespect to anybody. Greg Erwin, I was super appreciative for him and what he’s done for the Wood Brothers for years, but our team wasn’t clicking and I felt it. To be honest with you, you guys know me, I say it the way it is, I didn’t feel like we were gonna win. We were not a winning team. The dynamic wasn’t there. We weren’t meshing. It’s all about relationships and it just wasn’t there, and then we make this change, which is so hard. You empathize with people. I care about people, but, at the end of the day, I have to do my job and we all worked hard, talked and made this change to have Jonathan Hassler on the box and it’s all about relationships, and then it’s like, boom, we click and we’re rocking and rolling and running up front, leading laps, top 10s, contending and we’re just getting better and better, and we’re just getting started together. To answer your question, that’s the long version of it, but it’s an important question for me to answer to everybody because I’ve gotten that a lot. That’s kind of where our performance gain is coming from right now.”
WHAT KIND OF TIRE WEAR DO YOU SEE AT CHARLOTTE COMPARED TO DARLINGTON BECAUSE THEY WERE BOTH REPAVED AT THE SAME TIME? “Yeah, totally different. I will say that Charlotte does have a decent amount of tire fall off. I mean, tires are pretty important. It’s kind of an in the middle, but then you compare it to Darlington, which was repaved at the same time. I mean, Darlington feels like you’re driving on ice, which is an absolute blast, and it chews straight through tires, but I think it’s just the environment that the tracks are exposed to — Charlotte not being quite as gritty or sandy or whatever you want to call it. You hate to see Atlanta have to be repaved. We love those tracks that have a lot of character and tire fall off and stuff like that. That’s what makes them great.”
DID YOU EVER COMPETE AGAINST BRAD SWEET SINCE YOU’RE FROM THE SAME TOWN? “I don’t know if we raced in the same class. I think he was usually a class above me because he was a little bit older, so, racing back at Cycleland Speedway, but we were friends with our family. Ironically, his dad bought my dad’s appliance repair business when we left and he does the same thing out in the same area, so a very small world. We knew them very well, but didn’t compete directly against each other.”
WHAT PEAKED YOUR CURIOSITY ABOUT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THE CHILI BOWL? “I think it’s just a personal thing and for fun. We’re all competitive any time we hop in a race car. That’s why I hopped in a midget, just to see where I stacked up, how I felt like I did, how I felt like I adapted and I exceeded my expectations and my team’s, I think. I was pretty much ripping laps. Won the heat race like right off the bat with no experience and they were like, ‘It looks like you’ve been racing them your whole life,’ so that’s kind of a confidence booster, check the box like, ‘All right, I know I can do this. I have the confidence in myself to do it. I just want to go and get some seat time and see.’ The Chili Bowl, I’ve just always loved watching it. I talked to Kyle Larson a lot about that since we came from the same background. We raced each other and he’s been a big advocate for wanting me and telling me to race the Chili Bowl and do it. He has a lot of confidence in me as well, so just kind of talking to Chase Briscoe, some of these guys — Allgaier — some of these guys that do it and love it, they talk so passionately about how much fun that dirt racing is and racing midgets and how neat the Chili Bowl is that it just kind of sparks your interest because at the end of the day we’re racers.”
WOULD YOU HAVE TO GET PERMISSION FROM TEAM PENSKE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF YOU REMAIN IN THE 21 OR WITH THE ORGANIZATION IN 2022? “Yeah, for sure. At the end of the day, they’re my boss. The Wood Brothers and our alliance with Team Penske. Hopefully, I’ll get to stay within the organization, but they’re in charge and they’re the boss, so whatever they tell me, that’s what takes precedence and always will, and I wouldn’t be angry or upset or anything. You’re doing a job and you’re representing your team and sponsors and all that stuff, and also with dirt racing being added to the schedule, that was kind of another thing that sparked my interest like, ‘Man, it sure won’t hurt to get some seat time.’ I know that the cars are completely different, but dirt racing is a lot about the surface and seeking out the moisture and doing all that, so it’s a little bit of a brain refresh on all that stuff that I grew up doing, but at the end of the day, to answer your question, yeah, it’s up to those folks making sure they’re totally cool with it and if they weren’t, I would not do it because they’re in charge. They’re the boss.”
IS THERE ONE TRACK YOU HAVE THE BEST SHOT TO WIN AT TO MAKE THE PLAYOFFS? “If I was circling one off in particular I would probably say New Hampshire is one I’m looking forward to the most. Our car seems to be very strong at tracks like that. The low downforce races are awesome. I love them personally, more than the others, more than any of the others. They’re a blast to drive, so it all kind of checks the boxes, but we also have improved our road course cars and we showed that at Road America, so we’ve gotten better there and our superspeedways are great, so, really, we have excellent opportunities coming up, but if I’m circling one that I’m most excited about it’s this weekend.”
THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING UP. WILL YOU BE WATCHING AND IS THERE A SPECIFIC EVENT YOU’RE INTERESTED IN? “I will watch. I don’t know if there’s a particular event I would pick out. Maybe something like weightlifting. All of the strength-related components are awesome, but they’re all tremendous athletes. I’ll probably watch the runners and sprinters, things like that, because I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t like doing that and I ain’t good at it.’”
