Just about everyone that was not a part of Denny Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing team was rooting for Matt DiBenedetto on Saturday night.
DiBenedetto, who found out earlier this week that he would not have a ride with Leavine Family Racing past this season, put forth one of the best races of his career in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motorspeedway.
DiBenedetto drove his No. 95 Toyota to a second-place finish under the lights at Bristol, ultimately losing out on a win to Hamlin, who made the winning pass with 12 laps to go. DiBenedetto was slowed by contact with Ryan Newman with 40 laps to go. It would have been DiBenedetto’s first Monster Energy Cup Series win.
The 28-year-old was very emotional climbing from his car and teared up while speaking with media after the race saying “I’m not done yet.”
Check it out:
"I'm not done yet."
A very emotional Matt DiBenedetto talks after coming so close to his first win at Bristol. pic.twitter.com/BLyQXLU8UJ
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) August 18, 2019
And DiBenedetto took to Twitter after the race to share his gratitude.
I don’t even know where to start, thank you all so much for the support. I wanted to win so dang bad. The crowd reaction after the race absolutely broke me down and melted my heart. My entire team is so amazing and I’m lucky to have @MikeCWheeler as crew chief…he is THE BEST
— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) August 18, 2019
It’s hard to not feel for DiBenedetto, whose driving certainly makes the case that he deserves a bigger ride. Nonetheless, it’s unclear where the former Joe Gibbs Racing driver will land. He has posted five top-10’s and three top-five finishes and sits 22nd in points.
