Saturday night, Matt DiBenedetto strode onto the Driver
Introduction stage at Bristol Motor Speedway to the pulsating beat of the “Rocky”
theme, wearing boxing gloves and a red-and-gold robe with the phrase “Italian Stallion”
enblazoned on the back.
Just over three hours later, the California native looked even
more like Rocky Balboa, slumping against his car -- beaten but unbowed -- after
a dramatic heavyweight slugfest with winner Denny Hamlin that left a monstrous
Bristol crowd roaring its approval and chanting his name.
Saturday’s career-best runner-up finish capped a rollercoaster
week for DiBenedetto. Just four days earlier, he had been informed of plans to
replace him in the No, 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota next season, most likely
with promising youngster Christopher Bell. He responded – not with anger and
animosity – but with a stirring performance that saw him lead 93 laps in the race’s
final stage until contact with Ryan
Newman caused front-end damage that affected the handling of his Toyota and
left him a sitting duck to Hamlin’s late-race charge.
“When I was marching through the field, I was hoping somebody else
would pass him so I didn’t have to take the win away,” Hamlin said. “I knew I
was going to get him. I was just thinking, `There are a lot of people at home
and a lot of people in the stands that probably don’t want to see this happen.’”
Hamlin made the decisive pass with just 12 laps remaining, then
motored away to a margin that was too much for DiBenedetto to overcome, while still
tantalizingly close. DiBenedetto called it “like being stabbed a hundred times
in the chest,” a pain that Hamlin admitted to sharing in the celebratory hubbub
of Victory Lane.
“Matt is doing a phenomenal job of showing his résumé in front of
everyone,” added Hamlin. “He doesn’t need to type it out. He’s going out there
and performing. He will land as good or better on his feet after this year.
“I am certain of it.”
One after another, rival drivers stepped through the throng
surrounding DiBenedetto’s steaming Toyota to offer their congratulations, their
condolences and their sympathy for an on-track performance that was so close… and
yet so far.
Chase Elliott, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer,
even retired series champion Jeff Gordon alternately shook his hand, thumped
him on the chest or locked him in a series of bear hugs, hoping to somehow ease
the pain of being second-best on a night where only first would do.
None of
it worked, at least right away.
“It was hard to hold it together with all those drivers coming up
to me,” DiBenedetto said. “It’s amazing to have earned that respect from them.
“I wanted to win so bad for
these guys, for this team, for them giving me this opportunity,” he said,
his voice choked with emotion. “I'm just thankful that they gave me this
opportunity. But man, I'm sad. We got tight after the deal with Newman, when he
came up into us. All of a sudden, it got really tight after that.
“Congrats to Denny. He
raced hard. I've been a fan of his since I was a kid. To be racing door to door
with him at Bristol, in front of a great group of fans. I'll try not to get
emotional, but it's been a tough week. I just want to stick around and keep
doing this for a long time to come. I love it. I love the opportunity. I'm not
done yet.”
The former Joe Gibbs
Racing developmental driver walked to Victory Lane after the race, where he and
Hamlin locked in a long embrace. Hamlin spoke quietly, sharing words
that both drivers insisted would remain private. As they separated, DiBenedetto said simply, “That means more than
you know.
“This journey has made me strong and I would not change it for the
world,” he insisted to reporters afterward. “It makes you appreciate being here
1,000 times more. This journey has beat me down on the ground more than I can
possibly explain.
“It’s hard. It’s really hard. I’m glad it’s
been hard. I want to appreciate it the most that I can. I want it to make me
fight and claw and dig as hard as I possibly can, and that’s what this journey
has done.”
DiBenedetto’s roller-coaster ride has also not been lost on NASCAR fans.
His pass for the lead elicited the loudest ovation of the night, as fans
wearing a rainbow of other drivers’ apparel suddenly found themselves rooting
hard for the underdog affectionately known as “Guido DiBurrito.”
They roared even louder when he appeared on Bristol’s “Collossus”
video screen after the race; an ovation so thunderous that it stopped him in mid-sentence, no longer able to speak through the emotion.
It has been a long road since DiBenedetto made his Cup Series
debut with the underfunded BK Racing organization. It’s been even longer since he
was forced to accept a series of start-and-park Xfinity Series jobs, just to keep
his name in the garage after a lack of sponsorship trimmed his JGR developmental
schedule to just seven races in 2009-2010.
Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough opportunity.
But Saturday night, for 93 magical laps, DiBenedetto erased all
doubt about what he can do, if only given a chance.
Hopefully, someone was watching.
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