Matt DiBenedetto’s Top-Ten Means Big Things for His Small Team

Team Still Searching for Sponsorship

Back in the 90's, Matt DiBenedetto was just a young fan watching the likes of Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on television with his father, an appliance repairman. Like many five-year-olds in California, he wanted to someday drive in the Sprint Cup Series.

At 16, Matt began racing Limited Late Models at Hickory Motor Speedway, a short track where many NASCAR legends got their start. He managed three wins in the K&N Pro Series East; two in 2009 and one in 2011.

However, for Matt DiBenedetto, the journey to the top of the NASCAR world was much more difficult than expected. After momentous sacrifices by the driver and his family, DiBenedetto started his first NASCAR Cup Series in 2015. He failed to qualify in his first two attempts at Atlanta and Las Vegas before finally qualifying for his Sprint Cup debut at Phoenix.

Auspiciously, all that hard work and devotion to the sport he loves paid off this weekend. Starting from position thirty-one (31), Matt worked his way forward, even with his race car sporting damage received in the lap fifty-five (55) "big one." DiBenedetto in the No. 32 Go FAS Racing Ford, survived the carnage to finished seventh, the highest Ford, in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. It was his first Top-Ten of the season, and the fourth of his career.

"It’s just an opportunity where it evens everybody out a little bit, so we can position ourselves right and then be there at the end and the big pack evens out a lot of things, so we can have a good run here,” Matt reported. 

Before and after. 🚨💥🔨⚒🔧💥

But hey, it’s all worth it for a top-10 at @DISupdates! pic.twitter.com/AiZDEuAo5i

— Go Fas Racing (@GoFasRacing32) July 8, 2018

“I’m glad we survived and we seem to always position ourselves in a spot to be up front and competing for the win at the end of these speedway races at Daytona quite often. We’ve got that down pat and I’m really, really glad we got a good run for Zynga Poker. They’re a huge part of our team. They’ve stepped up and helped us a ton this year, so I’m pretty proud of that.” Matt DiBenedetto

What a day! A 7th place finish for the @zyngapoker @GoFasRacing32 team! Can’t thank everyone enough for their support! Make sure to download @zyngapoker and support all of our other amazing sponsors! We are so excited to bring home a top-10 finish for our small team! pic.twitter.com/0JBfWrKUaN

— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) July 8, 2018

Thanks to DiBenedetto’s  grit and determination, Matt DiBenedetto even earned his hero’s admiration.

.@mattdracing is one of the most underrated drivers in the series. Talent that compares to any driver in the field.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) September 11, 2016

With the team still searching for some sponsorship, DiBenedetto believes that his seventh place finish will help in that search.

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