Matt DiBenedetto 10th in Daytona opener
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — In his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut, Matt DiBenedetto finished inside the Top-10, avoiding late-race crashes in the season opener at Daytona Friday night.
DiBenedetto crossed the line 10th in the NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway, avoiding a lap 99 crash that involved 17 trucks and a crash on the final lap of overtime.
“We played the ride strategy, waiting on a crash,” DiBenedetto said to The Racing Experts. “It kind of worked out, but it didn’t. I’m glad we were all in one piece, but the strategy didn’t necessarily work out as far as going for the win.”
The Top-10 finish is only the second for his team Rackley W.A.R. in its second season in the Truck Series.
“It’s a solid start to the year,” DiBendetto said. “I can’t complain about a top-10 to start the year.”
But the true measuring stick for expectations, DiBendetto said, would come at Las Vegas, the next race on the schedule on Mar. 4.
“That’s going to be a good teller, and moving forward, we’ve got a really big variety of tracks right off the bat, so it’s going to show where we stack up,” DiBenedetto said. “I want to see victory lane, 100 percent.”
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Dominic Aragon View All
Dominic Aragon is currently the editor-in-chief for The Racing Experts.
From Grants, New Mexico, USA, Aragon started watching NASCAR in 2004 and has been covering the sport since 2009. Aragon is a 2012 graduate of Grants High School and a May 2016 graduate of the University of New Mexico with a B.A. in Mass Communications & Journalism. Aragon has worked in local and national media, as a musician, and an educator. He is co-author of the 2024 book "All of It: Daytona 500 Champion Tells the Rest of the Story" with racer Geoff Bodine.
Aragon, his wife Feliz, and son Christopher currently reside in Grants, New Mexico, USA.
You can reach Dominic at daragon@theracingexperts.net.