Matt DiBenedetto appreciation thread

10-4 said:
I had to get to work and missed it. He must have wrecked I see DNF.
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He over cooked the last turn on the last lap while running second and ended up in the sand trap. Cendric on new tires was probably going to pass him or darn close. Bell was in first and had the lead comfortably. It was a race for second. Nascar ran down at least one lap probably two if they would have hustled and turned it into a two lap shoot out instead of four or five laps left. :mad:
 
Revman said:
I don't know that it's that they don't care....they are just very much behind in how a manufacturer operates in NASCAR now. Who could blame them? They rattled off 13 consecutive Manufacturers Titles by simply writing a checks (mostly to Hendrick IMO). They reaped the rewards of success without doing much in a relative sense. Now, they are faced with regaining their dominance in a completely changed NASCAR landscape. Hard sell to the Chevy board really.
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I wouldn't say just a check to Hendrick. DEI was a good organization for the most part from 2003-2008, RCR was always solid with Harvick (Bowyer, Burton, etc) from 2003-2013, as well as Gibbs until 2008.

I realize Hendrick was the main powerhouse with Jimmie & Jeff. But Chevy had other good drivers with other organizations as well for many of those 13 years.
 
AuzGrams said:
I wouldn't say just a check to Hendrick. DEI was a good organization for the most part from 2003-2008, RCR was always solid with Harvick (Bowyer, Burton, etc) from 2003-2013, as well as Gibbs until 2008.

I realize Hendrick was the main powerhouse with Jimmie & Jeff. But Chevy had other good drivers with other organizations as well for many of those 13 years.
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Certainly, but the point remains....I don't think Chevy operates in the same way Ford and Toyota do in terms of support, and it is biting them.
 
Revman said:
Certainly, but the point remains....I don't think Chevy operates in the same way Ford and Toyota do in terms of support, and it is biting them.
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Drivers Edge Development was a step in the right direction for Chevy. However I'm not sure JHN, Gragson, Sheldon Creed or Zane Smith are elite level drivers that Chevy needs. I kinda like Sam Mayer but he's still very young.
 
Formerjackman said:
It's highly probable that Toyota will once again win the battle on the race track, but they may also lose the public relations war.
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I guess when you say "win the battle on the race track" you refer to winning races. Championships used to be the mark of winning.
 
hidesert cowboy said:
It’s more than that the 21 car is essentially a Penske car.
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Can you explain how it's different? I'm just curious. Is it because the 95's association with JGR isn't a direct subsidiary and really just connected in how TRD runs their manufacturer operation - whereas WBR is in full partnership with Penske directly?
 
superchuck500 said:
Can you explain how it's different? I'm just curious. Is it because the 95's association with JGR isn't a direct subsidiary and really just connected in how TRD runs their manufacturer operation - whereas WBR is in full partnership with Penske directly?
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I don't know how the 95 team works, but when I visited Penske the 21 car was in the shop just like the 2 and 22. I then went to the Wood Brothers Racing shop and all that was there were crickets.
 
I feel like this might be a one year prove it deal like he did with the 95, but there will be a lot of openings next year I believe. If he runs as well as I think he can he will get a good ride long term. I still think Cindric is in the plans of the 21 long term
 
I don't know what I'm happier about...Matt D getting a good ride or the retiring of another "Daddy's Money" driver who has done absolutely nothing in 15 years.
 
Speedbowl14 said:
I don't know what I'm happier about...Matt D getting a good ride or the retiring of another "Daddy's Money" driver who has done absolutely nothing in 15 years.
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Yeah, Menard wasn't great but he was the best of the "Money" Drivers. He could at least take care of his equipment. And he has a Brickyard 400 trophy and 3 Xfinity wins. He was pretty solid his first few years at RCR and made some naysayers eat crow. Your "he has done absolutely nothing" comment is shortsighted and hyperbolic. At least he's better than say Stenhouse, who drives beyond the limitations of his car and wrecks quite often. I am happy for Matt, though. He has showed this season he is a good driver. And it's a class move for Menards to stay on board to support him.
 
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I’m not gonna pencil him into the Championship 4 like Reddit is, but a win wouldn’t be out of the question next season.
 
FLRacingFan said:
Blaney just finished 9th in the championship in that seat two years ago. Stats weren’t far off from what he did in his first ‘true’ Penske Cup ride last year. It’s a good piece.

Placating the reddit/Twitter mafia is a blessing for us all as well.
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That leaves the question of who is the more talented driver, Blaney or Matty D

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So can this barstool thing happen ?

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superchuck500 said:
Can you explain how it's different? I'm just curious. Is it because the 95's association with JGR isn't a direct subsidiary and really just connected in how TRD runs their manufacturer operation - whereas WBR is in full partnership with Penske directly?
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Correct on the first try.
 
superchuck500 said:
So Matt will go to the 21. Given that the 21 is sort of the Penske equivalent to the 95 in the JGR tree, it seems like a lateral move and probably a pretty good landing spot for Matt, all things considered.
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Lol lateral move? No way the 21 with Menard behind the wheel who is a very mediocre driver is what 20th in points? The 95 is using older generation JGR cars and Matt has been very impressive. The 21 is a full fledged Penske car....I expect matt in the playoffs next year maybe even winning a race or two.
 
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