Sep 28th, 2009 by T.C.
If you were watching Nationwide Series practice on Friday, you would have no doubt seen Matt DiBenedetto (Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver) climb into Denny Hamlin’s #20 and help the team shake it down. DiBenedetto had just set a new track record in qualifying for the Camping World East Series race and Hamlin wanted to focus on his Cup car for the remainder of the afternoon. What was supposed to be some good track time for a young driver though, quickly turned into a nightmare for the 18 year old.
If you don’t know the name, this young driver from California has been running in the CWS this season for JGR and has two wins. He is scheduled to make his Nationwide Series debut in a few weeks at Memphis Motorsports Park in the #20 Toyota.
After only a few laps on Dover’s Monster Mile, DiBenedetto lost control of the JGR Camry out of turn two and and ended up in the wall down the backstretch. The team was forced to go to it’s backup car. DiBenedetto said he wasn’t used to using a smaller steering wheel (which Hamlin prefers) and the car got away from him.
While I’m certain that a wrecked race car wasn’t what the team was looking for out of the young driver, hopefully they turned it into a learning experience. Especially early on in a session, and climbing into a car that he wasn’t familiar with, he needed to start slow and build up to some decent lap times. Everyone knows he has talent, he didn’t need to go lay down blistering laps to prove it.
If he was driving my race car, I would definitely let him know that wrecking cars in practice isn’t acceptable, but also that he still had my full support. There will be plenty of other chances to show what he can do.
It’s good to see that some younger drivers are still getting a chance, even with the dwindling number of sponsor dollars available. But these owners need to remember that these guys are still young and mistakes will be made. Remaining patient through the process will pay dividends down the road.
Hey Matt, when you head to Memphis in a few weeks, forget Dover ever happened. Climb into the seat, get in a solid qualifying effort, and bring your car home in one piece. If you can do that consistently, Joe and JD Gibbs will make sure you get plenty of seat time in some of the best equipment in the sport.
