After finishes of ninth at Richmond and fifth at Talladega, Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Dickies Apparel/Menards Mustang are set to keep the good times rolling in Sunday’s Buschy McBusch Race 400 at Kansas Speedway.
DiBenedetto’s strong run at Talladega has earned him the fifth starting spot for Sunday’s 267-lapper at Kansas, which puts him in a good position to compete for Stage points and thereby continue his climb in the points standings. He’s already moved from 37th after the second race of the season (on the road course at Daytona) to 17th following Talladega, and is looking to keep on climbing.
“I’m really glad we have a good starting position for Kansas,” DiBenedetto said. “That sets us up for a shot at Stage points if we hit the setup close.”
He said he’s confident that the Dickies Apparel/Menards team, led by crew chief Greg Erwin, will have the No. 21 Mustang up to speed despite no qualifying or practice prior to the green flag on Sunday.
“Our mile-and-a-half program has been very strong, so hopefully we can keep it up front,” DiBenedetto said.
DiBenedetto and his Wood Brothers team enter Kansas just 12 points behind Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chris Buescher, who are tied for 15th place. After climbing up seven positions in the standings over the past three weeks, DiBenedetto is hoping to continue to work his way into a Playoff spot.
“We have really rebounded in points, so we have great momentum to keep climbing up to where we belong,” he said.
“We are looking forward to getting back to Kansas Speedway,” Eddie Wood said. “It’s been a good track for our family and for our race team.
“We’ve had some good runs there in the past and have come really close to winning.
“Maybe we can break through with a victory out there this weekend.”
Sunday’s 400-mile race, which will have Stage breaks at Laps 80 and 160, is set to get the green flag just after 2 p.m. (3 p.m. Eastern Time) with TV coverage on FOX Sports 1.
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