McFarling: ‘Matty D’ finds his faith restored

Matt DiBenedetto (green and yellow) stalks Kyle Larson during last weekend’s NASCAR Cup race in Atlanta on his way to a second consecutive top 10 finish.

SEAN GARDNER, Getty Images via NASCAR

Rare is the professional athlete who believes he has zero chance of winning.

Until about a month ago, though, that’s where Matt DiBenedetto was this season. The Wood Brothers Racing driver wasn’t leading laps, wasn’t gaining positions, wasn’t finishing well at most tracks.

Then in early June, the team made a crew chief change, replacing Greg Erwin with engineer Jonathan Hassler.

DiBenedetto’s mindset changed almost immediately.

“It is no disrespect to anybody,” DiBenedetto said Tuesday in a video conference call with reporters. “Greg Erwin, I’m super appreciative for him and what he’s done for the Wood Brothers for years, but our team wasn’t clicking. I felt it. And to be honest with you, I didn’t feel like we were going to win. We were not a winning team.

“The dynamic wasn’t there. We weren’t meshing. It’s all about relationships, and it just wasn’t there. And then we make this change, which is so hard. You empathize with people. I care about people. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to do my job.”

His job is pretty clear-cut now. Sitting in 18th place in the points standings with five races left before the NASCAR playoffs begin, DiBenedetto needs to win.

It’s something he’s never done at the Cup level. But suddenly, it’s something he believes is possible.