RELATED: DiBenedetto in concussion protocol | NASCAR explains protocol
FORT WORTH, Texas — A day after crashing in the NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, driver Matt DiBenedetto met with the media shortly before the start of Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 just as his fellow NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers were gathering at the pre-race drivers meeting inside the garage nearby.
DiBenedetto was not medically cleared to compete in Sunday’s race following the single-car accident on Saturday. The driver is in concussion protocol, sidelining the 25-year-old for safety precautions, according to BK Racing.
Visibly disappointed not to race in Fort Worth, DiBenedetto said he will follow the protocol and visit doctors Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina, so he can get medical clearance to compete next week at Phoenix.
At Texas, Jeffrey Earnhardt will drive DiBenedetto’s No. 83 ZAK Backs the Blue Toyota, which is honoring fallen Dallas police officers.
“I’m a racer, a die-hard racer and (BK Racing owner) Ron (Devine) knows this,” DiBenedetto said. “It’s in my blood and I probably handle these kind of situations of not being cleared to drive the car worse than any guy in the field. I’ve really been struggling with it.
“I feel perfectly fine so it’s really going to be very difficult for me watching my car go around the race track. But Jeffrey Earnhardt will do a good job. He’s one of my best friends and I’m glad and appreciative of him for stepping in for us in this situation. I know it’s not great. No practice and he’ll have to fire off. But we trust him.
“I’m definitely discouraged, but we’ll go through this, go through their protocol. I have to, even though I feel fine, but they have a protocol and things set in place that I have to follow, whether I like it or not. I will do it, get it done and look forward to Phoenix.”
Devine offered his support in making sure DiBenedetto goes through all the proper protocol to make a start at Phoenix.
“It’s OK to err on the side of caution, but we’ll get through it and I think at the end of the day, they’ve done the right thing,” Devine said. “They felt it was best he go through the process and be sure. That’s as simple as it is. It’s about making sure he’s OK. We’ll meet with them to understand the process better and see what they saw. In the meantime, it’s better not to have him in the car.”
In hindsight, DiBenedetto smiled slightly and wondered if perhaps he should have handled things differently immediately after the accident. He insists he didn’t feel any medical repercussions from the impact.
“Not the slightest bit, not even two seconds after the crash,” DiBenedetto said. “If I could redo the situation knowing now how it turned out I would have sprinted down (the banking), maybe done jumping jacks. But everything happens for a reason.
“At this time I need to remain calm and remember they are doing their jobs.”