Matt DiBenedetto stole the show at Bristol.
From his rowdy pre-race driver introduction moment to his emotional interview following the best Sprint Cup finish of his career, DiBenedetto showcased everything that NASCAR fans love about this sport. After finishing sixth in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Food City 500 at Bristol, DiBenedetto shed tears of joy in talking about his race.
MORE: Food City 500 photos | Carl Edwards wins crash-filled Bristol
Some of my favorite intros, starting with @mattdracing : pic.twitter.com/gRpyJXhCoU
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 17, 2016
"I'm sorry, I'm so speechless," he told a Fox interviewer as he struggled to contain his emotions.
Matt DiBenedetto has tears in his eyes. pic.twitter.com/WOgadufDLp
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) April 17, 2016
DiBenedetto was one of several surprises in Sunday's showdown. Rookie Chase Elliott finished a career-best fourth. Trevor Bayne got his first top-five finish since his stunning 2011 win at Daytona. Clint Bowyer finished eighth a week after questioning his HScott Motorsports team's ability to compete with the elite. And even Kurt Busch seemed genuinely excited as he finished a season-best third.
DiBenedetto, 24 and in his second Cup season, earned his first career top-10 Cup finish driving for the smaller BK Racing organization.
"These guys, that's unbelievable for a team like us to be growing this much and for us to get a sixth-place run," he said. "I'm sorry I'm so emotional, this is like a win for us. I am so excited. … I'm so blessed to be here."
Bayne credited his entire Roush Fenway Racing team with a solid performance. He battled teammates Greg Biffle and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. at points in the race, but in the end was the only member of the struggling Roush crew in the top 10.
Bayne, a Tennessee native, was pleased to garner the performance at this particular track.
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"If there's somewhere I could choose to run well it's Bristol," he said. "It's a tough race track. It's my home track. I have a lot of fans here and it just feels good to be in contention every week. It's a short track and we know we've had our struggles with those and we wanted to get better at them, and we've made a quick turnaround to get better here."
Busch, meanwhile, spread the credit for his performance and said that while it might seem extreme to be happy with third (especially for a former Cup champion seeking his first win of the season), that was exactly how he felt.
"We just battled through it," he said of his day. "Junior had trouble at the start and I was 40th when we started the race. One car at a time. One set of tires at a time. And then we were in great position around Lap 350, got the lead from [eventual winner Carl] Edwards for a little bit. And we just kept working on it. And there's nothing more that I could have gotten out of the car. I'm really happy with the way that everybody worked together.
"I shouldn't be happy about finishing third, but I'll take it. It's just a great effort. And the way that this team has come together is perfect."