DiBenedetto Conquers The Stadium
Dominates K&N Pro Series East race at Bowman Gray
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Matt DiBenedetto made getting around the tight oval at historic Bowman Gray Stadium look easy.
The 19-year-old from Grass Valley, Calif., led every lap of the Army Strong 150 Saturday night en route to his first win of 2011 and third career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East career. Saturday’s race was the first for the series at the venerable quarter-mile track that is steeped in NASCAR history.
Corey LaJoie, who briefly moved in front DiBenedetto in the closing stages of the race but was never able to officially take the lead, settled for second on the green-white-checkered finish. Rookie Ben Kennedy, the grandson of Bill France Jr., earned his career-best finish in third.
Max Gresham and DJ Shaw were fourth and fifth, respectively. Darrell Wallace Jr., Chad Finchum, Cody Hodgson, Chad Boat and Ryan Gifford rounded out the top 10.
Wallace took over the points lead from Brett Moffitt, who finished 16th and dropped to fourth. Wallace leads DiBenedetto by 27, Gresham by 30, and Moffitt by 34.
The Army Strong 150 will air on SPEED on Thursday, June 9 at 6 p.m.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East returns to the track Saturday, June 11 for the Slack Auto Parts 150 at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Ga.