Matt DiBenedetto and Michael McDowell Forced to The Rear of The Pack After Unapproved Adjustments

Michael McDowell and Matt DiBenedetto will join Las Vegas winner Kyle Larson at the rear of the field to start Sunday’s Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, after both teams had to make unapproved adjustments to their cars on Sunday Afternoon.

The Front Row Motorsports team was looking over the No. 34 Love’s Travel Stops Ford Mustang prior to the start of the race, when they found something that they didn’t like, forcing them to make a change to McDowell’s car, resulting in the penalty.

In the case of Matt DiBenedetto and Wood Brothers Racing, things get a little more bizarre, as the team’s No. 21 Ford Mustang suffered damage while unloading the car. According to the team’s Twitter account, the team was backing the car off the lift gate to get in line, when the fender clipped a hinge, creasing the fender. This was determined as a “unapproved adjustment” and will result in the No. 21 starting at the rear of the field.

Update on the -why- we have to go to the rear. To preface: there’s barely enough room to turn around. We were backing off the lift gate to get in line and the fender clipped this hinge. It creased the fender and as such, was an unapproved adjustment. pic.twitter.com/KBifOixZE5

— Wood Brothers Racing (@woodbrothers21) March 29, 2021

Both cars will join Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson at the rear of the field on the pace laps and will look to forge a path to the front of the field.