The Hickory, N.C. resident ripped off the

quickest lap time of the day, a 17.28 second haul around Caraway Speedway during Motorsports Management International’s (MMI) Driver Combine. The 17-year-old also had the highest first segment 20-lap average amongst the ten competitors.

For a kid that just had a part-time late model ride in 2008, he certainly demonstrated superstar-worthy talent. While all ten participants appeared beyond competent in a full-bodied stock car, DiBenedetto’s turned laps were the talk of the test. 
 
If the high school senior was ecstatic over his performance and the consequent attention, he neglected to show it. 
 
“[The Camping World car] felt real good. It was consistent and smooth, a little bit different than a late model which drives like a tank, said DiBenedetto. “I talked to Steve DeSouza (of Joe Gibbs Racing) and Lorin Ranier (of Chip Ganassi Racing), who I met before and they told me my run was good. They were impressed.  
 
“There certainly wasn’t anything bad that could come from doing this, so it was neat to come out here and have a little fun with it. It was pretty relaxing, actually, and was a good opportunity get on the track in front of [NASCAR teams].” 
 
Both DeSouza and Ranier confirmed that they were very impressed with one standout performer but could not confirm whether or not it was DiBenedetto.

Representatives from Gibbs, Ganassi, Roush Fenway Racing, and Gillett Evernham Motorsports, amid others, were the invited audience to the combine, a six-hour test session in which each participant turned a total of 40 times laps.

Eddie Sharp Racing, which competes in both the Camping World East Series and the ARCA RE/MAX Series, provided the cars used during the test while NASCAR regular David Stremme served as the baseline test driver.  

David Smith is the Founder and Director of Scouting for davidsmithmotorsports.com, a motorsports scouting network used by NASCAR team officials and driver development enthusiasts. Subscriptions to the web site can be purchased by clicking here .