What’s Happening?

On Tuesday evening, Matt DiBenedetto gave a “More transparent update” on Instagram regarding what went wrong with his sponsorship deal. He says that he had a deal signed with a sponsor, then, “They lied and didn’t follow through on their end”, and as a result, he had to pull out of the deal. He did not go into any further detail about who the sponsor was and what specifically they lied about.

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A post shared by Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing)

• Matt DiBenedetto raised some eyebrows when he sent out a “Pen” emoji just before the new year, but, he later posted an update on social media that he had a sponsor deal that fell through. Many were confused and unsure of what exactly happened, but, this most recent update gives some more insight into what happened.
• DiBenedetto has been a major story throughout Silly Season. He announced he was leaving his Truck Series ride, Rackley W.A.R., in August, and the team eventually let DiBenedetto go after he was eliminated from the Playoffs. Since then, people have tried to speculate where he can go.
• Fans were upset to hear about the news of the sponsorship deal falling through. Others were trying to encourage DiBenedetto despite the circumstances.

What Does This Mean?

We still don’t know all of the details, but, DiBenedetto claims that he had a signed deal with a sponsor, and that sponsor lied. Obviously, if a sponsor intentionally misled him, then that is no fault of his own. It does seemingly confirm that he sent out the “Pen” emoji on December 28th because he legitimately had something signed.

It is a bit odd to make this kind of a post because of a sponsor deal instead of a driver contract, but, sponsors are very important to racing. Drivers often need to bring funding to get rides at any level of motorsports. That’s what makes the deal falling through a tough hole for DiBenedetto to climb out of.

Even if the sponsor deal falling through was through no fault of his own, he still remains without major funding for the 2024 racing season. The last two seasons in the Truck Series, every race except for one was sponsored by Rackley Roofing, which is the roofing company for Rackley W.A.R. team owner, David Frost. Now, DiBenedetto is out of funding, which makes it very difficult to find a ride.

DiBenedetto is not the only one to fall victim to this, as a bad sponsorship deal has shut down an entire race team before. Chip Ganassi Racing had to shut down its Xfinity Series program before the 2019 season because the CEO of DC Solar, the team’s primary sponsor, had their home raided. This cost Ross Chastain his full-time seat at CGR in the Xfinity Series for 2019.

Where Can DiBenedetto Go From Here?

Aside from the funding issue, DiBenedetto has plenty of things keeping him from potentially finding a ride. The Xfinity and Truck Series season is less than a month away, and rides are being gobbled up left and right. Combine that with the reputation that DiBenedetto has regarding ugly exits in NASCAR, and that makes for a tough hill upwards.

We already dug into DiBenedetto’s reputation amongst race teams in the article below, so, for a more in-depth look, read that. The cliff notes version is that he left The Wood Brothers, and he later posted a video on social media calling the team “Broken”. He also announced he was leaving Rackley W.A.R. in the middle of a Playoff run, and that team later got rid of him before the season ended.

There is a lot that is holding DiBenedetto back from finding a full-time ride in 2024. Some of which are his own doing, and others are out of his control. It seems finding a full-time ride may be just out of reach,

What does the future hold for Matt DiBenedetto? Will he pull off a hail mary and find a full-time ride?