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With Matt DiBenedetto announcing his departure from Rackley WAR, that begs the question: Where will he go in 2024? Or will he go anywhere in 2024?
With a total of 358 starts across NASCAR’s three main series, DiBenedetto has scraped together one win, 11 top-fives, and 50 top-tens. His personality and loyal fan base could bring a lot to the table for a potential team, but is it enough to make up for his lack of loyal sponsors?
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An Xfinity ride seems like the natural next step for DiBenedetto if he’s looking to work his way back up the ladder to the Cup series one day. Something about Matt’s personality just seems like a good fit with Dale Jr. and Kelly Earnhardt-Miller. With Josh Berry leaving JRM for Stewart-Haas there is an open ride at one of the top stables for DiBenedetto to show what he’s capable of one more time.
We don’t know that Aric Almirola is leaving, but with a pre-existing relationship with Ford from his days in the Wood Brothers 21, Stewart Haas is a viable option for Matt should Aric decide to retire. Stewart-Haas in 2024 is going to be unlike any Stewart-Haas we’ve ever seen. Losing one, potentially two, veteran drivers is going to totally change the dynamic of that team. Bringing in Matt DiBenedetto could be something fresh yet familiar for both parties.
The timing of these two announcements could quite possibly be more than a coincidence. Kaulig is slowly building a consistently competitive presence in the Cup and Xfinity series – something that definitely appeals to DiBenedetto’s interests. He also fits the mold of Kaulig. His story could be similar to AJ Allmendinger’s in the sense that they both got a second chance at Cup thanks to support from Matt Kaulig and Chris Rice.
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After a successful run at Daytona with a third car, could JAR add a third car full-time in 2024 driven by Matt DiBenedetto? I don’t think we can rule it out just yet. JAR has made its presence known in the Xfinity series this year and that’s something many only expect to grow. Adding a third car seems like a logical next step to growing their program, and what better person to do it than Matty D?
As we’ve explored, the one component missing in all of these possibilities is sponsorship. Yes, you could argue that all of these teams are well-established and could assist in the funding for a guy like Matt, but that isn’t always how this business works. With a less-than-stellar stat book and little to no sponsor funding tied directly to him, it is quite possible these next few weeks will be the last for Matt DiBenedetto as a NASCAR driver.
SamuelPark30606 predicts he goes to Kaulig in either Cup or Xfinity:
JimYanello brings up the possibility of him staying in the Truck Series with someone like Kyle Busch:
Chem_prof_nick tries to lighten the situation:
FanOfKnapford brings up a potential sponsor should he make a move to JGR in the Xfinity Series:
Dmacthegoat brings up the suspicion of this timing considering recent information shared from Kaulig
MATTHEISLER31 thinks this is it for Matt and he’ll be hanging it up at the end of the season more or less:
The saga of silly season continues and this is only another piece in the puzzle everyone in NASCAR is trying to figure out right now.
