Sources told the Daily Downforce that Matt DiBenedetto was involved in “Intense” discussions with Young’s Motorsports over the weekend in Atlanta. Whether or not this materializes into anything remains to be seen, but, Dibenedetto seems to be shopping around for his next ride. For fans who did not pay much attention throughout the off-season, we will recap exactly how we got to this point.
For the whole story, we need to go back to the waning days of the summer of 2023. On August 30th, 2023, DiBenedetto put out a lengthy statement saying that he would be moving on from Rackley W.A.R. at the end of the season.
The move was a surprise to many. DiBenedetto was performing well as he made the Playoffs with the team in 2023. It also came at an awkward time with DiBenedetto in the Playoffs and a critical elimination race coming up.
DiBenedetto failed to make the Round of 8, and, after a 10th place finish at Bristol the following week, Rackley W.A.R. surprisingly dropped DiBenedetto with 3 races remaining. The full details on that split are discussed below.
The split was far from amicable. Rackley W.A.R. made no mention of DiBenedetto in their official statement. DiBenedetto expressed his disappointment, and he made no mention of Rackley W.A.R. in his statement. We don’t know what ultimately happened, but, DiBenedetto was out of a ride regardless.
DiBenedetto made a few fleeting appearances on social media before the Holidays. Each appearance he mentioned that he was searching for sponsorship. Well, DiBenedetto emerged from teh weeds right before the new year to tweet a “Pen” emoji.
The post has since been deleted, and the reason why is that the deal DiBenedetto struck ultimately fell through. He posted one video on January 19th where he mentioned that he had a “Signed” sponsor deal that he backed out of. He elaborated even further in another update where he said of the sponsor, “They lied”.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was too late in the offseason to put another deal together, and rides were getting taken up left and right. DiBenedetto would enter the 2024 NASCAR season as a free agent.
This is where things get into the more speculative territory. DiBenedetto may have been close to a ride in the NASCAR Cup Series for 2024.
Chris Rice, the President of Kaulig Racing, joined Mike Bagley on “The Morning Drive” on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio the week of the Clash at the LA Coliseum. In it, Rice opened up about a driver he almost signed to fill the Kaulig #16 All-Star car.
If you watch social media I think he’s been very candid about what happened with his partners. He’s announced it and he’s said it a couple of times. With the NDA, I don’t go about saying that kind of stuff. I respect people because I think people are good, but, I think we’re still in some conversations. Out of respect, no, I don’t really want to [disclose the potential driver], but if you watch social media it’s not hard to figure out.
Chris Rice
Chris Rice did not explicitly say it was DiBenedetto, but, the description seems to fit DiBenedetto pretty well. DiBenedetto was indeed candid on social media, and he did have a falling out with partners. However, we still don’t know for sure whether or not it was him.
Maybe DiBenedetto is starting to make some progress with his conversations with Young’s Motorsports. It would be an interesting consolation prize after the saga that was the 2023-24 off-season.
