NASCAR Cup Series: Matt DiBenedetto’s gamble pays off

Matt DiBenedetto took a gamble by announcing his impending departure from Go Fas Racing at the end of the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series season, and that gamble has paid off.

Matt DiBenedetto knew exactly what he was doing when he announced last month that he will not be returning to Go Fas Racing in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, which would have been this third consecutive season driving for the team.

He knew that he was taking a gamble.

In this day and age, Cup Series rides are hard to come by. The 27-year-old Grass Valley, California native gave up his with Go Fas Racing because he had no desire to continue driving around at the back of the pack on a regular basis.

DiBenedetto has been in a distant last (30th) place in the championship standings among full-time drivers throughout the majority of the 2018 season, and he has recorded just three top nine finishes since he began driving for the team in the 2017 season.

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That said, giving up any Cup Series ride is still a risky move, especially in DiBenedetto’s case, as there was never a guarantee that he would end up landing a better ride. In fact, there have been several other candidates to land the rides that are still open for next season, and DiBenedetto didn’t appear to be all that high on many of the lists.

However, DiBenedetto is, in fact, set to return to the Cup Series for what is set to be his fifth season in the sport next season. He is set to do so as the replacement for Kasey Kahne, who announced his retirement earlier this week, at Leavine Family Racing.

Leavine Family Racing have only been slightly better than Go Fas Racing this season and in recent seasons. That said, they are still a step up from Go Fas Racing — and this is only part of the story. There is no doubt that DiBenedetto’s decision to leave Go Fas Racing appears to have paid off.

Not only are Leavine Family Racing already better than Go Fas Racing, but they are set to be even better next season if all goes as planned. They are set to switch their manufacturer from Chevrolet to Toyota beginning next season, and they are set to form a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing in doing so, two moves that had been widely speculated for quite some time.

As a result, the #95 Chevrolet that Kahne drove for the first 25 races of the 2018 season and that Regan Smith has driven even since is set to become the #95 Toyota.

The last time a team switched their manufacturer from Chevrolet to Toyota and formed a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing was when Furniture Row Racing did so ahead of the 2016. Since then, there has been arguably no better driver than Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr.

Truex Jr. began driving full-time in the Cup Series in the 2006 season. The 2016 season was his third season driving for Furniture Row Racing. While he had had previous success driving the #78 Chevrolet for the team, as he had just come off a Championship 4 appearance in the 2015 season, he entered the 2016 season with only three career victories to his name.

With his four victories in the 2016 season behind the wheel of the #78 Toyota, Truex Jr. more than doubled his career win total, and he did so again in the 2017 season with eighth victories en route to winning his first career championship. He has earned four victories through the first 30 races of this season, giving him 19 career victories, of which 16 have come since the 2016 season began.

A big reason why Leavine Family Racing are set to form a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing is because of the fact that Furniture Row Racing are set to shut down once the 2018 season reaches its conclusion.

There is no doubt that Furniture Row Racing had experienced more success heading into the 2016 season than Leavine Family Racing will have experienced heading into the 2019 season, so it would be a definite stretch to say that DiBenedetto will instantly become a championship contender.

That said, forming a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing is certainly a step in the right direction for the team, and they should see a marked improvement in their overall performance next year.

Make no mistake about it; DiBenedetto’s gamble has paid off.

How much success will Matt DiBenedetto have driving for the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Leavine Family Racing in the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season? Will he manage to earn his first career top five finish next year or perhaps even his first career victory?