NASCAR: Road America a proving ground for Matt DiBenedetto

By Asher Fair | Aug 14, 2019

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #95 Procore Toyota, is introduced during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 61st Annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 17, 2019 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /

Matt DiBenedetto is fighting for his job in the NASCAR Cup Series. The Xfinity Series race at Road America in which he is set to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing is a proving ground.

Matt DiBenedetto is in his first NASCAR Cup Series season driving for Leavine Family Racing, the team that switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota and formed a technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing ahead of the 2019 season.

But despite the strides that he and Leavine Family Racing have made over the course of the season, there are rumors that he may not be back with the team driving the #95 Toyota next season.

The 28-year-old Grass Valley, California native started the season with an average finish of 24.47 over the course of the first 15 races and no finishes higher than 12th place. Since then, he has recorded four top eight finishes, including a career-high finish of fourth, in eight races with an average finish of 12.88.

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But that hasn’t ended these rumors.

Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell was ready to be promoted to the Cup Series ahead of the 2019 season, and you would have been hard-pressed to find anybody who disagreed with him. However, he ended up returning to the team for a second season in the series.

Bell is now under contract with Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2020 season, but there has been no confirmation as to whether or not he will compete in the Xfinity Series for a third consecutive season or if he will be promoted to the Cup Series next year.

If he is promoted to the Cup Series, he could be sent to Leavine Family Racing through the team’s technical alliance with Joe Gibbs Racing. If Leavine Family Racing do not expand, this would leave DiBenedetto without a ride.

Bell likely won’t end up at the Joe Gibbs Racing Cup Series team themselves. Three of their four drivers are already under contract for next season, and Erik Jones has quieted replacement rumors with a recent hot streak of his own. Team owner Joe Gibbs even hinted that Jones will be back with the team next year.

All of this makes next Saturday extremely important for DiBenedetto.

DiBenedetto is set to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in next Saturday afternoon’s Xfinity Series race at Road America, marking by far his best opportunity as far as driving in top-tier equipment since he drove for the team in seven Xfinity Series races throughout the 2009 and 2010 seasons, at which point he had never competed in any of NASCAR’s three national series.

This race, the CTECH Manufacturing 180, is not a Cup Series race, but it could serve as a proving ground for DiBenedetto as it pertains to his future in the Cup Series.

Again, Joe Gibbs Racing’s decision on Jones and thus Bell could have a direct impact on DiBenedetto’s future, and that impact would be a negative one if both Jones and Bell end up competing in the Cup Series next year unless Leavine Family Racing decide to expand, which seems unlikely at this point despite the fact that rumors circulated about the matter back in late March.

Joe Gibbs Racing have won eight of the first 21 races of the 2019 Xfinity Series, and the #18 Toyota that DiBenedetto is set to drive in next Saturday afternoon’s race has won three of them and recorded an additional second place finish with Cup Series driver Kyle Busch behind the wheel.

This is the opportunity that DiBenedetto needs to truly prove his worth in top-tier equipment, and his best chance to do that is by beating Bell.

Road course racing is not particularly Bell’s forte, so it may be hard to judge DiBenedetto’s performance on this race alone, but let’s also not forget that we’re talking about arguably the most promising NASCAR superstar who is not currently competing in the Cup Series.

Bell has finished in second place in both road course races that have been contested so far this season, and he is on a three-race streak of top five finishes in road course races going back to last year. What’s “not Bell’s forte” would be something that most NASCAR drivers would love to have.

If DiBenedetto can prove he has it, perhaps the rumors about next year can start to swing in his direction and a deal can be worked out for him to maintain his ride. Then again, maybe not; who knows?

But one thing we do know is that this is an opportunity that he cannot afford to squander given the position that he is in.

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Tune in to NBC Sports Network at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 24 for the live broadcast of the CTECH Manufacturing 180 at Road America. How will Matt DiBenedetto to perform in this opportunity to compete for a top-tier team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series? Will he truly prove his worth to Joe Gibbs Racing and the entire Toyota organization to put himself in a good place moving forward?