Matt DiBenedetto will not return to Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Where will he end up? Here are five possible landing spots.
Matt DiBenedetto revealed Thursday that he will not be back with Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season despite the fact that he and the team have made major strides as of late.
After posting an average finish of 24.47 in the first 15 races without a finish of higher than 12th place in his first season driving for the team, the 28-year-old Grass Valley, California native is currently in an eight-race stint during which he has recorded four top eight finishes.
Among these four top eight finishes are the first two top five finishes of his career, including a career-high fourth place finish in the race at Sonoma Raceway and a fifth place finish in the race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. His average finish during this span is a respectable 12.88.
But it appears as though Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series driver Christopher Bell will be replacing DiBenedetto behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota next season.
Bell re-signed with Joe Gibbs Racing for next season in late June, but Leavine Family Racing and Joe Gibbs Racing formed a technical alliance with one another ahead of the 2019 season after the formed switched manufacturers from Chevrolet to Toyota.
With Joe Gibbs Racing not set to have any seats left open for next season with three drivers already under contract and Erik Jones having been tipped to return to the team, Bell driving for Leavine Family Racing effectively on loan makes sense; it’s exactly what Jones did in the 2017 season when he drove the Joe Gibbs Racing-affiliated Furniture Row Racing.
So with Leavine Family Racing out of the mix for DiBenedetto, where might he end up next season? Here are five possible landing spots.
Stewart-Haas Racing (Cup Series)
Two of Stewart-Haas Racing’s four NASCAR Cup Series drivers are on the hot seat with the playoffs fast approaching, and there is a very real possibility that both of them will be left on the outside looking in once the playoffs arrive.
Even if both of them manage to qualify for the playoffs by the skins of their teeth, it is not too far-fetched to believed that at least one of them will be replaced between the 2019 and 2020 seasons. After all, the team have not kept the same driver lineup since between the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
If they do opt to replace either Bowyer or Suarez ahead of the 2020 season, it would like be with Xfinity Series superstar Cole Custer, who has made big strides driving for the team on NASCAR’s second highest level over his first three seasons as a full-time driver.
However, if they replace both of them, they cannot overlook Matt DiBenedetto.
DiBenedetto and team co-owner Tony Stewart don’t exactly have a friendly history together, but considering what he has shown in the years that have passed since then (and the fact that their notable incident with one another took place so long ago), it’s hard to see that alone getting in the way of the team signing him.
DiBenedetto has proven that he can perform at a high level if given the right equipment, and as disappointing as him losing his ride with the progressing Leavine Family Racing was, a move to Stewart-Haas Racing would still be a major upgrade.
There is a slight chance that DiBenedetto could end up at the team even if they only replace one of Suarez and Bowyer as well. Stewart-Haas Racing are not known to sign youngsters, and DiBenedetto is 28 years old while Custer is only 21.
But if he doesn’t end up at Stewart-Haas Racing for the 2020 Cup Series season, where else might he end up?
Stewart-Haas Racing (Xfinity Series)
As stated on the previous slide, if Stewart-Haas Racing opt to cut Clint Bowyer or Daniel Suarez for the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season, they would likely replace that driver with Cole Custer by promoting him from the Xfinity Series given the progression that he has shown over his first three seasons driving for the team.
Doing that would leave the seat of the #00 Ford open in the Xfinity Series, and if Matt DiBenedetto ends up not replacing one of these two drivers in the Cup Series, he could be an option to replace Custer even though it would mean leaving the Cup Series.
Again, DiBenedetto and team co-owner Tony Stewart don’t exactly have a friendly history together, but there is no reason for Stewart to let what happened several years ago get in the way of hiring the best available driver for his team at NASCAR’s second highest level.
If DiBenedetto is willing to look beyond the Cup Series for a potential ride next season, he would be smart to consider a ride with Stewart-Haas Racing in the Xfinity Series if it is on the table.
Like they are in the Cup Series, Stewart-Haas Racing are a competitive and championship-contending team in the Xfinity Series as well, and DiBenedetto has proven over the last few seasons that he can get the most out of whatever equipment he is given.
But if DiBenedetto does not end up driving for Stewart-Haas Racing at any level next season, where else might he end up?
Joe Gibbs Racing (Xfinity Series)
When Matt DiBenedetto was confirmed as the driver of the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for the upcoming NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America, it made this race seem like somewhat of a proving ground for him to illustrate that he is still the best option for Leavine Family Racing next season even given the recent rise of Christopher Bell in the Xfinity Series.
Now we know that it will be no such thing considering that fact that DiBenedetto has confirmed that he will not return to the seat of the #95 Toyota next season and Bell has been rumored to end up there.
But if Bell ends up replacing DiBenedetto, that would leave the seat of the #20 Toyota open for somebody else, and if DiBenedetto can prove his worth to Joe Gibbs Racing in this upcoming race at Road America, he could very well end up being the driver to replace Bell in what would end up effectively being a driver swap.
In other words, despite the fact that it is not exactly what it appeared as though it would be, this race is still very much a proving ground for DiBenedetto.
If he can’t land a quality Cup Series ride, a ride with Joe Gibbs Racing in the Xfinity Series would be the next best thing. They have won eight of the 2019 season’s first 22 races and DiBenedetto would undoubtedly be a regular frontrunner and perhaps a championship contender behind the wheel of the #20 Toyota Supra.
But if DiBenedetto doesn’t replace the driver who is poised to replace him, what other possibilities exist?
JR Motorsports (Xfinity Series)
Another option for Matt DiBenedetto for the NASCAR Xfinity Series next season if he is willing to leave the Cup Series is JR Motorsports.
While it is unclear who he would replace given the situations of the team’s three current full-time drivers or if he would join the team as their fourth full-time driver should this move happen, this move makes sense in the long run if he wants to return to the Cup Series as soon as possible while still competing for a contending team on some level before he returns.
Right now, there is no clear favorite to replace Jimmie Johnson behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports in the Cup Series when he eventually retires.
His current contract with the team expires at the end of the 2020 season, and while he hasn’t confirmed that he will retire at the end of the 2020 season, his recent decline in performance suggests that he may not return to the series in 2021.
A move to JR Motorsports, which are co-owned by Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick, would put DiBenedetto in a position to prove himself as a viable option to be the heir apparent to the seven-time Cup Series champion behind the wheel of the iconic #48 Chevrolet.
He would be with a contending Xfinity Series and have a solid chance to be promoted to a contending Cup Series team, and he would likely arrive at the latter sooner than he would if he were to pursue any other option in the Xfinity Series.
Front Row Motorsports (Cup Series)
David Ragan is set to step away from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition after the 2019 season concludes, so Front Row Motorsports will need to find a replacement for him behind the wheel of the #38 Ford.
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In terms of possible replacement candidates for Ragan, Matt DiBenedetto is the most proven at the Cup Series level, and he has by far the most experience.
Front Row Motorsports are one of the more established and funded teams that typically run mid-pack at best, so while this would definitely be a step back for DiBenedetto, there is certainly still upside to signing with the team.
Also, DiBenedetto previously drove for Go Fas Racing, so he knows what it’s like to drive a car while attempting to pretty much get the most out of it while not really putting a major emphasis on results.
Of course, he did step away from Go Fas Racing in large part because of the fact that he was no longer interested in running 30th every week, and he did so even though he hadn’t yet secured his ride with Leavine Family Racing. He effectively took a huge gamble just to get away from a backmarker team, and he was fortunate that it paid off.
By that logic, Front Row Motorsports would appear to be a last resort for him. That said, if he has his heart set on remaining in the Cup Series, it could be a good backup option if he doesn’t land a better ride.
Where will Matt DiBenedetto end up competing in the 2020 NASCAR season? Will he return to the Cup Series? If so, for which team will he drive, and if not, will he end up in the Xfinity Series? If he ends up in the Xfinity Series, for which team will he drive?
As disappointing as it was for DiBenedetto to lose his ride with Leavine Family Racing for the 2020 season, he should still have a plethora of options given how well he has performed so far this year and really over the last few years.