NASCAR: 3 possible landing spots for Matt DiBenedetto in 2021
By Asher Fair
Wood Brothers Racing
This, for now, seems like the safe bet.
Matt DiBenedetto’s Leavine Family Racing deal was pretty much a one-year rental from the start as Joe Gibbs Racing clearly wanted to work Christopher Bell up to the Cup Series following a second year in the Xfinity Series.
DiBenedetto’s progression and that of the team was impressive, but it could have been 10 times more impressive and it wouldn’t have made any difference; it was always going to be Joe Gibbs and Bell in position to capitalize, effectively giving Gibbs a five-car team.
At Wood Brothers Racing, this isn’t the case, and DiBenedetto should be quite grateful for that considering the fact that this is by far his best opportunity yet.
Their technical alliance has been in place with Team Penske for five seasons, and it has produced a competitive #21 Ford, with Ryan Blaney winning at Pocono Raceway in June of 2017 and advancing to the round of 8 before he was promoted to Team Penske themselves.
If DiBenedetto has a competitive first year driving for the team, particularly if he qualifies for the playoffs for the first team and possible even wins for the first time, why would he want to go anywhere, and why would the team want to move on from him after just one year?
Through four races, he has already finished in second place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and he sits in a ninth place tie in the championship standings.