NASCAR: Matt DiBenedetto fulfills a lifelong underwear dream
By Asher Fair
Matt DiBenedetto fulfilled a lifelong dream during Sunday’s eNASCAR iRacing event at virtual Texas Motor Speedway: racing in his underwear.
Matt DiBenedetto, along with 34 other NASCAR drivers, competed in Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 125 Pro Series Invitational at Texas Motor Speedway, the second race of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series that was implemented by NASCAR and iRacing as a result of the actual season being put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.
When DiBenedetto took the green flag in this 125-lap race around the virtual four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Fort Worth, Texas, he fulfilled a lifelong dream.
That dream? Racing in his underwear.
I’ve always dreamt of racing in my underwear. Today I get to do that at 1:00 ET on Fox, FS1, and the Fox Sports app pic.twitter.com/KaQllx1aE4
— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) March 29, 2020
When you marked your calendars for the Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday, March 29 back when the 2020 schedule was released last March, this is definitely not something you anticipated seeing during that event. And if you did, I hope you placed a nice bet on it, because now you’re probably rich.
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DiBenedetto, who is in his first season driving the #21 Ford for Wood Brothers Racing at the Cup level after losing his ride to rookie Christopher Bell behind the wheel of the #95 Toyota at Leavine Family Racing over the offseason, is one of 29 drivers who have competed in both of the first two races of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series.
The first race was held last Sunday, March 22 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and it was won by Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin. DiBenedetto finished in 11th place after starting in 16th. The race at Texas Motor Speedway was won by MBM Motorsports’ Timmy Hill. DiBenedetto finished in 15th after again starting in 16th. He is one of eight drivers without a finish lower than 15th.
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The next race on the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series schedule is scheduled to take place at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway this Sunday, April 5. It is set to be simulcast live on the Fox broadcast network, Fox Sports 1 and the Fox Sports app beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET.
The actual 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season is scheduled to resume on Saturday, May 9 at Martinsville Speedway, but this remains subject to change.
Until then, eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series races are scheduled to replace the postponed Cup Series races at their respective virtual venues. With that being said, NASCAR does still plan on running all 36 real-life Cup Series races this season.