NASCAR: Matt DiBenedetto shoots down new contract rumor

Matt DiBenedetto shot down a rumor that he had signed a deal to compete in the 2022 NASCAR season, as his quest for a ride continues.

Matt DiBenedetto has found himself in a position much like the ones in which he has found himself during many recent NASCAR silly seasons: searching for a new ride.

Fortunately for him, he has managed to land full-time Cup Series rides for seven consecutive seasons. He hasn’t been without a full-time ride at NASCAR’s top level since before he made his Cup Series debut back in 2015.

However, he is still searching for a seat in 2022 after it was announced that he is to be replaced at Wood Brothers Racing behind the wheel of the #21 Ford by Harrison Burton.

Austin Cindric had been slated to replace DiBenedetto in a move that was actually announced all the way back in October 2020.

But with Brad Keselowski set to leave Team Penske for Roush Fenway Racing after the 2021 season, Team Penske announced that Cindric is instead set to move straight from their Xfinity Series team to their Cup Series team without a stop at the Team Penske-affiliated Wood Brothers Racing along the way.

Yet even with Cindric not moving to the #21 Ford, DiBenedetto finds himself without a deal to compete beyond the 2021 season finale at Phoenix Raceway in early November.

And that has naturally led to rumors and speculation about where, if anywhere, he might end up competing in 2022.

One such rumor turned into “news” that is really “false news”, and DiBenedetto addressed it as such.

He has not actually signed a deal to drive for Kaulig Racing for next year.

https://twitter.com/mattdracing/status/1437205995353223169

Fox Sports reporter Bob Pockrass did retweet DiBenedetto’s message to help spread the word.

Kaulig Racing are set to compete in both the Xfinity Series and the Cup Series next year. They have competed full-time in the former since the 2016 season and they made their debut in the latter in last year’s Daytona 500. They compete part-time in the Cup Series this year.

The Matt Kaulig-owned team recently purchased two charters from Spire Motorsports to compete full-time in the Cup Series with two cars in 2022, and they have announced that Justin Haley, who currently competes full-time for the team in the Xfinity Series, is set to compete full-time behind the wheel of one of those two cars.

A.J. Allmendinger, who also competes full-time for the team in the Xfinity Series, is set to drive the other, but only on a part-time basis, as he is set to return to his current ride in the Xfinity Series next year.

Allmendinger’s Cup Series schedule has not yet been confirmed, and the other driver(s) with whom he will share the second Kaulig Racing car have also not yet been announced.

Theoretically, DiBenedetto could (and should) be considered a possibility, but as he has made very clear, nothing has been signed.