NASCAR Cup Contenders Had Better Not Sleep on Matt DiBenedetto in 2021
Wood Brothers Racing driver out to make a good impression before moving on to a new opportunity in 2022.
By Greg Engle
Matt DiBenedetto ran well last season, scoring three top-five finishes, including two runner-up finishes.
DiBenedetto, who has six years in the Cup Series under his belt, finished a career-best 13th in the NASCAR Cup standings in 2020.
DiBenedetto, 29, is slated to be replaced at Wood Brothers by Austin Cindric in 2022.
When the prognosticators start discussing who might win the 2021 NASCAR Cup title, the names most often mentioned will probably be Harvick, Truex, Logano, Hamlin, Keselowski, or Kyle Busch. There’s one name however that likely won’t be among the discussion.
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By RJ Kraft and Pat DeCola NASCAR.com January 14, 2021 at 9:38 AM
Last year’s class of freshmen NASCAR Cup Series drivers led by Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and two-time Xfinity Series champion Tyler Reddick was one of the most buzzed about rookie crops in recent years.
Bell had an up-and-down season peaking with a third-place run in the third-to-last race of the year at Texas Motor Speedway, Reddick showed extremely promising flashes in a fourth-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway and a runner-up finish at Texas in the summer. However, it was Custer who nabbed a win with a thrilling restart at Kentucky Speedway in July, made the playoffs and captured Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors. The victory made Custer the first Cup rookie to win since Chris Buescher did so at Pocono in 2016.