Like the most famous song from Hamilton says, Matt DiBenedetto is not throwing away his shot.
It’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Matt DiBenedetto. Except for a practice run-in with Tony Stewart a few years ago, you can’t really say that he’s been in a feud with anyone in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, and the 27-year-old is a likable guy who, like a number of other drivers, simply hasn’t been given a chance to race in top notch equipment, or anything resembling it.
He might be getting that chance soon.
DiBenedetto took to social media on Friday to announce that he and Go Fas Racing would be parting ways at the end of the season after two years together.
I will have a media availability in the media center tomorrow at 9:45am pic.twitter.com/cZ4DsKQ7pI
— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) September 7, 2018
The key part of his statement is where he says “Winning races has always been the goal and now I’m taking a leap of faith and betting on myself to prove it.” With all due respect to the hard-working people at Go Fas Racing, that was likely never going to happen with that team.
It also makes it sound like DiBenedetto already has a new gig lined up, but apparently that is not the case. However, Adam Stern of SportsBusiness Journal has a source with a few interesting possibilities to share.
As @MattDRacing said on @SiriusXMNASCAR earlier tonight, he does not yet have a deal lined up for '19 to replace his ride @GoFasRacing32.
— Adam Stern (@A_S12) September 8, 2018
⚊ People familiar said his options include spots @RCRracing, @GMSRacingLLC and @Team_FRM. pic.twitter.com/54GRck3d3k
Let’s break these down from most appealing to least appealing.
Richard Childress Racing
The No. 31 Chevrolet driven by Ryan Newman appears to be very much in play. While RCR is quite a bit off the pace compared to its glory years, both of its cars have won races either this year or last, and they are just good enough for DiBenedetto to know if he’s got what it takes to hang with the best on a regular basis.
GMS Racing
This is the wild card of the three because it hasn’t yet made it to the Cup Series, despite investigating purchases of both BK Racing and Furniture Row Racing. Still, GMS is a powerhouse at the Truck Series level, has fielded competitive XFINITY Series cars and has a technical partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, meaning it is more prepared than many teams that make the jump. This would be a step up for DiBenedetto but not likely one that would answer his ultimate question about how he could do with really top notch cars, or at least not immediately.
Front Row Motorsports
Maybe Michael McDowell is a cautionary tale here for DiBenedetto. Plenty of fans wanted to see what McDowell could do in a better ride, but it’s questionable whether Front Row Motorsports has put him in a much better situation than he was in before joining the team. The same would be true for DiBenedetto, as he currently sits 30th in the standings while the two FRM drivers are … 25th and 26th.
The advantages would be in going to a multi-car team that doesn’t seem to be in quite as precarious a sponsorship position, sticking with Ford and the fact that Front Row actually has a seat to offer him after buying BK Racing. We’re calling this the most likely of the three to be where DiBenedetto actually lands, but the least appealing from a “racing for wins” standpoint in 2019. Perhaps we’ll learn a little more during DiBenedetto’s media availability this weekend.