Matt DiBenedetto Denies Rumours of Potential Kaulig Racing Link Up

Published 09/14/2021, 4:24 AM EDT

Matt DiBenedetto is one of several NASCAR Cup Series drivers who faces an uncertain future at this time. The Wood Brothers Racing driver is expected to lose his #21 seat next year, so he is hunting for a drive. Somehow, rumors emerged that he was being linked to a drive with Kaulig Racing in 2022.

Now, the 30-year-old has gone and set the record straight. He insisted that the rumored Kaulig move is false and was unsure of how the whispers started.

The news floating around that I signed with Kaulig Racing for next year is false. Not sure how the rumor got started but I keep getting a ton of texts about it so I had to clear that up. I’ll tag @bobpockrass so he can help spread the word so I quit getting texts 😂
— Matt DiBenedetto (@mattdracing) September 13, 2021

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He told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in July, “I got to trust the gods. It doesn’t make it easy though. I have got to keep on digging, look at the positives. What’s in my control is knowing that we have made great changes. It’s all about relationships, no disrespect, but we’ve just got to work.”

What lies ahead for Matt DiBenedetto and Kaulig Racing

At the moment, Kaulig Racing have confirmed Justin Haley in the #16 car. Meanwhile, they will field a second car with AJ Allmendinger running on a part-time basis. However, Matt DiBenedetto has made it perfectly clear that he has no plans for a Kaulig Racing part-time gig.

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All he can do now is focus on performing to the best of his ability. The #21 driver currently sits 18th in the standings and out of the Playoff spots. So, the best that he can finish is 17th place, though Austin Dillon has a sizeable gap over him. At the same time, only one point separates him from Ross Chastain, with Chris Buescher also lurking.

Matt DiBenedetto is perfectly capable of pulling off decent performances in the Wood Brothers Racing car. So far this season, he has delivered seven Top 10 finishes and a best finish of 4th at Kansas. Now, the driver will be focusing on trying to snatch 17th place, and has plenty of races to do so. There are currently eight races left this season, so he needs to outscore Dillon in every one of them.

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At the same time, he has to hope that none of his other rivals will outscore him. All it takes is one bad race for Dillon to extend the gap and for Chastain and Buescher to catch up and overtake.

“Keep on Digging” – Matt DiBenedetto on his NASCAR Cup Series Future

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.