Matt DiBenedetto Talks NASCAR Return, Vision of Viking Motorsports

After spending the start of the 2024 season on the sidelines, Matt DiBenedetto is back behind the wheel with Viking Motorsports and the team’s No. 38 NASCAR Xfinity Series car. He made his first start of the season at Richmond Raceway, and the hope is for DiBenedetto to run all the ovals in the remainder of the 2024 Xfinity calendar.

I sat down with DiBenedetto at Texas Motor Speedway on April 12 to talk about his return to competition and the garage area, his past and upcoming starts with the team and the vision that team owner and SciAps CEO Don Sackett has for Viking Motorsports’ future.

Stephen Stumpf: You’re returning to the NASCAR fields; I know you’ve also talked a lot about your faith. Can you describe the journey it’s been since your last start with Rackley WAR towards the end of last year and your first start with Viking Motorsports at Richmond Raceway?

Matt DiBenedetto: I’ve definitely had to learn over the last few years to trust in life’s process a lot more. I definitely dug a lot deeper into my faith and my walk with Christ, and it’s been an interesting journey to say the least for sure.

And that time, especially starting the year and watching the race season start and watching from the couch, it’s very difficult for sure. But yeah, I know everything works out exactly how it’s supposed to, and I’m just thankful for this opportunity that came about with Viking, this whole team and RSS Racing. Partnering with them and being the fourth car out of their stable and Don [Sackett] the owner of Viking Motorsports, their intentions and everything are so awesome.

In the meantime, I think just I have so much more gratitude for the simple things. There are so many things, man, we forget about. You forget to just love and enjoy and appreciate all the little things along the way. And I think I just have a whole lot more gratitude, and I’ve been humbled in life for a very good measure, and it allows me to just see a lot clearer and walk with more gratitude and joy as I get to do an opportunity like this.

Stumpf: When I texted with you a couple of weeks ago, you said that trying to run top 15 was your goal heading into this stint with Viking. You finished 18th in Richmond and 21st at Martinsville. How would you kind of grade your performance and the team’s performance so far with these first two races?

DiBenedetto: I think there’s…