Matt DiBenedetto, NASCAR Winner At Last

TALLADEGA, Ala. – At the end of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, Matt DiBenedetto had lost almost everything.

For months after being told he wouldn’t be returning to his Cup ride with Wood Brothers Racing, the Californian and his family tossed and turned at night, worrying if he would even have a job in 2022. And even if he did, could he win?

After all, in eight years of near-full-time NASCAR racing, DiBenedetto had never won a race.

However, on Saturday afternoon, Oct. 1 at Talladega Superspeedway, the 31-year-old DiBenedetto became a NASCAR winner at last, 11 months after that uncertainty.

“Such a long time coming,” an elated and tearful DiBenedetto said on the frontstretch. “[My fans] have bared with me through so much and me being a reckless human being. I’m so grateful. I’m so thankful.”

It was a long-awaited milestone on a long and bumpy road for the journeyman racer.

For eight years, DiBenedetto juggled Cup ride after Cup ride with a number of teams, collecting the rare top 10 with each part-time year that passed. However, in 2021, his time and luck had run out. The fan-favorite Californian was set to be released from Wood Brothers at the end of the season in favor for the upcoming young talent of Harrison Burton.

The uncertain future left DiBenedetto and his family humbled and a little worried. How could he continue doing what he loved? Could he still be a race car driver? Would he even still be able to pay the bills?

“I’m so thankful for [my wife] and my parents,” said DiBenedetto. “We’ve grown so close over the last year. There have been a lot of tears shed throughout the years.”

It wasn’t until early January when DiBenedetto was contacted by Curtis Sutton, owner of Rackley W.A.R. race team, with an offer of a full-time ride in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. It was a risk for Sutton. After all, DiBenedetto had never won a NASCAR race on the national circuit before.

But the crew took a liking to him immediately, and DiBenedetto realized that sometimes less is more.

“I’m very blessed and thankful to be where I’m at and driving in the Truck Series,” said DiBenedetto, who had never turned a lap in the Truck Series until February at Daytona International Speedway. “Even my parents and my wife were saying, ‘You know, this is kind of your forte. Driving for small teams. Building a family environment.’

“When you talk to [team owners Curtis Sutton and Willie Allen] and the business and family…