In the Spotlight: Matt DiBenedetto

You've heard this name often over the past few weeks. He came so close at Bristol to capturing his first Monster Energy Cup Series win shortly after news broke that he will not be with Leavine Family Racing in 2020. His post-race interview stole the hearts of many and drew in more support from fellow competitors.

Matt DiBenedetto is quickly becoming a star in NASCAR but who is he and how did this all begin?

He was born in Nevada City, California and has one brother and two sisters.

Matt's father, Tony, bought a used kart after noticing that there was a bigger interest than baseball for eight year old DiBenedetto. In this kart is where he got his first win.

From there, Matt moved up to the UARA-Stars late model series.

Unfortunately, the DiBenedetto family made the decision to sell all of the race equipment due to financial stress but he continued to race for other teams at local short tracks like Franklin County Speedway in Virginia and Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina.

At the famed Hickory Motor Speedway is where he caught the eyes of Joe Gibbs himself which landed him a ride in the Camping World East Series (now known as the K&N series).

In 2009, DiBenedetto made his Nationwide Series (Xfinity) debut in the black #20 Toyota. In 2010, while competing for JGR part time, he took home two top ten finishes out of just six races.

Because of a lack of sponsorship he had to leave K&N's X Team Racing to join The Motorsports Group to become a start and park part time driver. Matt joined Vision Racing in 2013 to drive the No. 37 part time also as a start and park driver.

In 2015, DiBenedetto made his Cup Series debut at Phoenix International Raceway and soon took over the No. 83 as a full time driver.

He returned to the Xfinity Series in 2016 where he started and parked finishing P40 for TriStar Motorsports. At Texas Motor Speedway he got a concussion after crashing into the outside wall and was unable to race the following day in the Cup Series.

Matt earned his first career top ten finish at Bristol Motor Speedway finishing in sixth place while also giving BK Racing their first top ten finish since 2012.

At the end of 2016, he announced that he would be leaving BK Racing and from there would move to Go Fas Racing to compete in the No. 32 full time. In the 2017 Daytona 500, Matt finished P9.

In 2018, DiBenedetto reached out on Twitter in an effort to find a sponsor to race in the Phoenix spring race. That idea led to something bigger as Denny Hamlin and others began donating. This eventually landed a bigger sponsorship with Zynga Poker.

In October 2018, he announced that he signed a contract with Leavine Family Racing. In the 2019 Daytona 500, his first race with the team, he led 49 laps but was collected with 10 laps to go.

In August 2019, Matt led 93 laps before being passed with 12 laps to go by Denny Hamlin.

Franklin County Speedway local and race fan Michael Underwood, says he was in attendance to watch Matt DiBenedetto race at FCS along with Bubba Wallace. When I asked Underwood what he thinks sets this driver apart from others he had a simple response that fans alike would agree with. "He's (Matt) a humble guy that I believe will never forget where he came from".

Although born and raised in California, DiBenedetto quickly found home in North Carolina and earned the respect of many.

Matt DiBenedetto has worked hard to get to where he is today but there's one goal he has yet to achieve and that dream just might come true soon.

Can he win his first Monster Energy Cup Series race before the 2019 season comes to a close? Stay tuned!