By Jerry Jordan, Editor
BRISTOL, Tenn. – After much speculation, news finally came Thursday morning confirming that Matt DiBenedetto would not be back in the No. 95 for Leavine Family Racing in 2020 as the team apparently makes way to accept Christopher Bell into the fold.
“I got the devastating news that I will not be able to return to Leavine Family Racing next season. Nonetheless, I can’t express how thankful I am for Bob, Sharon, Matt Diliberto and everyone at LFR and Toyota for allowing me to do exactly I set out to do, which was showcase my talent. It has been exciting for us as a team to get Top-5s, Top-10s and lead the most laps in the Daytona 500.”
DiBenedetto has been on a huge run, so far, in 2019 with the best finishes of his career, leading laps and as he said, knocking off Top-10s and Top-5s. Earlier this year, he scored a fourth at Sonoma Raceway and two weeks ago at Watkins Glen he finished sixth. At New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he was fifth.
The news hit DiBenedetto hard but he promised his fans that he wouldn’t back down and has no intention of walking away and hanging up his helmet.
“I have every intention of driving my heart out the rest of the season to not only get more of these kinds of finishes but to get them their first win I would love to do that for them,” DiBenedetto said. “Although this a difficult time for me, NOTHING is going to stop me from winning in the NASCAR Cup Series. I’m hopeful there is a team out there that will me the chance to continue my dream and allow me to win for them.”
With Bell being the hottest commodity in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage and needing to move up to the Cup Series sooner rather than later, he appears to be the driver-in-waiting.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Team owner, Bob Leavine, was not immediately available for comment as the Cup Series haulers hadn’t yet arrived at Bristol. Leavine is diligent about responding to media and fans and when those comments come, they will be updated in this article.