Matt DiBenedetto Bio
Matthew Guido DiBenedetto, born on July 27, 1991, is an American professional stock car racing driver. He most recently competed full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 99 Chevrolet Camaro SS for Viking Motorsports in 2025. Across more than fifteen years in NASCAR, DiBenedetto has raced in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, the NASCAR Cup Series, the ARCA Menards Series, and the ARCA Menards Series East, building a reputation for perseverance and a knack for short tracks and superspeedways.
Early Life and Background
DiBenedetto was born in Nevada City, California, to parents Sandy and Tony DiBenedetto, and was raised in nearby Grass Valley. He grew up with three siblings: Austin, Katie, and Kelley. Austin DiBenedetto is a member of the United States Air Force. Matt developed an early interest in auto racing after receiving a Little League trophy at around age eight, choosing motorsports broadcasts over baseball on television.
His father, Tony, had raced an Opel Manta in SCCA and IMSA competition in the late 1970s and early 1980s, planting the seeds for Matt’s career. When a teammate on Matt’s Little League squad began running mini karts, Tony purchased a used kart for his son, and young DiBenedetto promptly drove it to his first victory. He later progressed to the UARA-Stars series, racing late models and capturing the 2007 UARA-Stars Late Model Series Rookie of the Year award. In 2004, he also won the track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway.
Path to NASCAR
Following the 2007 UARA-Stars season, the DiBenedetto family sold all of their racing equipment due to financial pressure. Starting in 2008, Matt drove for the Fat Head Racing Driver Development Program in the UARA-Stars, becoming teammates with Darrell Wallace Jr. and Brennan Poole under team owner Jamie Yelton. His performances caught the attention of Joe Gibbs Racing, which brought him into the NASCAR Camping World East Series as a development driver.
DiBenedetto made his NASCAR national-series debut in 2009 at Memphis Motorsports Park in the Nationwide Series, driving the No. 20 Pizza Ranch-sponsored Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing. He continued part-time with the team in 2010, posting two top-ten finishes across six starts. The partnership established the foundation for a long career that would eventually span all three of NASCAR’s top national tours.
Matt DiBenedetto Career
Early Career (2009-2014)
After his time with Joe Gibbs Racing, DiBenedetto bounced through several underfunded teams to keep his career alive. In 2012, he joined The Motorsports Group midway through the season and ran as a start-and-park driver in seven Xfinity Series races. The following year, he drove the No. 37 for Vision Racing part-time. DiBenedetto later credited the start-and-park stretch with giving him valuable seat time that paid off later in his career.
In 2014, he filled in for an injured Jeffrey Earnhardt at Daytona in the No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet, then split the season between The Motorsports Group’s No. 46 and No. 40 entries, scoring two top-fifteen finishes at Road America and Mid-Ohio. He finished a then career-high 21st in the Xfinity Series standings, keeping his Cup Series hopes alive.
Cup Series Breakthrough (2015-2018)
DiBenedetto moved up to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2015 with BK Racing, originally splitting time in the No. 83 before taking the ride full-time. His first top-ten finish came in the 2016 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he placed sixth, a career-best at the time and the first top-ten for BK Racing since 2012. After parting ways with BK Racing, he signed with Go Fas Racing to drive the No. 32 Ford Fusion full-time in 2017.
With Go Fas, DiBenedetto became statistically the team’s best driver since its 2011 founding. He finished ninth in the 2017 Daytona 500 and added an eighth-place run at the Brickyard 400. He built a passionate online following through a Reddit fan campaign that nearly voted him into the 2016 and 2017 All-Star Races, and the community helped fund sponsorship through the #TeamBurrito program when his car had no sponsor for the spring 2018 ISM race.
In October 2018, DiBenedetto signed a two-year deal with Leavine Family Racing to drive the No. 95 Toyota Camry starting in 2019. He nearly won the 2019 Daytona 500, leading a race-high 49 laps before being collected in the Big One late in the race. He scored a career-best second-place finish at the Bristol Night Race, leading 93 laps, and closed the year 22nd in points with career highs in top-fives, top-tens, and laps led.
Wood Brothers Racing Era (2020-2021)
On September 10, 2019, Wood Brothers Racing signed DiBenedetto to drive the iconic No. 21 Ford Mustang full-time beginning in 2020. He qualified for his first Cup Series playoffs that season, edging seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson for the final seed by six points at Daytona. He was eliminated in the opening round at Bristol but tied his career-best second-place finish at Las Vegas and finished the year 13th in points with a career-high 11 top-tens.
At the 2020 Talladega race, DiBenedetto grabbed the lead with two laps to go, only to see Denny Hamlin beat him to the line by twenty-three one-thousandths of a second, the second-closest finish in Cup Series history at the time. He returned to the Wood Brothers in 2021, his final season with the team, posting a season-best fourth at Kansas before Harrison Burton was announced as his replacement.
Driving Style and Strengths
DiBenedetto is widely regarded as a strong short-track and superspeedway racer, with his Talladega and Bristol runs standing out as the highlights of his Cup career. He is known for steady race craft, an ability to stretch fuel mileage, and a willingness to mix it up in traffic. His tenure at Wood Brothers featured a strong partnership with the team, even as the organization adjusted to the Next Gen car’s demands.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments include his runner-up finish at the 2019 Bristol Night Race, his near-miss at the 2019 Daytona 500, and his heartbreaking 0.023-second loss at the 2020 Talladega race. His first national-series victory came in dramatic fashion at the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway in the Craftsman Truck Series, where he worked through the draft to take the checkered flag.
Matt DiBenedetto Career Wins
DiBenedetto’s lone national-series victory came in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, driving the No. 25 for Rackley W.A.R. He has also accumulated numerous top-ten finishes across the Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series, as well as regional accolades from his late model days.
Craftsman Truck Series Highlights
DiBenedetto joined Rackley W.A.R. full-time in the Truck Series in 2022 and made an immediate impact, finishing tenth in his debut at Daytona. His first national-series win came in the 2022 Chevrolet Silverado 250 at Talladega Superspeedway, a breakthrough he had chased for more than a decade. In 2023, he qualified for the Truck Series Playoffs before being eliminated at Kansas and parting ways with the team late in the year.
Other Wins and Performances
Earlier in his career, DiBenedetto won the 2004 track championship at Hickory Motor Speedway and the 2007 UARA-Stars Late Model Series Rookie of the Year award. He has consistently delivered strong runs in start-and-park and part-time rides throughout his career, building the experience that ultimately fueled his success at the national level.
Matt DiBenedetto Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
DiBenedetto comes from a close-knit racing family. His father, Tony, competed in SCCA and IMSA events in the late 1970s and early 1980s, racing an Opel Manta before transitioning into a support role for his son’s career. His mother, Sandy, has also been a steady presence throughout his racing journey. Matt’s older brother Austin serves in the United States Air Force, and he has two sisters, Katie and Kelley.
Personal Life
In 2015, DiBenedetto married his childhood friend Taylor Carswell. The couple currently resides in Hickory, North Carolina, where Matt’s racing operation is based. They share their home with a dog named Brian. In 2021, fellow NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell baptized DiBenedetto, a public expression of his Christian faith.
2025 Season Performance
Heading into 2025, DiBenedetto was announced as the full-time driver of the newly renumbered No. 99 Viking Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro SS in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team had switched from Ford to Chevrolet over the off-season and ended its partnership with RSS Racing, signaling a fresh start. DiBenedetto opened the year with back-to-back top-fifteenth finishes at Daytona and Atlanta, showing early pace and consistency.
His best run of the season came at the 2025 Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, where he finished fifth for his career-best Xfinity Series result. He added another pair of top-ten finishes at Iowa Speedway and Michigan International Speedway during a midseason stretch that cemented his role as Viking Motorsports’ lead driver. However, on October 13, 2025, Viking Motorsports announced that they had parted ways with DiBenedetto effective immediately, with Connor Mosack taking over the No. 99 for the remainder of the season.