Where I Think Matty D Could Be in 2020

Could we see Matt DiBenedetto in a top Truck Series ride in 2020? (PixelatedSPEED composite photo)

PENSACOLA, Florida (August 23, 2019) -- Alright, Matt DiBenedetto has arrived… almost. After “betting on himself” by leaving GoFas Racing following the 2018 season, Matty D landed at Levine Family Racing for 2019 driving Toyotas in a partnership with Joe Gibbs Racing.

As everyone is well aware, the same JGR tie-in is the same source of DiBenedetto’s upcoming departure from LFR once the 2019 season concludes.

DiBenedetto made the news officially official last week that he indeed would not be returning to the 95 car next season. He then followed that announcement with a stellar performance at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After leading the most laps in Bristol, and coming within only a handful of a breakthrough win, the big question going into the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series off weekend is, “Where will Matty D go in 2020?”

The most obvious answer is the Xfinity Series program at JGR. With Chirstopher Bell (presumably) moving on to Cup in Bob Levine’s 95 car, the 20 car… which has amassed five wins so far in 2019… opens up, providing an excellent opportunity for DiBenedetto.

The prevailing theory with this move is to have DiBenedetto run Xfinity in 2020, then possibly move back to Cup in a second LFR car in 2021… just in time for the debut of the new Gen 7 Cup car.

A less likely, yet still possible, solution comes with JGR partner iK9 and their Xtreme Concepts Racing team. Xtreme Concepts have run a handful of races with driver Jeffery Earnhardt in 2019, and that partnership has carried over to the Joe Gibbs Racing program. In mid-August, Earnhardt announced that he and iK9 had parted company, opening up opportunities for not only Xtreme Concepts scheduled events, but iK9 sponsored opportunities at JGR as well.

That combined partnership has led to Matty D driving in an iK9 sponsored car for JGR at Road Atlanta this coming weekend.

Throughout this entire ordeal, DiBenedetto has been nothing but gracious and thankful for all the opportunities that have been afforded to him, even amid the news of his release. Not burning those bridges could pay off in the long run if the 20 car is presented to him, or if Xtreme Concepts puts together a full time effort next season, possibly putting DiBenedetto in the seat.

Beyond the Xfinity Series, Matty D could find himself in the Gander Outdoors Truck Series driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

Here’s the logic.

The iconic 51 truck is locked up with up to five races for Kyle Busch himself. Beyond that, Chandler Smith is likely to return, and other “all-star” drivers could take turns at that seat.

KBM’s other two trucks, however, are questionable, and could become opportunities for DiBenedetto.

Between drivers Harrison Burton and Todd Gilliland, it seems very likely that Gilliland’s seat is the most likely to be vacated in 2020. Gilliland’s performance in that truck has been lackluster when compared to the pedigree established by his predecessors.

Should Gilliland leave the 4 truck, it’s not a far stretch to fathom DiBenedetto running for a truck series championship in that ride.

However, should no doors at JGR or KBM open up, there is still yet another very strong spot for the driver from Grass Valley, California.

Matty D could fit well behind the wheel of the 54 DGR-Crossley truck.

Natalie Decker has by all accounts had a very disappointing rookie season. Her teammates have far exceeded her in performance, with Tyler Ankrum making the playoffs after a convincing win at Kentucky, while Anthony Alfredo has been consistent and solid all year long.

Decker’s cavalcade of circumstance mixed with inexperience and quite frankly lack of talent (mostly due, in my opinion, to being promoted to the truck series too soon) have resulted in a mirriad of unfavorable highlight reels that could see her out come next season.

Should Decker say so long, a very capable seat backed by a solid team with respectable equipment could be a strong fit for DiBenedetto.

In the end, one thing is certain, and that’s that nothing is certain. What seems like the most logical solutions often times finds a way to be completely muddled with the complexities of sponsorships, and the politics behind the scenes of the sport.

One thing is certain in the eyes of the NASCAR fan base, and that is that Matt Dibenedetto is a star that has won over the hearts of many. His Cinderella story is sure to have a fairy tale ending, it just may take a little more time to get there.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

THOUGHTS: Sauter Being Replaced at GMS for Cheaper Champion Moffitt

Driver Johnny Sauter during qualifying for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series JAG Metals 350 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 2, 2018 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

PENSACOLA, Florida (January 10, 2019) -- Johnny Sauter was released from GMS Racing’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series No. 21 ride on Wednesday. The news comes just over a month away from the season opening race at Daytona. Brett, Moffitt, 2018 NASCAR Truck Series Champion, is expected to assume the spot vacated by Sauter.

“We cannot thank Johnny enough for his contributions to the growth and success of GMS Racing,” GMS president Mike Beam said in a statement released by the team. “He won the first championship for us and added a lot of trophies to our shop. We wish him all the best for his future endeavors, both in and out of racing.”

Sauter told SiriusXM NASCAR Radio host Dave Moody that the reasoning behind his departure is financial. He also added that he was told by GMS that Brett Moffitt would be assuming the ride.

“If he’s bringing something, it’s more than I’m bringing,” said Sauter. “Let’s just leave it at that. I don’t pay to race. If I had that kind of money, I’d be racing something else probably. … I had actually heard this rumor about being ousted out of that truck a month ago. I asked some questions and nothing ever was mentioned about it. Yeah, it’s late in the game, Daytona is a month away, there’s not a hell of a lot I can do about it. …. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s an expensive sport. Owners need money not just from sponsors today, but drivers as well

Sauter said that this change was being made due to financial reasons, with most assuming that they are sponsorship related, but are they really?

Brett Moffitt, who won the 2018 NASCAR Truck Series Championship, and did so driving for Hattori Racing Enterprises, found himself without a ride at season’s end because he did not have the funding necessary for his team to continue with him behind the wheel of the No. 16 machine.

While it’s possible that Moffitt has found yet to be announced funding, the more likely scenario is that his salary costs are less than the departing Sauter.

Johnny Sauter had raced with GMS Racing for the past three seasons. The 40 year old driver captured the 2016 Truck Series Championship with the team, and 2018 was a stellar effort with six victories. Thirteen of Sauter’s 23 career Truck Series wins have come with GMS Racing over the past three seasons.

With his recent accomplishments, and overall veteran status in NASCAR at large, it’s safe to say that Sauter expects, and gets, a decent salary… more than likely higher than that of the up and coming Moffitt.

Moffitt, enroute to his Championship, also scored six victories last year.

Is the notion that GMS is making this move because of the cost of the driver unheard of? In short, no.

Just look at Matt Kenseth’s departure from Joe Gibbs Racing. Rather than continuing to fulfill the salary incumbent of a NASCAR Cup Series Champion, JGR opted to let Kenseth go in favor of the younger, less expensive, Erik Jones.

This is all part of an ongoing trend sweeping the NASCAR garage where teams are saying goodbye to the high pay drivers of the heyday of the sport in favor of young, cheaper talent in hopes of building a new era within their operations.

Aside from thanking Sauter for his time with the team, official announcements regarding the next driver in the No. 21 have yet to be made by GMS Racing.

Currently, GMS Racing will have John Hunter Nemechek in the teams’ No. 23 Chevrolet Camaro SS in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and Sheldon Creed in the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado in the Truck Series. Also announced is a K&N and ARCA effort with Sam Mayer.

PixelatedSPEED is a motorsports news and views website covering all things racing and has been “Bringing Pixels 2 Pavement Since 2018”. If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED 

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PixelatedPICK: Gragson Ready to Shift Some Gears in Canada

Noah Gragson is eager for a strong run in Canada.

Since the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series has the weekend off, I’ve split up the PixelatedPICK this weekend between the Xfinity Series and the Camping World Truck Series.

Awesome Bill from Dawsonville, Bill Elliott was my Saturday pick in the Xfinity Series race at Road America. Bill had an up and down day, including some significant contact midway through the race that affected the car’s performance. A late race spin sent him to the back, but he fought back and finished 20th.

Bill Elliott finished 20th at Road America on Saturday.

RELATED >> PixelatedPICK: Awesome Bill Rides Again

Moving to Sunday, the truckers head north of the border to race once again at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. This race marks the first race in round one of the 2018 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.

My PixelatedPICK for this race is Noah Gragson. The Las Vegas born racer competes for Kyle Busch Motorsports and is in this year’s playoffs thanks to his win at Kansas back in May. With the win, and 22 playoff points, Gragson is seeded third in the championship standings coming into the weekend. Kyle Busch Motorsports has previously won in Canada with driver Erik Jones during the 2015 campaign. Gragson is looking for a strong start into this season’s playoffs with a solid run in Canada.

“We’ve got some good tracks coming up. We have Canada and then Vegas. Those are two really good tracks for us — we led laps there last year and finished second and then went to Vegas earlier this year and had a pretty strong run — led some laps as well. Really pumped up to get to those first two tracks and then you have the wildcard — Talladega. That one — that’s an odd ball. The first two hopefully we can pick up a win and lock ourselves in. I feel really comfortable with my Kyle Busch Motorsports Safelite AutoGlass team going into the playoffs.”

Gragson has won twice at Miller Motorsports Park.

Although Gragson is more well known for his super late model prowess, he has three previous road course victories in the K&N Pro Series before making the jump up to trucks.

“I think I’m a regular racer — NASCAR driver — who really enjoys going to the road courses. Some guys they don’t like going to the road course because it’s different, but I love out braking people, downshifting, upshifting, going left and right and sawing on the wheel. It’s a lot of fun the road courses, I picked it up quick racing Legend Cars and have really enjoyed it ever since. Won three K&N road-course races – actually in a row, within eight days. So, I’ve run up front — finished second to Chase Elliott at Sonoma in the K&N race, he passed me with two to go. Really feel comfortable going into the road-course race, it’s a lot of fun and I’m ready to get out there and shift some gears.”

This weekend, Gragson has had solid speed. He topped the leaderboard in the first practice session, then followed that up with seventh in practice two. In qualifying, Gragson was within a half second of pole sitter Ben Rhodes and line up on the outside of row number one. In comparison, third place qualifier Myatt Snider was well over a second behind Rhodes.

Gragson crashes at Dover in May.

Gragson has been solid throughout the season, but notably has run into trouble in the late stages of races, most notably contact with outside wall after a failed attempt at side-drafting Johnny Sauter with two laps to go at Dover in May.

Dramatics aside, Gragson has been very consistent this year, scoring six top fives and twelve top tens in 15 of the 16 races run this season. He qualified, but was unable to compete in Pocono due to illness. Despite missing the race, his overall performance this year has shown him to be a contender week in and week out, making him a sure fire favorite this weekend.

Each week PixelatedSPEED will pick one driver, or team, as the PixelatedPICK. No fantasy rosters, leagues, budgets, or any of that other inflated fantasy stuff... just one driver... win or lose... for the fun of it!  If you've made it this far into the post, thank you. Please consider sharing this content on the interwebs and following PixelatedSPEED on Facebook and Twitter and joining in on the conversation. http://facebook.com/PixelatedSPEED & http://twitter.com/PixelatedSPEED