Wood Brothers Racing Tag

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Coming into Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, a nerve-wracking night was ahead for those drivers that had yet to lock themselves into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Now that the checkered flag has fallen on the regular season, Matt DiBenedetto can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he will be one of the 16 drivers battling it out for a championship over the next 10 weeks. DiBenedetto had a slim nine-point advantage when the night began, so it was key for the driverRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Matt DiBenedetto’s momentous first year with Wood Brothers Racing continued after a one-day turnaround puts him a bit closer of making the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with just Daytona (road course and oval) and the Dover doubleheader remaining in the regular season. Following a disappointing 15th in Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400, DiBenedetto’s second go around at Michigan International Speedway was more encouraging as he finished seventh in Sunday’s Consumers Energy 400. In what can be best described as a tough race that even DiBenedetto had himselfRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Wood Brothers Racing’s Matt DiBenedetto scored a much needed third-place finish in Sunday’s Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway after restarting in eighth with two laps remaining. The wild restart saw DiBenedetto giving tremendous push on Cole Custer, gaining some spots along the way. That exact push into Turn 1 played a pivotal role towards the 22-year-old’s sudden charge and mesmerizing four-wide pass for the race win on the last lap. With the race win was unfolding in front of DiBenedetto, he had a battle ofRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, it was a common sight to see the Wood Brothers and Petty Enterprises battling it out for the win, but in the following decades, both teams found themselves in a slump. All of that changed when the NASCAR Cup Series rolled into Bristol in March 2001 with Elliott Sadler and John Andretti driving the famous No. 21 and No. 43 cars for the Wood Brothers and Petty Enterprises, respectively. As the Food City 500 played out, several drivers took their turnsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Since being named as the driver of the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford for the 2020 season, Matt DiBenedetto has made no secret of just how excited he is to drive for a team engrained with so much history in NASCAR Cup Series competition. Now, DiBenedetto is showing why he was the right man for the job after tying his career-best finish with a second-place result in Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “This one was an encouraging second-place finish for sure,” DiBenedettoRead More

By Luis Torres, Staff Writer Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into February’s running of the Daytona 500. Age: 28 Years in Cup: Five Career Wins: Zero “I’m not done yet. Something will come open. It’s going to happen. I’m here to win. Something’s going to come open.” Those are the words Matt DiBenedetto said after his greatest drive of his ongoing roller coaster NASCAR career during last August’s memorable Bristol Night Race. The sport’s favorite underdog led 93 of 500Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor Wood Brothers Racing will have a new driver behind the wheel in 2020 as the team announced on Tuesday that Paul Menard will be retiring from full-time driving at the end of the season, with Matt DiBenedetto replacing him in the cockpit of the famed No. 21 Ford. Menard, who has driven for the Wood Brothers for the last two seasons and full-time in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series since 2008, cited wanting to spend more time at home with his family as oneRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Late-race pit strategy by crew chief Greg Erwin earned Paul Menard his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series top-10 finish of 2019. Menard was one of just four drivers, including race winner Kyle Busch, that elected not to pit under caution with 20 laps go in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. After running just outside the top-10 prior to the caution in the No. 21 Menards / Sylvania Ford Mustang, he found himself in prime position to attempt an upset. On theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Jimmie Johnson, who had crashed in the past six running of the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona International Speedway, found a way to win the 2019 version of the season-opening exhibition race—by helping to trigger a wreck that eliminated nearly everyone else. Moments before a rainstorm halted the action and ultimately made the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race official after 59 of 75 scheduled laps, Johnson—running second on Lap 56—pulled to the inside of leader Paul Menard, who movedRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent *Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for the full-time drivers in the series leading into next month’s 61st running of the Daytona 500. Age: 38 Years in Cup: 12 Career Wins: One The 2018 season marked the best for Paul Menard since he made the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2015. In 2018, Menard earned just one top-five finish, in a rain-shortened race at Michigan International Speedway. He earned a total of seven top-10 finishes throughout the season. MenardRead More