Viking Motorsports has made a driver change to its NASCAR Xfinity Series No. 99 Chevrolet. Out is Matt DiBenedetto as NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series regular Connor Mosack takes over with just three races remaining in the NXS season.
Mosack will make his team debut this Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway. DiBenedetto had been with VM since 2024 achieving one top five and four top 10 finishes in 58 starts. He was 22nd in driver points.
No Reasons Given
Via a team press release on Monday, Viking Motorsports just said they were making the driver change effective immediately for the remaining races of Talladega, Martinsville Speedway and Phoenix Raceway.
“We’d like to thank Matt for his contributions throughout our inaugural season,” said Jeremy Lange, general manager of Viking Motorsports. “He played a meaningful role in establishing the foundation of this team, and we wish him the best.”
It also said the team would announce a future driver for the 2026 season at a later date. This season, DiBenedetto had only one top 1o finish for the team which was achieved at Talladega in April. He was ranked 22nd in NXS driver points.
History Repeats Itself for Matty D
In 2023, DiBenedetto was driving the No. 25 Chevrolet for the NCTS team of Rackley W.A.R. when he was let go with three races remaining. During his two-season tenure, he won one race doing so at Talladega.
After two seasons with Wood Brothers Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, he was relieved of his driving duties in the team’s No. 21 Ford and replaced with Harrison Burton. During his tenure there, the most memorable race for him took place at the 2019 Bristol Motor Speedway night event when he led 93 laps.
However, with 12 circuits remaining, he was passed by eventual race winner Denny Hamlin. A visibly upset DiBenedetto did his post-race interview as the crowd cheered for his tenacity and hard-fought battle when he was shown on the big screen.
Through his 248 NCS starts for several teams, he has nine top five and 31 top 10 finishes. In NXS competition, he has 1 top five and six top 10s through 127 career starts.
Mosack Moves Up
Mosack, who most recently finished fifth at the Charlotte Roval driving for JR Motorsports, is making his 32nd NXS start. He currently runs full time in NCTS driving the No. 81 Chevrolet for MHR Motorsports.
He will be pulling double duty running both series this weekend for the two different teams.
Mosack has made his name know by running road courses. This year, he raced two for SS green Light Racing at Chicago Street Racing and Portland Raceway, and the other for JR Motorsports at Charlotte.
Mosack has raced one full season in the NXS doing so for Sam Hunt Racing in 2023. During that year, he earned one top five and two top 10s with a best finish of fifth at Watkins Glen International.
What’s next for the 34-year-old driver of DiBenedetto remains to be seen as he has now been released from three different teams in three different series since 2021.
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