Matt DiBenedetto to make NASCAR return in Las Vegas O’Reilly race

Matt DiBenedetto will be back behind the wheel of a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series car, driving the No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 3. Magnesium Performance Wheels will sponsor the effort.

Catchfence.com’s Chris Knight broke the story, with DiBenedetto expressing excitement and gratitude over the opportunity.

DiBenedetto is a highly experienced NASCAR driver with 248 Cup starts, 127 O’Reilly starts, and 43 Truck starts. 

He last started a race at the national level in 2025, abruptly booted from the seat of his full-time ride with Viking Motorsports late in the season. He attempted to qualify for the Cup race at Darlington earlier this year, driving for Joey Gase Motorsports, but failed to make the show.

Matt DiBenedetto, Viking Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images

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DiBenedetto won a Truck race at Talladega in 2022 with a career-best finish of fifth in the O’Reilly Series (Talladega 2025). In the Cup Series, he never reached Victory Lane but earned three runner-up finishes, with two of those coming at Las Vegas in 2020.

Vegas has been a good track for DiBenedetto at the top level of the sport, and his most recent NASCAR O’Reilly start came at the 1.5-mile intermediate track. He finished 19th there last fall.

Young’s Motorsports has utilized various drivers in its No. 42 Chevrolet this year. In 2026, the car has featured Carson Hocevar, J.J. Yeley, Nick Leitz, Nathan Byrd, Brad Perez, David Starr, Logan Bearden, Will Rodgers, C.J. McLaughlin, Baltazar Leguizamon, Garrett Smithley, and most recently Natalie Decker.

Byrd delivered the No. 42 its best result of the 2026 season, finishing 16th at Rockingham.

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– The Motorsport.com Team