Why am I even thinking about this?
With the Bojangle’s Southern 500 coming up on Labor Day weekend a lot of focus is on throwback schemes, tradition, and the playoff picture across all of NASCAR, but not for this blogger. Around mid day on Thursday Matt Dibenedetto revealed a Barstool Sports scheme that he will run for Talladega and Las Vegas. This coming after Barstool president Dave Portnoy declared Matty D “The People’s Champ” after the Bristol night race. As I dive deep into this conspiracy theory, Portnoy recently was seen wearing a Dale Earnhardt “Damn I’m Good” shirt recently in one of his famous pizza reviews. Based on this limited information it is evident Portnoy loves NASCAR and especially is a big Matty D fan.
The (Insane) Logic
Is it possible this is more than a publicity stunt or just a sponsorship? I think so. Dibenedetto’s career has been in limbo since he announced earlier in August that he would be leaving Leavine Family Racing (LFR) at the end of the year. Most NASCAR talking heads would speculate that he would end up on a satellite team or racing part time for a small team, but what if the team Dibenedetto ends up on has never been in NASCAR before?
Enter Barstool and Dave Portnoy. The sports giant has established itself as a winner in the sports media world and I could see Portnoy, whose gambling exploits can be found all over his Twitter account, taking a chance on starting a team next year with Matty D in the whip. Is it possible? Yes. Is it probable? I say yes to that as well. Barstool is all about the exposure and what better way to reach a greater audience than having a mobile billboard on national television for three hours?
The Impact
Personally I’m a Joe Gibbs Racing homer all day, but even I have to take the time to acknowledge the talent and determination of Matt Dibenedetto. I believe he deserves a Ride next year and further, I believe he deserves heartfelt sponsorship like Barstool. Recently i watched the “Smoke” Tony Stewart documentary and he talked highly of his partnership with Home Depot and how it felt like a family and I could see a similar partnership between Dibenedetto and Barstool forming before my eyes. The Peoples Champ, sorry Dwayne Johnson, backed by a media mogul like Portnoy would help revitalize NASCAR and bring the youth back into the sport the way it was at the peak of the sports rise.
The Wrap-up
To sum it all up, Portnoy/Dibenedetto NASCAR champs 2020. If it happens you heard it here first and if not then I’m a conspiring nut job and please ignore me, but I’ll hold onto my dreams for now and the hope that this partnership goes beyond the two race deal currently scheduled.
