STUART, Va. – After a successful first season driving for Wood Brothers Racing, the team announced Thursday that Matt DiBenedetto will return to compete in the No. 21 Ford Mustang during the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.

In his first year with Wood Brothers Racing, DiBenedetto has earned three top-five and eight top-10 finishes. He qualified for the NASCAR playoffs for the first time this year and has earned a pair of runner-up finishes, both at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“It’s such an honor to be able to continue to drive for Wood Brothers Racing and have another year to grow with this organization,” said DiBenedetto. “I am excited to learn from our 2020 notebook and I’m confident that with a full season under our belt and working together as a team, we will produce even better results. I also want to thank Ford Performance and Team Penske for their efforts in making this happen. These types of decisions take a lot of time, as we all know there are a lot of factors in play. All three groups want to make the best decisions for everyone involved and I’m appreciative to have the opportunity to continue to compete for such a legendary race team.”

“Matt has been able to find success this year under very difficult circumstances,” said Wood Brothers Racing President and co-owner Eddie Wood. “Since he joined our team, he only had limited time working with our group due to the pandemic. While it’s been an entirely new organization, he found a way to consistently run up front and make the Playoffs. We have learned a lot together this year and we look forward to continuing to build with Matt in 2021.”

DiBenedetto’s contract with Wood Brothers Racing is for one year. Team Penske announced Thursday morning that Austin Cindric, who signed a contract extension with Penske, will take over the Wood Brothers No. 21 beginning in 2022.