LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - AUGUST 02: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, exits his car after the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - AUGUST 02: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, exits his car after the NASCAR Cup Series Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 02, 2020 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Matt DiBenedetto says Wood Brothers has until end of the month to renew his contract: UPDATE

UPDATE: Matt DiBenedetto called in to SiriusXM on Tuesday to review the weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway and give an update on his contract status for 2021. During the call, DiBenedetto said he hopes to find out this week whether or not Wood Brothers Racing will pick up his option for next season.

Original post: Talking to the media on Thursday morning, Matt DiBenedetto was asked if this weekend’s race at Bristol could impact his contact with Wood Brothers Racing to return to the #21 next season:

HOW DO YOU THINK THIS RACE WILL AFFECT WHAT HAPPENS TO YOU IN 2021 CONTRACT-WISE?

DiBenedetto: “I sure hope it doesn’t come down to just one race as far as my contract stuff for next year.  I’ve said it before, I came over here and there was a lot of people involved.  It’s a dream come true driving for the Wood Brothers.  They’re not the only ones involved.  We have a strong alliance with Team Penske, a big relationship with Ford, so there are a lot of folks involved in this and in the decision-making, but they heavily expressed they wanted this to a multi-year opportunity as far as my contract.  They heavily expressed they wanted this to be a long-term relationship, something that we build for a long time to come.  All those things, so that was very encouraging when I came over here.  I do not want to go anywhere.  I love driving for the Wood Brothers.  It’s a dream come true.  They are family and as far as my contract stuff, it has options for I think 2021, ‘22 and ‘23, if I’m not mistaken, so it’s a multi-year deal opportunity, but the team has to pick it up each year and the deadline for that is at the end of this month, so I guess I should know pretty soon.  I wish I knew now because I don’t want to go anywhere and it would put me in a pretty bad situation if something were to change, but I don’t expect any changes.  I’m just waiting to hear..  Hopefully, it works out.  Hopefully, I’m not going anywhere.  I love being the driver for our team.”

— Ford Performance —