Matt DiBenedetto’s dog Brian is a very good boy

Matt DiBenedetto’s dog Brian is a very good boy.

Unlike some other racer dogs (cough, looking at you, Finn Bowman), NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto’s dog Brian is a very obedient pupper.

DiBenedetto, who is often called Matty D or Burrito because people can’t spell his last name correctly, talked a little bit about Brian during an interview with Frontstretch‘s Dustin Albino earlier this week on The Frontstretch Podcast.

“Brian – and I’m trying not to be biased here, cause he is my dog, but everyone who meets him says the same thing – I’d give him a 10 out of 10 for incredible behavior,” DiBenedetto said. “He is fully trained on- and off-leash, obedience trained by a friend of ours in Mooresville [North Carolina], and his temperament is amazing.

“He’s a really chill dog, just loves to hang around – he’s a great nap partner – Brian is the ultimate perfect dog.”

DiBenedetto and his wife Taylor named their Labrador after the dog on South Park, and he often guest appearances on both of their Twitter accounts.

Taylor even made sure that Brian could accompany DiBenedetto to the track this season via a custom-designed mask, which is pretty amazing.

Matt DiBenedetto, from the Northern California dirt-racing hotbed of Grass Valley,  is in his sixth full-time season in the Cup Series after a rocky journey up the ladder, which included a lot of time in start-and-park entries in the Triple-A level Xfinity Series. In Cup, he has previously driven for BK Racing, Go FAS Racing, and Leavine Family Racing.

He’s having the best season of his career in his first year behind the wheel of the No. 21 Ford Mustang for Wood Brothers Racing, qualifying for the playoffs, which means he can finish no worse than 16th in the final standings.

Through 27 races in 2020, DiBenedetto has a best finish of second at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, two top fives, seven top 10s, a pole at Dover International Speedway and 51 laps led. He has also logged 91 stage points en route to an average finish of 15th.

DiBenedetto is a fan favorite due to his frequent social media usage, and an encouraging sign for old-school race fans because he’s worked his way up from poor equipment to better rides, improving his teams’ performance at each stop.

His fellow drivers Bubba Wallace and Martin Truex Jr have both adopted dogs this season, because, as Xfinity Series driver Chase Briscoe has noted, NASCAR is pretty dog-friendly.

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