Two more NASCAR premier series seats have opened up for 2017.
Neither David Ragan nor Matt DiBenedetto will return to BK Racing in 2017 after driving for the organization full-time in 2016, it was reported this week. Motorsport.com initially reported the news Friday (Dec. 9) of Ragan’s departure, while DiBenedetto announced he would no longer be employed by the team via his Twitter account the day before (Dec. 8).
https://twitter.com/mattdracing/status/807001692239695872
Ragan drove BK Racing’s No. 23 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2016, while DiBenedetto mostly drove the team’s No. 83 but also ran the No. 93 in a handful of events.
Both were new to the team in 2016.
Neither driver has announced their plans for 2017, though DiBenedetto promised “exciting announcements” soon on his Twitter account. Like its former drivers, BK Racing has also not revealed plans for the upcoming season.
Both drivers finished outside the top 30 in championship points in 2016, with Ragan 33rd and DiBenedetto 35th, the latter driving in one less race than Ragan’s full-season 36 after injury kept him out of the fall race at Texas Motor Speedway. That said, while Ragan did not record any top 10s in 2016, DiBenedetto scored a career-best sixth-place run at Bristol Motor Speedway in the spring.
In addition to its Nos. 23 and 83 teams, BK Racing fielded a part-time No. 93 in select races in 2016 as well as the No. 26 in the season-opening Daytona 500. Dylan Lupton, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Ryan Ellis and Michael Waltrip were among its other drivers.
Kevin Rutherford is the executive editor of Frontstretch, a position he gained in 2025 after being the managing editor since 2015, and serving on the editing staff since 2013.
At his day job, he's a journalist covering music and rock charts at Billboard. He lives in New York City, but his heart is in Ohio -- you know, like that Hawthorne Heights song.
Wonder if these guys got stiffed like most of the other guys that have driven for BK Racing.
Jeb Burton can now return to the 23. Guaranteed race-end caution for Brian.
TRUTH!!!!!!!!!!!
“Both were new to the team in 2016” is not a correct statement. DiBenedetto drove full-time for BK Racing as a rookie in 2015.