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'Starting from absolute scratch': Viking Motorsports grows as independent team
After years of being a NASCAR sponsor, SciAps CEO and co-founder Don Sackett wanted to make more of an impact. His vision was Viking Motorsports, a competitive and non-affiliated NASCAR Xfinity Series team.
Sackett had a trial run in 2024, fielding the No. 38 car, which was prepared by RSS Racing in Georgia. Over the offseason, the team became its own entity and relocated to NASCAR's Charlotte hub, leasing space from BJ McLeod.
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Matt DiBenedetto, who believed in Sackett's vision from the start, returned as the team's driver as it switched manufacturers, crew chiefs and car numbers; the only returning pieces of the team from 2024 were DiBenedetto, Sackett and spotter Doug Campbell.
RELATED: Matt DiBenedetto driver page
'The main goal last year was to get this thing off the ground, and that situation with the Siegs helping us was great for getting Viking Motorsports off the ground,' DiBenedetto told 'The main goal was for us to truly become our own self-sufficient team.'
Ultimately, Sackett wanted his fingerprints in operating a team and creating a unique culture. With an established driver in DiBenedetto, the veteran racer streamlines the process, having built various teams in the past. That was important for both parties as it also attracts employees.
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'Having a driver like Matt takes a lot of the unknown out of the equation,' Jeremy Lange, general manager of Viking Motorsports and formerly with Leavine Family Racing, said. 'I know we have a talented driver behind the wheel. If we can build race cars that can race, we know we have a guy that can drive them versus an unknown or a kid who has money. We wanted to build it around a driver that we know can drive.'
DiBenedetto has made a living by overdelivering for smaller race teams. But even he thinks this was a different setting, given the team's from-the-ground-up start.
'We have erratically improved and helped grow and build teams in the past,' DiBenedetto said. 'But this one was different because it was starting from absolute scratch, completely nothing. That is what is probably more rewarding about it because it feels like building a business.
'We've had great people put in our path and a lot of tools for success that's grown so much from looking back a year ago to where we are today and where we're heading for the rest of the season.'
A Viking Motorsports crew member (L) and Matt DiBenedetto (R) share a laugh.
Constant change led to a busy offseason for the small race team. The first full-time employee was hired in November, shortly after the 2024 campaign concluded. Veteran crew chief Pat Tryson was a pivotal acquisition, and Viking now has more than a dozen full-time employees.
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To prepare for 2025, employees juggled working seven days per week over the offseason. It helped that everyone pulled rope in the same direction, knowing the beast of an opening three months of the schedule with no weeks off until early May.
Entering 2025, Viking established that cracking the top 15 would be a morale boost. Even then, the No. 99 team would be battling some of the series' Goliaths.
'Our goal was to build our notebook of what we can do from our end,' Lange said. 'You also have to put your flag in the ground and say, 'we're here.' But you need to put your best foot forward every weekend, so people recognize that you are wanting to improve.
'We're not satisfied finishing 20th; we're not satisfied finishing 10th. We want to compete for victories, but we also have to be realistic in where we are and the lifespan of our race team. We're racing teams on a weekly basis that have been doing this for a long time and have a lot more resources than we do. Not an excuse, just a fact.'
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Through the opening 15 races of the season, the No. 99 team's highlight was finishing fifth at Talladega Superspeedway in April. DiBenedetto narrowly missed out on top 10s in each of the first two races of the season, placing 11th and 12th, respectively. He has three additional top 20 finishes, including a 16th-place outing in NASCAR's return to Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez last weekend.
DiBenedetto ranks 24th in the driver standings, and the No. 99 sits one spot lower in the owner points. The team's next contest comes at Pocono Raceway this Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
MORE: Xfinity Series standings | Xfinity Series schedule
'We've had some hurdles to start the year, but I feel like we're caught up and in a better spot,' DiBenedetto said. 'We want to prove ourselves as a team, and it's all about growing relationships with the manufacturer and gaining the respect of everybody in the sport, knowing this Viking Motorsports team is here to stay and long for the haul. We want to build a successful Xfinity Series team.'
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DiBenedetto, who has been around the top three divisions for more than 15 years, is fully committed to Viking. He hopes to be the driver who can continue being in the trenches and build a competitive organization. He recalled telling Sackett: 'I'll run the rest of my career with you guys if that's a possibility because I believed in them 1,000% just like they believed in me.'
As the team continues to learn from each other, Lange is happy with the swift progress of the No. 99 bunch, but he won't be satisfied until the team is competing up front.
