Video: Matt DiBenedetto Filmed Uttering ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ Day After Steve Phelps Denounced the Phrase

Just a day after NASCAR’s President Steve Phelps denounced the phrase, “Let’s go Brandon,” NASCAR Cup Series driver Matt DiBenedetto was filmed by podcaster and Chief Creative Officer at Turning Point USA, Benny Johnson uttering the phrase at Phoenix Raceway while climbing into his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car.

DiBenedetto is filmed saying it again with Johnson in the garage area later in the video.

Here is the video from Benny Johnson:

NASCAR Superstar @mattdracing: LETS GO BRANDON! pic.twitter.com/w7eJhplzh2

— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) November 7, 2021

The phrase became a thing after Brandon Brown won the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in October.

In the post-race interview, NBC’s Kelli Stavast misunderstood a negative chant about Joe Biden and thought the crowd was chanting, “Let’s go Brandon.” Since that night, the phrase has become a rallying cry of politically far-right supporters.

The phrase’s popularity and negative connotation has actually been reportedly costing Brandon Brown, the driver who won and had nothing to do with the phrase’s creation, sponsorship deals as companies don’t want to be associated with the phrase.

During his State of the Sport address on Friday, Phelps said that although the chant began with a NASCAR event, that the sport wants no association with demeaning any sitting President.

“We do not want to associate ourselves with politics, the left or the right. We obviously have and we’ve always had as a sport tremendous respect for the office of the president no matter who is sitting,” Phelps explained.

“I think it’s an unfortunate situation. Do we like the fact that it kind of started with NASCAR and then is gaining ground elsewhere? No, we’re not happy about that,” Phelps continued. “But we will continue to make sure that we have respect for the office of the president.”

DiBenedetto, who has already been announced to be losing his ride at Wood Brothers Racing at season’s end, will be replaced by Harrison Burton in the ride for 2022. The consensus of the chatter surrounding Silly Season is that aside from Rick Ware Racing, there probably aren’t many viable landing spots for DiBenedetto in the Series.

It’s expected that if DiBenedetto does land a ride for 2022, that it’ll be in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

DiBenedetto has had quite the week. On Monday, the NASCAR Cup Series driver poked fun at NASCAR’s decision to require Kyle Busch to attend sensitivity training after his use of the R-word in a post-race interview at Martinsville, on Twitter. By Tuesday, DiBenedetto had deactivated his Twitter account due to backlash he received from his attempted joke.

Now, on Saturday, DiBenedetto was filmed at the track uttering words that the President of the sanctioning body expressed he did not want associated with NASCAR. Oh and DiBenedetto reactivated his Twitter account to share the video to his followers.

DiBenedetto will start from the 15th-position in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix.