Paul Menard shocked the NASCAR world on Tuesday when he and the Wood Brothers announced that the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season would be his last. While Menard didn’t rule out a future appearance here and there, he is sick of racing for 38 weeks a year. It’s a commitment that’s too much for a guy with a wife and two kids.

“I want what’s best for the 21 team,” Menard said via a teleconference on Tuesday afternoon. “I want what’s best for my family, and I think this decision is based off that primarily.”

Menard, has made nearly 500 starts in NASCAR’s premiere series and given 16 years of his life to it. He’s in his second season with the Wood Brothers but says that this is his last.

While he wouldn’t say when he made this decision, he just said that it occurred during the “summer.” What he did reveal is, he handpicked his successor. Menard knew that Matt DiBenedetto would be the best fit to replace him and went to the team with no only was he retiring at seasons end, they should hire DiBenedetto to step in after.

“Matt’s (DiBenedetto) a young guy that can put the time in to give these guys what they need and allows me to spend more time with my family.”

Co-owner Eddie Wood confirmed this.

“When Paul (Menard) let us know that he was going to step away from full-time Cup, our first question was of course, ‘Well, who should we get?’ First thing out of Paul’s mouth was, ‘Get Matt,’” said team co-owner Eddie Wood. “So, we did. We went right away, we started a conversation with Matt, and that’s the only direction we went, and I’d like to thank Paul for putting us in that direction.

“We’ve had a lot of drivers throughout our time and everybody’s family, and he will always be family.”

DiBenedetto, gets his best shot of his career. The Wood Brothers will remain as an alliance with Team Penske and will return their full fleet of sponsors. While it’s only a one-year deal, it’s an opportunity to show up and drive and to prove his worth.