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NASCAR: Five dark horse drivers who could win at Bristol

By Asher Fair

BRISTOL, TN - APRIL 24: Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Demo Days Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 24, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN - APRIL 24: Clint Bowyer, driver of the #14 Haas Automation Demo Days Ford, leads a pack of cars during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 24, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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BRISTOL, TN – AUGUST 18: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #32 E.J. Wade Construction Ford (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TN – AUGUST 18: Matt DiBenedetto, driver of the #32 E.J. Wade Construction Ford (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /

Matt DiBenedetto, Go FAS Racing, No. 32 Toyota

As stated on the first slide of this article, none of these drivers are currently in the top 15 in the championship standings. Well, Matt DiBenedetto actually isn’t even in the top 30. Yet he is a driver to watch driving for the small and underfunded Go FAS Racing team. Here’s why.

DiBenedetto did not secure a finish of higher than 18th place until his 41st career Cup Series race, but when he finally did so, it was far better than an 18th place finish. It was a 6th place finish, and it happened last season at Bristol.

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Then, 15 races later at the second Bristol race of the 2016 season, DiBenedetto cracked the top 17 for just the second time in his career. While it wasn’t a 6th place finish, that 17th place showed that he really does take to the high banks of the “Last Great Colosseum.”

While his Bristol race earlier this season wasn’t the best, as he only finishing in 19th place, it was still one of the top performances of his young Cup Series career. This weekend’s race could be the race at which he takes his previous success at the track and channels it into a really, really great result…perhaps even an upset victory.

With a Bristol track finishing average better than the Bristol track finishing averages of both Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Larson, the top 2 drivers in this season’s championship standings, DiBenedetto should not be slept on here.

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