For the first time ever, the NASCAR Cup Series will have an official race at the Circuit of the Americas down in Austin Texas. While most people are looking at the direction of the likes of Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin, you shouldn’t be overlooking some of the drivers with much longer odds to win it all this weekend. Check out three of these sleepers below.
DiBenedetto has finished 19th at Darington and followed that up with a 24th-place at Dover, summing up his last two starts. But don’t forget that it was not that long ago when he had a three-race stretch of top-10 finishes. DiBenedetto has not won in a road course race, but he had a fourth-place finish in the 2019 Toyota / Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway and a sixth-place campaign that same year at the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International. This season, DiBenedetto has two top 5s and three top 10s with 281 total laps led.
Buescher is quietly putting together a good season. He is currently inside the playoff picture, occupying the 15th spot in the standings with 309 points and three top 10s. He’s made it inside the top 17 in each of his last three starts, which include a ninth place in the Goodyear 400 and eighth in the Buschy McBusch Race 400. In 14 career appearances in road course events, Buescher has come up with a pair of top 10s and 11 top 20s.
Jones has to start making moves to catch up in the standings. He is only 26th at the moment with just 203 points. Jones has not finished inside the top 10 since placing ninth at Bristol (Dirt) way back in March. Since then, his best finish was 18th in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, earlier this month. Despite all that, he’s still worth a shot as a sleeper pick. For one, he has three top 5s in 11 career road course starts.
