4 months agoJoey Logano was fortunate to be locked in to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs thanks to his win at Atlanta to start the Round of 16 because he spun out shortly before the end of Stage 2 when he apparently checked up while approaching the substantially slower Josh Bilicki, which resulted in him being hit from behind by Corey LaJoie. Logano ultimately finished four laps down in 28th, but it doesn't really matter since he was already locked in and was likely more focused on the tracks in the Round of 12 anyway. Although he is relatively lacking in speed compared to many other playoff contenders, he does still have a strong chance of advancing since Talladega is in the Round of 12 and the Penske cars seem to be fastest on drafting tracks this year.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 months agoAlthough it initially looked like Chase Elliott might struggle last night as he spent most of Stage 1 as the lowest-ranked Hendrick car when he was wedged between the Spire Motorsports cars of Carson Hocevar and Corey LaJoie, he slowly progressed through the field as the race progressed to eventually finish second, a good points day that easily ensured that he would advance into the Round of 12. Elliott took over second from Denny Hamlin on the restart on lap 338 because he was directly behind his teammate Kyle Larson in the faster outside groove, but he had nothing for Larson, who had one of the most dominant NASCAR runs in the 21st century. Although Elliott no longer has the dominant speed he once had a few years ago, he'll very likely advance to the Round of 8 since he regularly runs well at Talladega and the Charlotte roval.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 months agoAs expected, Austin Cindric had an uninspiring run at Bristol but he had enough of a cushion over the NASCAR Cup Series playoff bubble drivers to advance to the Round of 12 regardless despite only finishing 13th and scoring no stage points. Although he normally finishes worse than he starts, it was relatively unlikely that would happen last night after he started 27th. Even though Cindric has had one of the slowest seasons for a playoff contender this year, he still has a very real chance of advancing to the Round of 8 because of Team Penske's dominant drafting track speed and his road course abilities, which could potentially lead to a good run at the Charlotte roval.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 months agoChase Briscoe made an improbable comeback to advance to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs despite crashing in the Atlanta race that opened the round. Stewart-Haas Racing is clearly invested in making the most of its sole playoff bid in its final season as Briscoe vastly outperformed all other SHR drivers, attained an average running position of sixth, and posted the fifth-best driver rating in the race even though he finished eighth and was eventually beaten by his teammate Ryan Preece by a single position. Although Briscoe had a below average speed in 2024 prior to this race, he overtook Josh Berry as the fastest SHR driver while also now achieving an above average speed. His playoff run will probably end in this round however because he is likely to be slow at Kansas.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4
months
agoLook
for
Kyle
Larson
to
be
a
contender
all
night
at
Bristol
Motor
Speedway
on
Saturday
evening.
The
Hendrick
Motorsports
driver
has
just
one
career
victory
at
this
race
track
(back
in
2021),
but
he's
constantly
one
of
the
best
at
this
venue;
over
the
last
10
races
read more...
4
months
agoIt's
no
secret
that
Ty
Gibbs
is
good
at
Bristol
Motor
Speedway.
He
finished
35th
in
his
first
NASCAR
Cup
Series
race
here
in
2022
due
to
steering
problems,
but
the
Joe
Gibbs
Racing
driver
has
been
a
legitimate
threat
to
win
in
the
two
races
since
then.
read more...
4 months agoLook for Christopher Bell to compete for the race win at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday evening. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been strong at this track in the Next Gen era, having the best average running position over the three races as well as grabbing the most fastest laps and the most laps led during that span. Bell also has finished worse than 10th in those three races either. This weekend, the No. 20 Toyota will roll off of the starting grid from sixth-place and Bell should be able to run up front all night. His practice speeds weren't blazing fast, but going from 15th-fastest in 10-lap average down to 30th-fastest in 15-lap average points to Bell potentially having a bad lap time or two in the middle of that run. At $10,300 on DraftKings this weekend, Christopher Bell makes for an excellent tournament play with dominator upside. He should also be relatively under-owned in DFS contests, as many players will likely gravitate toward Denny Hamlin and/or Kyle Larson in that price range.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
4
months
agoTires
are
a
big
topic
of
conversation
at
Bristol
Motor
Speedway
this
weekend,
as
the
NASCAR
Cup
Series
teams
dealt
with
some
major
falloff
in
the
spring
race
here
earlier
this
season.
That
problem
wasn't
one
that
revealed
itself
in
the
two
previous
Next
Gen
races
at
this
read more...
4 months agoKyle Busch is one of the best to ever race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Over 35 career starts in the Cup Series, Busch has amassed eight victories along with 14 top-five and 19 top-10 finishes. He has led an insane amount of laps, too--2,597 to be exact, which is more than double the amount of any other active driver (Denny Hamlin ranks second in that category with 1,199 laps led). With that being said, Busch has struggled a bit as of late in "Thunder Valley." In the three races with the Next Gen car, "Rowdy" has yet to finish better than 20th, and he starts way back in 29th for this weekend's Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Although this obviously gives Kyle massive DFS upside with Place Differential potential, the No. 8 Chevrolet looked average at best during practice this weekend. Priced at $8,800 on DraftKings, Kyle Busch is likely over-priced for the fantasy performance he will likely deliver on Saturday night.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
4 months agoIt's a bit surprising, but one driver that has yet to really figure out Bristol Motor Speedway is Tyler Reddick. In six career starts at the track, Reddick has just one top-10 finish (a fourth back in 2020) with an overall average result of 20.3. He's also only led four laps at this track, one of his lowest totals at a specific venue on the whole schedule. This weekend, Reddick has looked relatively average for Saturday night's race. He qualified 15th and was right in the range between 11th- and 15th-fastest when it came to the lap averages during practice as well. While some DFS players may look to Reddick as a sneaky pivot option off of someone like Ty Gibbs in that price range, it may be best to still go with the "wait and see" approach when it comes to the regular season points champion.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
4 months agoJohn Hunter Nemechek is an interesting driver to keep an eye on in Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, especially in DFS contests. The Legacy Motor Club driver qualified back in 28th and didn't show blazing-fast speed in practice, but Nemechek is really good at this race track. He legitimately finished sixth here earlier this season despite qualifying 26th, and in his two previous Cup Series starts here (in 2020 when he was with Front Row Motorsports), JHN walked away with 20th- and 13th-place finishes at this track. Not to mention, Nemechek was really good at Bristol in the lower series, with three top-five finishes in four Xfinity Series starts along with four third-place finishes to his credit in the Truck Series. At $6,500 on DraftKings, John Hunter Nemechek will likely go overlooked by many DFS players, but he has huge upside on Saturday night. The No. 42 Toyota ranked 17th-fastest in 25-lap average during practice on Friday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
4 months agoDon't overlook Ryan Preece in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. The Stewart-Haas Racing Driver actually has a pretty good track record here, with finishes of 14th- and 12th-place in the two Next Gen races. Additionally, Preece has finished 18th or better in each of his last six Cup Series starts at this track, dating back to 2019 when he was driving for JTG Daugherty Racing. This weekend, Preece qualified 14th for Saturday night's race, and while he struggled a bit in practice (32nd-fastest out of 37 cars in 10-lap average), the No. 41 team seemed to keep improving on that Ford race car as the day went on. At $6,400 on DraftKings and with it expected that he will be quite low-owned in contests, Ryan Preece makes for an interesting tournament option in DFS on Saturday night.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
4 months agoOne of the bigger surprises during qualifying at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday was Corey Lajoie making it to the final round. With his performance there, the Spire Motorsports driver will start from ninth-place in Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race in "Thunder Valley." Now the question becomes, what should you do with him in DFS? Lajoie is currently on a hot streak of sorts, as he has finished eighth, 15th, and ninth over the last three Cup Series races. He has also shown a bit of promise at Bristol in the Next Gen era, with finishes of 21st, 25th, and 15th in the three races. He even led 48 laps in the fall race here last season. In practice on Friday, Lajoie's No. 7 Chevrolet was one of the fastest, too, ranking seventh or better in 15-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap average. At $6,100 on DraftKings, Lajoie makes for an interesting low-dollar driver to roll the dice on. He's worth having a little bit of exposure if you're mass entering, but anything higher than 5-10% is super risky.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
4 months agoKeep an eye on Michael McDowell in Saturday night's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. In the three Next Gen races on the concrete track, McDowell has the seventh-best average running position of all drivers who have started all three races, and he has yet to finish worse than 11th over that span as well. Now, a big part of that is because McDowell has qualified well at Bristol lately (seventh and fourth in the last two races), but he started back in 18th in the 2022 race here and was able to finish 11th when it was all said and done. For this weekend's race, McDowell qualified back in 18th once again, so he's in a similar situation to a couple of years ago. In practice on Friday, the No. 34 Ford ranked 17th-fastest in 15-lap average. McDowell should be able to contend for a top-15 finish on Saturday night.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
4 months agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. will start fourth in this week's Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This will be the second time Truex will start inside the Top 5 at Bristol since the introduction of the Next-Gen car in 2022. In 34 races at BMS, Truex has five top-10 finishes, including the spring race earlier this year, where he placed second and led 54 laps. Through 28 races so far this year, Truex has nine top-10 finishes, with his last one being scored at Pocono back in July. In practice, Truex ranked 30th in overall lap averages and ranked 24th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Due to his shaky Bristol history, unfavorable recent 2024 performance, and underwhelming practice speeds, it is hard to recommend Truex for DFS lineups this week at Bristol.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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