Overview

It’s the last race before the Round of 12 which means four playoff contenders heading into this race will be eliminated by the end of it. There are few cooler events in NASCAR than the Bristol Night Race in the Cup series, that’s just a fact. This track is a fan favorite and one that the drivers look forward to.  The “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”, Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennesee is a .533-mile high-banked oval most relatable to Dover International Speedway mainly because of its banking. The Cup guys will go 500 laps totaling 266.5 miles making this race a dominator point-heavy endeavor. I look forward to this race every year and you should too as I get you set up to make some cash in DFS!

Most comparable tracks: Dover

Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused

Dominators

These are the drivers that we can typically expect to, you guessed it, dominate the race. When we think dominator we are looking for guys that will be in a position to lead a hefty amount of laps as well as be able to turn over fastest laps.

In a race with this many laps, I would recommend rostering three potential dominators with there being so many dominator points available.

Kyle Busch ($11,500)

You can’t talk about Bristol without mentioning the dominance of Kyle Busch who’s eight wins are the most among current Cup drivers. Three of those wins have come over his last seven races here and he’s led at least 100 laps over his last seven visits to Thunder Valley. Starting ninth there are a few place differential points available here for Kyle who I believe is a sure top-five finisher.

Denny Hamlin ($10,800)

Hamlin is a two-time winner at Bristol and has nine career top-five finishes overall. He’ll start on the front row in the second position alongside Martin Truex Jr. who’s actually had a tough time with Bristol over his career. The last time Hamlin started on the front row was August of 2019 and he went on to win that race while leading 79 laps. The race following that at Bristol Hamlin did not have the best car and the race ended up getting away from him, however, he was still able to lead 131 laps despite a disappointing 17th-place finish. Denny will be a contender all night as he has been all season leading the second-most laps overall on the year.

Kyle Larson ($11,300)

Larson will be in the best equipment he’s ever had at Bristol driver the 5 car here for the first time. Previously in 12 trips to Bristol for Chip Ganassi Larson has two wins and an average finish of 14th. That average finish is a bit deceiving as that is mostly due to a tough three-race stretch between 2015 and 2016 that saw Larson finish 41st, 35th, and 24th. Since those mishaps, Larson has five top-1o finishes in six races while leading over 200 laps on two occasions.

Brad Keselowski ($8,600)

No, that’s not a typo. Brad is really $8,600 starting 10th on Saturday night. Now, Bristol has been an up and down track for Brad with an average finish of 17th which is his second-worst average of any track. The other factors to consider are that he’s won here three times, he’s never failed to finish a race, and most importantly for this section, he’s led at least 40 laps in five of his last six races at Bristol. His last win here came from the pole in a race in which he led 115 laps, however, the race here prior to that Brad started 13th, finished third, and led 91 laps. Needless to say with so many laps and his ability to stay out of trouble and get to the front, I love Brad as a value second or third dominator candidate.

Also consider:

Chase Elliott ($10,500)

Place Differential Targets

Matt DiBenedetto ($8,400)

Matty D is still driving for his future as an impending free agent with not many rides left available for next season. Starting 19th, DiBenedetto returns to a track that he’s had some success at, albeit with Leavine Family Racing. In the two Bristol races with that organization in 2019 DiBenedetto finished 12th and second. He’ll be driving hard and could make some solid gains but he is a risky play based on his finishes at Bristol with the Wood Brothers.

Bubba Wallace ($7,500)

Starting 28th, Bubba comes in with an average finish of 20th at the Cup level. Among those finishes includes three top 15th including a 10th-place finish in the first race here last season. Bubba finished 11th at Dover this season after starting 22nd so there’s some promise here for the four-year full-time Cup driver.

Austin Dillon ($8,200)

He’s not my favorite driver in the series by a long shot but Dillon starting 18th offers someplace differential along with some upside. The driver of the 3 car has finished sixth and 12 over his last two Bristol races and has finished 14th and ninth in his last two Dover races. There’s definitely a chip on his shoulder after missing the playoffs so don’t be surprised if Dillon finds himself with a top-10 finish in what is definitely a boom or bust play.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,200)

Talk about boom or bust, Stenhouse three straight DNF’s at Bristol. That’s the bad. The good is that over his 16 career cup races at Bristol he has four top five’s and six top 10’s. Stenhouse is enough of a maniac where it will either make or break your day, or in this case, at Bristol which is just the excitement we want in tournaments right?! RIGHT?!?! Tread lightly, Stenhouse starts 23rd.

Also consider:

Daniel Suarez ($6,600)

• One of his best tracks with an average finish of 15th and two top 10’s over eight races here. Suarez starts 21st.

Erik Jones ($6,400)

• Quietly Jones has back to back top five’s at Bristol with four such finishes here in his Cup career overall. Joes starts 22nd and will be a top place differential contender as far as ownership goes.

Dark Horse Driver

Kurt Busch ($9,600)

Kyle’s big brother Kurt is a six-time Bristol winner even though he hasn’t been a real dominator over the years. However, Kurt has had a knack of hanging around and pouncing toward the front late in races as well as keep the car clean throughout. In his 40 career trips to Bristol Busch has finished all but three races. Because of his salary and “middle of the pack” starting position, Kurt will be less than 10 percent owned and it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest to see him sneak through with a win.

Speedy Notes

Driver I have most exposure to: Brad Keselowski

Driver I’m fading that worries me: Martin Truex Jr. (because of his track position)

Driver I have zero interest in: None worth noting

GOOD LUCK!!