Bristol IRWIN Tools Night Race Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the Bristol IRWIN Tools Night Race. Momentum is a powerful force in fantasy NASCAR and right now he has it. Bristol has been a great track for him throughout his career. He has 5 wins, 5 poles, has a 37% percent top five percentage and a 56% percent top ten percentage. He’s also been a fairly safe pick because his top twenty percentage is 77% percent. Since the reconfiguration he’s been one of the strongest competitors. In March he had a good car despite the fact while he was running in the top five around lap 50 he had contact on pit road that dropped him to 34th. He was able to work his way up through the field and at the time of the rain red flag he was up to 16th. On lap 277 he reached the top ten and for essentially the remainder of the race he ran right around that range. When the checkered flag waved he finished 7th. In August 2013 he started near the back (32nd) and had no trouble moving up through the field. His car drove well for him and he finished 7th. Also in the race he earned the 3rd best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. In March 2013 at Bristol Jeff Gordon arguably had the best car. His PROS Rankings ranked as the 2nd best behind race winner Kasey Kahne. He could’ve potentially taken the #1 spot except he had a flat tire and wrecked while he was leading. When the checkered flag waved he finished 34th, led 66 laps and still had the 7th best driver rating despite his problem. In the first race on the current track configuration he finished 3rd. (Yahoo A Driver)
Matt Kenseth – Since Bristol was reconfigured Matt Kenseth has arguably been the best driver. That doesn’t mean his results have been the best, but performance wise he’s been extremely good. In the four races on the new surface he has the best driver rating and has led the most laps. Earlier this year he had a strong car. It was an eventful high attrition race and I would dare say he had the best car despite his 13th place finish. In the race he earned the best driver rating and led 165 laps. That lap led total was twice as much as Carl Edwards who led the second most. Also in March Kenseth started 3rd, had a 7th place average running position and ran the third most fast laps. In the event his race wasn’t incident free. While he was running near the front under caution Timmy Hill ran into the back of him which caused substantial damage to his rear. Fortunately it was mostly cosmetic and nothing was structurally wrong with his car. After it was repaired he was able to drive up to the front again. Then late in the race he got scuffled back because of pit strategy and for whatever reason he couldn’t battle his way to the front again. Last season at Bristol Matt Kenseth was arguably the best driver. In August he went to victory lane on two tires and held off Kasey Kahne who was on four. In the race he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps and had a 7th place average running position. Also in the race he earned the #1 ranking in our exclusive PROS Rankings. PROS standings for projected ranking of strength. It shows you who truly had the best car in the race. What really made his performance remarkable in August is that the race wasn’t without incident for him. Around the midway point he was penalized for speeding on pit road. In the 2013 spring race Kenseth finished 35th. That poor finish can be attributed to a wreck. In the race he was running in 2nd but leader Jeff Gordon had a flat tire and shot right up the track in Kenseth’s path. If that didn’t happen he would’ve been a contender for the win. In that race he started in 12th and cracked the top five in the first 20 laps. Also in the race he led 85 laps and earned the 6th best driver rating. In the first race on the new surface in August 2012 he was good despite his 25th place finish. In that race he had brake line issues but he was able to rebound from that. Later in the race he found himself in the lead and led 25 laps. Then on lap #331 he was battling Tony Stewart for the lead but they took each other out. Prior to that race he had six consecutive Bristol top ten results. From a career standpoint Bristol has been a good track for Kenseth. He has three wins and has finished in the top ten 62% percent of the time. (Yahoo A Driver)
Recommended Reading – Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings, Bristol Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Who will win the Bristol IRWIN Tools Night Race
Joey Logano – On the new Bristol track configuration Joey Logano has been strong. In March he was a driver who performed well but walked away with an asterisk mark finish. In the race he started in 4th, led 12 laps and through the first 90 laps I would estimate his average running position was around 2nd. Then before lap 100 he lost his power steering. That led to him free falling through the field and eventually coming in for a long pit stop to correct the issue. Since the race had a high attrition rate he was able to battle back and finish only 3 laps down in 20th. If he didn’t have that power steering issue I think it’s clear he would’ve been a contender. Last August he had a very good race at Bristol. He started in 6th and finished 5th. Also in the race he earned the 7th best driver rating. What makes his result remarkable is that the race wasn’t incident free. On lap 107 Kyle Busch got into the wall and Logano had hard contact with him that damaged his right front. In the 2013 Bristol spring race he was extremely competitive. In that race he had a top five car and was running in 2nd around lap 350 until Denny Hamlin spun him. That incident is what fueled the spark that led to Hamlin’s broken back. In the first race on the new surface he had an impressive performance. He qualified 4th, had a 7th place average running position, led 139 laps, finished 8th and earned the second best driver rating. This season on short tracks Logano has scored the 3rd most points. (Yahoo B Driver)
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