Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson has thrived at Bristol and should prominently be on your fantasy NASCAR radar. Bristol is the site of his most recent win (spring 2017) and in 8 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 11. Over the last five races at “Thunder Valley” he has a 6.2 average finish, a 9.6 average running position and the 5th best driver rating. Last summer he had a great car and came home with a 9th place finish. I’ll note that result underrates him because during a late caution with about 20 laps to go he pitted from 3rd which dropped him back to 15th. Also from the race I’ll note he finished 10th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, had a 10th place average running position and earned the 10th best driver rating. In spring 2018, Jimmie Johnson had a strong performance. He finished 3rd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. Additionally, he finished 8th in Stage #1 and 3rd in Stage #2. In August 2017 he was solid. He earned the 8th best driver rating, had a 10th place average running position, finished 10th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2 and then finished 11th when the checkered flag waved. In spring 2017 Johnson had a great car and won his second career race at Bristol. Beyond finishing first, he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and led 81 laps.

[themify_box]Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our full exclusive week to weekend content. Join Now![/themify_box]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Bristol is a great track for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and outside of plate tracks this is the venue you want to pick him. Among “mid-tier options” he’s as good at it gets. Last summer he had a misleading result, in the five races prior to that he had a 9.0 average finish. Last summer, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a fast car but had multiple problems which led to his 24th place finish. Following the competition around lap 60 he was the first car off pit road but he was caught speeding which dropped him from 1st to 27th. Later trouble struck again and on lap 121 while he was in 12th he had a flat tire which led to an unexpected pit stop which dropped him two laps down. Then later on lap 222 he got into the wall and made another unexpected pit stop. In spring 2018, Stenhouse Jr. had a strong showing and finished 4th despite his race not being incident free. He overcame getting spun on lap 61 while running in 2nd and an uncontrolled tire penalty during the Stage #1 caution (was in 9th). Despite his adversity he finished 9th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 and earned the 6th best driver rating. In summer 2017, Stenhouse Jr. had a great race and finished 14th. That’s an awesome result when you consider on lap 200 while he was running in 9th he had a tire go down and got into the wall. In spring 2017, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a good race. He finished 9th, had a 13th place average running position and earned the 11th best driver rating. At the end of Stage #2 he finished 10th. In summer 2016 he had his best Bristol result and finished runner-up. At Bristol I would look for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to be a low-double digits driver who has a great chance to finish in the top ten.

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski is a renowned performer at Bristol, but he hasn’t finished well in a long-time. His most recent top ten was seven races ago and in the six races since he has a 25.5 average finish and an 18.2 average running position. Last summer he just didn’t have a great race. He finished 16th and had a 14th place average running position. His car just never seemed to be to his liking and then with 29 laps to go while he was running around the mid-teens he spun and didn’t hit anything. Last spring at Bristol he had one of the best cars but finished a misleading 23rd. In the race he won the first two Stages, led 67 laps, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 8th best driver rating. Late in the race his car wasn’t at its best because of suspension problems and then with 31 laps to go he got into the wall hard. If he never had those problems I think he would’ve had a great chance to finish in the top five. In 2017 you really can’t read into either of his results. In summer 2017 on lap 5 he had a flat tire and that dropped him 4 laps down. He never recovered from that and it led to his 29th place finish. In spring 2017 he was likely around 20th place good, but I’m not sure if you can read into that because he had a parts problem that eventually sent him to the garage for repair. In 2016 he had top five potential in both races, but neither was incident free. At Bristol, I’m viewing Keselowski as a risky option who’s capable of coming home with a top five if he can avoid problems.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier