Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is an eight-time winner at Bristol who’ll be the favorite on Saturday night. He’s performed extremely well here in recent races and in 3 of the last 4 he’s raced his way to victory lane. In the once race he didn’t win over that stretch, he arguably had the best car but his race wasn’t incident free. Earlier this year, Busch had a great car. When the checkered flag waved he finished 1st, earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 7th place average running position and led 71 laps. Additionally, he finished 6th in Stage #1 and 5th in Stage #2. Last summer, Busch had a great car but finished a misleading 20th. On lap 3 he was involved in an accident and that was a huge setback. When the race went back to green following that caution he was on pit road and was two laps down but he battled back. With 81 laps to go he was up to 3rd and at that time he arguably had the fastest car on the track. Then with 68 laps to go he had contact with Truex Jr. while passing him for 2nd and that likely later led to his flat tire with 20 laps to go which cemented him to his poor result. In spring 2018, Busch raced his way to victory lane from the pole. In the race he led 117 laps, earned the 2nd best driver rating and had a 4th place average running position. I will note if there wasn’t a late caution he likely would’ve finished 2nd. In summer 2017, he had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. In addition to winning he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 156 laps. Additionally, he won Stage #1 and probably would’ve won Stage #2 if there wasn’t a late caution that allowed others to use pit strategy. I will note, historically starting up front hasn’t been great for his chances of winning. His win from the pole in spring 2018 was his only win at Bristol where he started better than 12th.

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Joey Logano – Joey Logano is an elite performer at Bristol who’ll be one of the drivers to beat. He’s run extremely well here, and he’s been especially good in the “Night Race.” Over the last six night races he has two-wins and a 5.7 average finish. At Bristol, Logano is never a slouch. Over the last eight races he has 7 top tens, the best driver rating, a 6.9 average finish and he’s had a result in the top 13 every race. Earlier this year at Bristol, Logano had a stellar showing. He earned the best driver rating, finished 3rd, had a 3rd place average running position and led 146 laps. Also from the race I’ll note he finished 4th in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. Last summer, Logano had a great car and was a threat to win. He finished 4th, had a 6th place average running position and led 95 laps. Additionally, he finished 9th in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. In spring 2018, Logano had a strong showing and finished 9th. Additionally, he earned the 5th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. I will note he was likely better than his result but around lap 200 he got into the wall. On Saturday night, look for Logano to compete for a top five and be a factor to win.

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a strong performer at Bristol who’ll be a factor. He’s a recent winner and over the last eight races he has a series best 6.4 average finish. Earlier this year, Harvick had his worst recent result and finished 13th. That’s a respectable finish, but it snapped his 7 race top ten streak. It’s important to note, his race wasn’t incident free. When the green flag waved he had to serve a pass through penalty because of multiple inspection failures. Then later around lap 50 he made an unexpected pit stop and at that point he was now three laps down. I will note he showed plenty of speed and he actually ran the most fastest laps (82). Last summer, Harvick had a great car but finished an asterisk mark 10th. “Performance Wise”, I thought he was top five good but on lap 185 while he was running in 2nd he had a flat tire and made an unexpected pit stop which dropped him two laps down. In Stage #1 he finished 2nd. Last spring, Harvick started in 39th but raced his way up to a 7th place finish. Additionally, he earned the 10th best driver rating and had a 12th place average running position. In the five races prior to that he had results of 8th, 3rd, 1st, 7th and 2nd.

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