Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Joey Logano (Starting – 11th)
Bristol Fantasy Spin – Joey Logano will be a driver to be reckoned with at “The Last Great Coliseum.” He’s performed exceptionally well here, and in night races he’s arguably been the best. Over the last six “Bristol Night Races” he has two-wins and a 5.7 average finish. In Happy Hour, Logano had a great car. In that session he had the 2nd best 15 lap average and the best 25 lap average. On Saturday night, look for Logano to finish in the top five and compete for the win.
Bristol Track History – Bristol has been a great track for Joey Logano and he’s consistently run well. 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 one of the best cars. 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 one of the best cars. 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 solid showing and when the race reached its conclusion he finished 9th and had an 8th place average running position. I will note he was likely better than his result, but he got into the wall around lap 200.
DraftKings $10,200 / FanDuel $14,000

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2) Kyle Busch (Starting – 31st)
Bristol Fantasy Spin – Kyle Busch is a legendary 8-time winner at Bristol who’ll be the favorite on Saturday night. He’s thrived at “Thunder Valley” and in 3 of the last 4 races he’s raced his way to victory lane. At Bristol, Busch has a knack for performing well and over the course of 500 laps he seems to get better and better as the race progresses. Kyle Busch is starting 31st, but don’t hit the panic button. Seven of his eight wins at Bristol have come from a starting position of 12th or worse. On Saturday night, look for Busch to finish in the top five and be a serious threat to win.
Bristol Track History – Kyle Busch has been a dominant performer at Bristol. He’s won 3 of the last 4 races and he would likely be a perfect 4 for 4 if he didn’t have problems last summer. Earlier this year at Bristol, Kyle Busch had a great performance. His car was damaged in a wreck on lap 2, but he battled back. 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’s race got off to a similar start and he was once again collected in a wreck during the opening laps. That created a lot of adversity (dropped him a few laps down), but he overcame it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last of his problems. With 68 laps to go while he was battling for 2nd he had contact with Truex Jr. and that later led to him getting a flat tire and totaling his car which led to his 20th place finish. In spring 2018, Busch started first, finished 1st, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led 117 laps. 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.
DraftKings $12,700 / FanDuel $15,500

NOTE: Inspection is being held on Saturday (~1:30 PM start time) and if a driver fails their qualifying time is disallowed and they start in the rear of the field. They’ll also be scored from their new starting position. Look for updates to this post and others as needed following inspection.

3) Denny Hamlin (Starting – 1st)
Bristol Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR and at Bristol I would look for him to be a factor. He’s run extremely well here, and ranks as one of the better drivers in recent races. Over the last six Bristol races he has 3 third place finishes, 4 top tens and his 8.2 average finish ranks as the 4th best. One attribute you have to love about Hamlin is how well the #11 team is running. Over the last five races heading into the weekend he’s finished in the top five every race and his average finish is 2.6. In Happy Hour, Hamlin was fast. In that session he had the 6th best 10 lap average and the 4th best 25 lap average.
Bristol Track History – Bristol has been a good track for Denny Hamlin and he was the inaugural winner on the current track configuration. Earlier this year at Bristol, Hamlin had a strong showing and finished 5th. Last summer, Hamlin was involved in a wreck on lap 3 that damaged his car but he managed to come home with a 14th place finish. In spring 2018, Hamlin had a good car, but finished a misleading 14th. I think he might’ve been a contender to win, but his race wasn’t incident free. During the restart for Stage #2 he took the lead from Brad Keselowski and then unfortunately a few laps later he slowed on the track and came to pit road because of a loose wheel. That dropped him two laps down which prevented him from competing. In the five Bristol races prior to that he had results of 3rd, 3rd, 3rd, 10th and 20th.
DraftKings $10,700 / FanDuel $13,000