Bristol Dirt Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Bristol Dirt Fantasy Spin – Ricky Stenhouse Jr., the inaugural Bristol Dirt runner-up finisher should be high on your radar. Ricky is sort of a dirt track ringer, and you better believe he has this race circled on his schedule. Stenhouse loves racing on the dirt, and dare I say it, he knows how to run a smart race on this surface where the track goes thru dynamic changes. At Bristol Dirt, I would view Stenhouse as a top ten contender.
Bristol Dirt Track History – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has run well at Bristol Dirt, so make sure he’s on your radar. Last year, Stenhouse showed potential, but finished an asterisk mark 29th after being involved in two cautions. In the race, Stenhouse started 16th, finished 10th in Stage #1 but then early in Stage #2 when pit strategy had him cycled back to about the mid-twenties, he was involved in a wreck but got minimal damage at best. Then in the last Stage while running around 21st, Stenhouse bounced off the wall hard and slowed which brought out a caution dooming him to a 29th. In 2021, Stenhouse drove a very conservative race, and his approach worked out perfectly! In the race, Stenhouse started 13th, finished 9th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, was in 4th before the final caution came out and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, Stenhouse had a 10.8 average running position, was the 5th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the segments, the #47 got better and better and his speed rankings were 16th, 14th, 5th and 3rd. Stenhouse’s car was setup to be at its best late, and on lap 220 while he was running in 7th it was mentioned that he had the 2nd fastest car on the track at the time.

Bubba Wallace
Bristol Dirt Fantasy Spin – At Bristol Dirt, don’t overlook Bubba Wallace. Wallace is 2 for 2 at finishing in the high-twenties, but I think he’s proven himself to be a competent dirt racer. He’s had Truck series dirt success in the past and ran well in 2021, so I have no doubt he has upside for a driver with a really bad track record. Heading into the weekend, I would view Wallace as a teens driver who has a good chance to sneak in a top ten.
Bristol Dirt Track History – At Bristol Dirt, Bubba Wallace hasn’t had an incident free race yet and his average finish over the two races is 27.5. Last year, Wallace started 22nd, finished around 18th in Stage #1 but trouble struck about midway thru Stage #2 on lap 132 when he bounced off the wall and brought out the caution while running in the high-teens. After that, you could basically stick a fork in him, and it led to his 28th. In 2021, Wallace had a solid showing and was clearly a top ten contender, despite having a misleading 27th place finish. In the race, Wallace started 19th, finished 7th in Stage #1, 7th in Stage #2 and was running in 7th until he got a flat tire on lap 215 which led to an unexpected pit stop which ruined his afternoon. In terms of speed analytics, Wallace was the 8th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking.

Austin Dillon
Bristol Dirt Fantasy Spin – Austin Dillon shouldn’t be overlooked at Bristol Dirt. Dillon loves racing on the dirt, and last year he was a legit top five contender, but you would never know it by looking at the results column. With Dillon having a 26.0 average finish between the combined events, I think he’ll have a good amount of “Out of Sync Potential.” If Dillon can avoid trouble, I think he’s a top ten contender.
Bristol Dirt Track History – Austin Dillon has a lot of upside at Bristol Dirt. Last year, Dillon had one of the better cars but finished an asterisk mark 31st. “Performance Wise”, I think Dillon was a top five contender. In the race, Dillon finished 4th in Stage #1, was running around 5th with 50 to go, but then shortly after that on lap 210 while running in 8th, Dillon’s engine blew up which marked the end of his race leading to his 31st. Despite his early exit with 40 to go, Dillon had an 11.3 average running position and had the best Green Flag Speed (was aided somewhat by his early exit, but he was fast). In 2021, Dillon had an uncompetitive performance and finished 21st. In the race, Dillon got lapped under green, had a 21.2 average running position, was the 17th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 27th best Total Speed Ranking.

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