Nashville Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Chris Buescher
Nashville Fantasy Spin – If you’re looking for a dark horse at Nashville, put Chris Buescher high on your radar. Buescher has a pair of 30th’s on his Nashville resume, but he was a legit top ten contender last year and you also have to love the #17 team’s momentum. In 6 of the last 7 races, he’s finished in the top 12 and since Martinsville his 9.6 average finish ranks as the 3rd best in the series. This year between the Dover + High-Speed 1.5-mile track grouping, Buescher has the 15th best Total Speed Ranking. At Nashville, look for Buescher to compete for a top ten.
Nashville Track History – Last year at Nashville, Chris Buescher was a legit top ten contender but finished an asterisk mark 30th. Buescher ran around the top ten for much of the final Stage but lost a wheel on lap 254 and crashed. On lap 239 shortly before his demise which happened during a green flag pit cycle, Buescher was running in 9th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Buescher ranked 16th but take note his speed over the segments were 14th, 14th, 9th and then 28th. In 2021, Buescher had a short “Music City” debut and finished an asterisk mark 37th. On lap 77 while running in 15th, Buescher had a sudden flat tire in a turn and crashed which marked the end of his race. “Performance Wise” prior to his demise, I would say Buescher spent the entire race running within a few digits of the mid-teens. Over the first 75 laps of the race, the #17 car ranked as the 20th fastest car on the track.

Bubba Wallace
Nashville Fantasy Spin – At Nashville, look for Bubba Wallace to have a strong showing and potentially be a factor for a top ten. Wallace ran well last year (12th), but what I really like about him is the weekly form of the #23 team. Since Bristol Dirt minus Talladega, Gateway and Sonoma, Wallace has had a result in the top 12 every race and has a 7.7 average finish. Over the Dover + High-Speed 1.5-Mile Track grouping, Wallace clocks in for having the 9th best Total Speed Ranking.
Nashville Track History – Last year at Nashville, Bubba Wallace ran well even though his race wasn’t incident free. In the race, Wallace started 30th, finished 7th in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 around lap 120, Wallace who just left pit road in 7th came in for a second stop (loose wheel), and then during his second stop he lost a lap since he didn’t beat the pace car. That put Wallace behind, but he battled back for a 12th when the checkered flag waved. I also believe Wallace was burned by the Buescher caution during the pit cycle too, because he certainly dropped back after that once again in the running order. In terms of speed stats, Wallace ranked 10th for Green Flag Speed and then 11th for both Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. In 2021, Bubba Wallace brought out not 1, but 2 cautions! On lap 132 at the time of his first spin he was running in 14th. Then in the last Stage, Wallace spun on lap 218 while running in 23rd. When the checkered flag waved, Wallace finished 20th, had a 22.8 average running position, was the 23rd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and he ranked 24th for both Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speeds.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Nashville Fantasy Spin – At Nashville, look for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to have a solid showing. Stenhouse’s track record is actually pretty good (11th place average finish) but what I really like about him is the current form of the #47. They’ve been clicking off good results for months and since COTA minus Richmond and Gateway where he had problems in both races, Stenhouse has a 10.4 average finish and he’s had a result in the top 15 every race. On Sunday, I’m going to view Stenhouse as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who might just sneak in a top ten.
Nashville Track History – At Nashville, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been solid and has an 11.0 average finish between the combined events. Last year, Stenhouse finished 16th but I would say that result actually overrates him. In the race, Stenhouse had a 20.4 average running position, the 22nd best Total Speed Ranking and was running in 22nd with 10 laps to go before the late caution came out. In 2021, Stenhouse had a great performance. In the race he finished 6th in Stage #1, 7th in Stage #2, had a 6.3 average running position and then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed analytics, Stenhouse ranked #2 in Total Speed Rankings, Green Flag Speed and Speed Late In A Run. It was a great performance for him in the tracks debut.

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