Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Bubba Wallace
Bristol Fantasy Spin – At Bristol, look for Bubba Wallace to have a solid showing and be a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who has a good chance to finish in the top ten. At “Thunder Valley”, Wallace has run pretty well in the Nex Gen. Wallace was a solid low double-digit driver last summer and a top five contender in 2022, before his early demise.
Bristol Track History – At Bristol, don’t overlook Bubba Wallace. In the Next Gen, Wallace has been fast and over the combined races his Next Gen Speed Ranking ranks as the 10th best over the combined races. Last summer, Wallace ran well. In the race, Wallace finished 14th, had a 13.4 average running position, ranked 11th for Total Speed Rankings and ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Wallace looked like a top five contender, but finished an asterisk mark 29th. On lap 176 while running in 4th, Wallace went to the garage due to power steering problems which ruined his evening. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Wallace was tied for being the 7th fastest. In 2021, Wallace finished 16th. In the three races prior to that, Wallace had results of 22nd, 10th and 14th.

Alex Bowman
Bristol Fantasy Spin – At Bristol, look for Alex Bowman to have a solid showing. Bowman has proven himself to be a capable performer at Bristol and in Hendrick equipment minus crashes in fall 2022 (top ten contender, crashed), and crashes in spring 2020 and 2019, Bowman has a 10.3 average finish. Over that stretch over his incident free races, Bowman’s 6 for 6 at finishing between 5th to 16th. On Sunday, look for Bowman to be a top ten contender if he can avoid trouble.
Bristol Track History – Alex Bowman has been solid at Bristol in recent races. Last summer under the lights, Bowman started 13th, finished 13th, had an 11.2 average running position, earned the 10th best Driver Rating and ranked 13th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, the #48 was fast but Bowman crashed. In the race, Bowman finished 6th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 but was then collected in the lap 277 “Big One” which marked the end of his race. I’ll note, Bowman lost power steering in Stage #2 and in a post-DNF interview he said his car was fast and capable of running in the top five. In terms of green flag speed, Bowman ranked 9th. In 2021, Bowman finished 5th, had a 10.4 average running position and had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking. In fall 2020, Bowman was a top ten contender, but finished a misleading 16th. In the race, Bowman finished 4th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking. On lap 301 he made an unexpected pit stop due to a vibration. On lap 282 which was shortly before his problem he was running in 6th.

Michael McDowell
Bristol Fantasy Spin – At Bristol, don’t overlook Michael McDowell. McDowell had his all-time best result at “Thunder Valley” last summer and in 3 of the last 4 races he’s finished between 6th to 11th. Over the two races in the Next Gen, McDowell has the 7th best average finish (8.5) and ranks 7th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. It’s hard to see him being a top performer again but he’s run great here in recent races, so he might just have another in him for those who are looking to roll the dice.
Bristol Track History – Bristol has historically been a bad track for Michael McDowell but in 3 of the last 4 races he’s finished between 6th to 11th, so perhaps we should trust him (famous last words). Last summer, McDowell had his best Bristol showing. In the race, McDowell finished 6th in Stage #2, had a 5.8 average running position, earned the 5th best Driver Rating and then finished 6th overall. In terms of speed stats, McDowell had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 10th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, McDowell avoided trouble and had a solid showing. When the checkered flag waved, McDowell finished 11th, had a 13.9 average running position and had the 14th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2021, McDowell finished 24th, had a 22nd place average running position and had the 25th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2020, McDowell finished 10th in the fall and 14th in the spring. Prior to 2020, you could basically pencil in McDowell for a +25 finish.

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