Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Larson
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson’s a super-elite performer at Bristol who’ll be tough to beat. Larson won this race in 2021 and “Performance Wise”, Larson should have another couple W’s on his resume. In the Next Gen over the combined races, Larson has the 2nd best average finish (4.0), the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the 3rd best Driver Rating. On Saturday night, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Bristol Track History – Kyle Larson has thrived at Bristol and since 2017 minus spring 2019, Larson has a 4.2 average finish, a 5.3 average running position and he’s averaged leading 88.8 laps per race. In terms of the results column, in 7 of the last 8 he’s finished in the top 6. As you read above in the Next Gen, Larson’s been one of the premier performers and he’s also the only driver who’s a perfect 3 for 3 at finishing in the top five. This spring, Larson had a great performance despite it not being incident free. In the race, Larson finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 8th in Stage #2, had an 8.4 average running position and then finished 5th. Around lap 370 during a caution while running in 4th, Larson got an equipment interference penalty which dropped him to the back. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked as the fastest driver late in a run and ranked 5th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last summer, Larson started 36th but that wasn’t a problem. Larson quickly climbed up thru the field, finished 8th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2 and then finished runner-up. Additionally, Larson led 20 laps and earned the 4th best Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Larson was the 2nd Fastest Driver Late In A Run and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 4th. In 2022, Larson finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, led 34 laps and then finished 5th overall. In 2021, Larson had a stellar showing and raced his way to victory lane (Led 175 laps, 2.5 average running position).

Denny Hamlin
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – At Bristol, the road to victory lane might very well go thru Denny Hamlin. Hamlin’s a 4-time “Thunder Valley” winner and currently has back-to-back wins in convincing fashion. This spring, Hamlin won when tire wear was extreme and then last fall, he “Beat your favorite driver” despite his race not being incident free. Under both tire-wear situations he’s won, but the more tire-wear the better for him. “Performance Wise” at Bristol, Hamlin’s been a factor to win 5 of the last 8 races, so you can be confident he’ll show up and be a factor.
Bristol Track History – Denny Hamlin ranks among the premiere performers at Bristol. Since 2019 minus a pair of misleading results in 2020, Hamlin has a 4.3 average finish. In the Next Gen, Hamlin has the best average finish (3.7), the 2nd best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 2nd best Driver Rating, the 2nd best Average Running Position and he’s averaged leading the 2nd most laps per race (101.7). This spring, Hamlin put on a masterclass in tire management and dominated down the stretch, racing his way to victory lane. In the race, Hamlin finished 7th in Stage #2, had a 5.0 average running position, earned the best driver rating and led the most laps (163). In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and then 4th for Speed Late In A Run. Last summer under the lights, Hamlin was impressive and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Hamlin started 2nd, was caught speeding on pit road during Stage #1 around lap 70 while running in 2nd, rallied to finish 4th in Stage #2, led 142 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then of course took home the trophy. In 2022, Hamlin had a strong showing and finished 9th, despite multiple problems. In the race, Hamlin had a flat tire and got into the wall while running in 3rd on lap 235, and then later around lap 435 he had a slow pit stop while running in 6th. When the race reached its conclusion, Hamlin finished 9th.

Brad Keselowski
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Brad Keselowski’s a super-elite performer at Bristol who’ll put up a fight in the race of elimination. At “Thunder Valley”, Keselowski’s a three-time winner and since summer 2019 minus fall 2020 where he lost power steering and a misleading result in 2022 where he had a flat tire while leading, Keselowski has 1 win and a 4.2 average finish. Also, Keselowski has often been dominant and in 4 of the last 8 he’s led +82 laps or more.
Bristol Track History – Brad Keselowski is one of the premiere performers at Bristol. He’s a three-time winner and in 4 of the last 6 races he’s finished in the top 8. In the Next Gen, Keselowski has the 4th best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 5th best Driver Rating and an 8.0 average finish, which underrates him since in 2022 he literally had a flat tire while leading. This spring, Keselowski was strong. In the race, Keselowski started 17th, finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a 6.4 average running position and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed stats, Keselowski ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. Last summer, Keselowski had a strong showing. In the race, Keselowski finished 8th, earned the 9th best Driver Rating and had a 13.9 average running position. In terms of speed stats, Keselowski had the 7th best Green Flag Speed, the 8th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 9th for speed late in a run. In 2022, Keselowski was one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 13th. In the race, Keselowski won Stage #1, led 109 laps but then in the final Stage on lap 412 while leading, Keselowski had a flat tire and made an unexpected pit stop which led to his asterisk mark 13th. In terms of speed stats, Keselowski ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run and then 5th for both Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. In 2021, Keselowski finished 6th.

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