Bristol Food City 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kyle Larson
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson’s a super-elite performer at Bristol and on Sunday, the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. At “Thunder Valley”, Larson’s a 2-time winner and last fall en route to victory lane, Larson put on a historic display of domination, smoking the field. In the Next Gen over the combined races, Larson has the best average finish (3.3), the 2nd best Speed Ranking, the 3rd best Driver Rating and he’s averaged leading 133.8 laps per race. The high line is the fast line, and nobody is better than Larson at running that groove. On Sunday, 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 3.9 average finish, a 4.9 average running position and he’s averaged leading 126.1 laps per race. In terms of the results column, in 8 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 6. In the Next Gen in the results column, he’s a perfect 4 for 4 at finishing in the top 5 with his average finish being a series best 3.3. Last fall, Larson was the class of the field and easily raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a perfect Total Speed Ranking, came close to having a perfect Driver Rating, had a 1.1 average running position and led 462 laps. Last 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. In the three races prior to that, Larson finished 2nd in 2023, 5th in 2022 and then 1st in 2021 (Led 175 laps, 2.5 average running position).

Christopher Bell
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Christopher Bell has been a super-elite performer at Bristol in the Next Gen and on Sunday, pencil Bell in as a top five performer who’ll be a factor to win. At “Thunder Valley”, Bell has been stout and over the combined races in the Next Gen, Bell has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the best Driver Rating, the best Average Running Position (4.4) and he’s averaged leading 89.8 laps per race.
Bristol Track History – In the Next Gen at Bristol, Christopher Bell ranks among the premiere performers. Last summer, Bell had a great performance and was a consistent front runner. In the race, Bell finished 5th, had a 4.6 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Bell had a hot rod. In the race, Bell finished 8th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had the 2nd best average running position (5.7), led 29 laps and then finished 10th which underrates him. Late in the race, Bell had a tire issue. On lap 420 he was in 2nd but then on lap 440 he had fallen back to 10th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked 6th but take note his speed over the segments were 9th, 4th, 3rd and then 17th. In 2023, Bell started on the pole, won the two opening Stages, led the most laps (187), earned the best driver rating, had the best average running position (2.7) and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed analytics, Bell ranked #1 for Total Speed Rankings, #1 for Green Flag Speed and then 3rd for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Bell was a standout performer, leading 143 laps, having the best Total Speed Ranking and then finishing 4th.

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 that includes winning 2 of the last 3. In the Next Gen over the combined races, Hamlin has the 2nd best average finish (3.75), the 2nd best Driver Rating and the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking. “Performance Wise” at Bristol, Hamlin’s been a factor to win 5 of the last 9 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. In the Next Gen, Hamlin’s won 2 of the 4 races, has a 3.75 average finish, the 2nd best Driver Rating and the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last fall, the #11 was fast and Hamlin ran great throughout. In the race, Hamlin finished 4th, had a 4.6 average running position, had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and earned the 3rd best Driver Rating. Last 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. In summer 2023, 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 finished 9th despite having multiple problems but take note he was top 5 good in that race.

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