Nashville Cracker Barrel 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Nashville Fantasy Outlook –  At Nashville, Denny Hamlin will be a factor and on Sunday, look for him to finish in the top five and potentially be a factor to win. In “Music City”, Hamlin ranks among the premiere performers and in the Next Gen, Hamlin ranks #1 in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings, has the best average running position (4.0), the best Driver Rating and his average finish is 7.0, and that underrates him since he should’ve won last summer but ended up finishing 12th due to all the overtime madness.
Nashville Track History – Denny Hamlin has been elite at Nashville and as you read above, he ranks #1 in the Next Gen in terms of Speed Rankings, Driver Rating and Average Running Position. His 7.0 Next Gen Average Finish ranks as the 2nd best among drivers who competed in every race. Last year, Hamlin was stout but finished an asterisk mark 12th. In the race, Hamlin won the pole, finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, was the leader on lap 295 and was the leader thru overtime #3 when he finally had to come in for gas, which led to his misleading 12th. Additionally, Hamlin led 70 laps, earned the best Driver Rating and had a race best 4.5 average running position. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin was the fastest driver late in a run and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Hamlin had a rocket. In the race, Hamlin finished 5th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 3.9 average running position, led 81 laps and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2022, Hamlin finished 2nd in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, led a race high 114 laps, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run but then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. With 10 laps to go Hamlin was running in 3rd, but he then came to pit road during the late caution which dropped him back to 13th with only 4 laps to go.

Kyle Larson
Nashville Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson was the inaugural Nashville winner in 2021 and on Sunday, look for the #5 to be fast and for Larson to be a factor. Larson has a knack for the track and over the combined races, Larson’s the only driver who’s finished in the top ten every race and his 4.5 average finish is the best, and that even underrates him because of last year’s overtime wildness. This year at intermediate tracks, nobody has been better than Larson so you can be confident he’ll have a rocket. On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Nashville Track History – Kyle Larson has been one of the premiere performers at Nashville. Larson smoked the field en route to victory lane in Nashville #1 and in the Next Gen Era, Larson has the best average finish among drivers who competed in every race (5.7) and his Next Gen Speed Ranking ranks 5th. Last year, Larson finished 8th but that result underrates him. In the race, Larson finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2 and was running in 3rd on lap 295 before overtime wildness kicked into gear. During overtime #3 while running in 2nd, Larson couldn’t get up to speed during a restart and dropped back like a rock since he was out of gas, so he had quite a rally to close out. In terms of speed, Larson ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Larson had a strong showing and finished 5th. In the race, Larson earned the 7th best Driver Rating and had a 10.3 average running position. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2022, Larson was solid and finished 4th. That said, Larson wasn’t as good as his result. In the race, Larson had a 9.8 average running position and had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking. With 10 laps to go before a late caution came out in which he stayed out and got track position, Larson was running in 11th, and staying out leap frogged him up to 4th with only 4 laps to go. In 2021, Larson had the field covered and easily raced his way to victory lane (Led 264 laps, 1.4 average running position).

Christopher Bell
Nashville Fantasy Outlook – At Nashville, look for Christopher Bell to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Bell’s an elite performer at intermediate tracks and he’s been great at Nashville over the combined races. Last year at Nashville, Bell was the class of the field but his race wasn’t incident free, so he’ll be racing for redemption. In the Next Gen, Bell has the 2nd best Next Gen Speed Ranking so you can be confident he’ll be fast and be a factor.
Nashville Track History – Christopher Bell has been a super-elite performer at Nashville. Bell looked to be the best last summer and over the other three races he’s come home with results of 7th, 8th and 9th. In the Next Gen over the last three races, Bell has the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. Last summer, Bell was giving the field a beat down but his race wasn’t incident free and he finished 36th. In the race, Bell won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 131 laps but then in the final Stage, pit strategy cycled him back to the teens and then on lap 227 while running in 15th, Bell got loose in traffic and got into the wall hard. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked #1. In 2023, Bell was solid. In the race, Bell started 22nd, finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had an 8.3 average running position and then finished 8th overall. In 2022, Bell ran well and finished 8th. Additionally, Bell had a 9.9 average running position, the 7th Best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2021, Bell finished 9th.

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