Bristol Bass Pro Shops Night Race Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – 4-time Bristol winner, Denny Hamlin will be tough to beat on Saturday night. At “Thunder Valley” in the Next Gen, Hamlin has 2-wins, a 3.4 average finish, the 2nd best Driver Rating and ranks 2nd in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. “Performance Wise”, Hamlin’s been a serious factor to win 5 of the last 10 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 5 races, has a 3.4 average finish, the 2nd best Driver Rating, he’s tied for 2nd in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and he’s one of just three drivers who are 5 for 5 at finishing in the top ten. This spring, Hamlin had a hot rod and finished runner-up. In the race, Hamlin started 4th, finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, had a 3rd place average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the fastest car late in a run and ranked 2nd in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last summer, 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 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.

Kyle Larson
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson’s a super-elite performer at Bristol and on Saturday night, the #5 will be fast and the road to victory lane likely goes thru him. At Bristol, Larson’s a 3-time winner and currently, Larson has back-to-back dominate wins. In the Next Gen, Larson has the best average finish (2.8), the best Driver Rating, the best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the best average running position (5.1) and he’s averaged leading 189.2 laps per race. 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 3.6 average finish and the best Driver Rating by a wide margin. In the Next Gen era, Larson is 5 for 5 at finishing in the top 5, with 2-wins and a 2.8 average finish. This spring, Larson smoked the field and put on a display of domination. In the race, Larson started 3rd, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 411 laps, earned the best Driver Rating by a wide margin and of course raced his way to victory lane. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked #1 and fielded the fastest car on the track over all four segments of the race. Last summer, 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. 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. Bell’s yet to win at “Thunder Valley” but he’s been a standout performer and flirted with victory lane. In the Next Gen over the combined Bristol races, Bell has the 3rd best average finish (6.0), he’s tied for having the 2nd best Next Gen Speed Ranking, has the best average running position, the 3rd best Driver Rating and he’s averaged leading 71.8 laps per race. On Saturday night, look for Bell to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Bristol Track History – In the Next Gen at Bristol, Christopher Bell ranks among the premiere performers. This spring, Bell had a strong showing. In the race, Bell finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had a 7.3 average running position and then finished 8th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bell ranked 7th. Last summer, Bell 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 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.

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