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

Kyle Larson
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson’s a super-elite performer at Bristol and on Saturday night, look for him to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Larson was a standout performer this spring and in the Next Gen era, he’s a 2-time winner and minus last summer, his average Speed Ranking is 2.5, his average finish is 2.8, and he’s had a result in the top 5 every race. Over the combined Bristol Next Gen races, Larson has the best average finish (7.0) and ranks 2nd for both Speed and Driver Rating.
Bristol History – Kyle Larson’s a 3-time winner at Bristol and since 2017 minus spring 2019 and last summer, Larson has a 3.4 average finish. This spring, Larson was a standout performer. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a race best 1.7 average running position, led the most laps (284), earned the best Driver Rating and then finished 3rd. Before the last two late cautions came out, Larson was running in 3rd. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking but ranked 6th for Speed Late In A Run. Last summer, Larson had a tough race and finished 32nd, but I would be careful with takeaways from that extreme tire wear race. Larson didn’t look good; he struggled and also broke his toe link along the way. Last spring, Larson put on a display of domination. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 411 laps, earned the best Driver Rating and of course raced his way to victory lane. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked #1 and fielded the fastest car over all four segments. In summer 2024, 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. In spring 2024 which was another high-wear race, Larson finished 5th. Over the three races prior to that, Larson had results of 2nd, 5th and 1st.

Christopher Bell
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Defending summer winner, Christopher Bell’s a super-elite performer at Bristol who’ll be tough to beat under the lights. Bell’s been a standout performer and in the Next Gen, has the best Driver Rating, ranks 2nd for Speed and in terms of the results column minus this spring his average finish is 5.2. On Saturday night, look for Bell to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Bristol History – Christopher Bell has been a standout performer at Thunder Valley in the Next Gen. This spring, Bell looked like a contender to win but finished an asterisk mark 27th. In the race, Bell started 14th, drove up to finish 2nd in Stage #1 but then during the Stage #1 caution, he was caught speeding on pit road. That dropped Bell deep in the field and then on lap 143 while running in 26th, he got loose, into the wall and then spun, damaging the #20. Over the first quarter of the race which was incident free for Bell, he ranked as having the 2nd fastest car on the track. Last summer in a high-tire wear race, Bell was impressive, racing his way to victory lane in clutch fashion with a pass from 3rd to the lead with 3-laps to go. In the race, Bell didn’t place in either opening Stage, had an 11.4 average running position and only led 12 laps, but he bid his time and was up front when the trophy was on the line. Additionally, Bell earned the 6th best Driver Rating and ranked 9th for Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, Bell looked great. 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. In summer 2024, Bell finished 5th, had a 4.6 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2024 in the other high-tire wear race, Bell had the 2nd best average running position (5.7), ranked 6th for Speed, led 29 laps and then finished 10th which underrates him since late in the race he had a tire issue. Over the two races prior to that, Bell had results of 3rd and 4th.

Ryan Blaney
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney’s an elite performer at Bristol who’ll be a driver to be reckoned with. Blaney was the class of the field this spring and in terms of pure Bristol talent, he’s undisputedly the best who’s never won there. The Next Gen era got off to a rough start for Blaney but over the last four, Blaney has a 4.3 average finish and a 4.5 average Speed Ranking. Heading into the weekend, look for Blaney to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Bristol History – Ryan Blaney has finished better in each new Next Gen race at Bristol so hopefully that trend won’t end since his last four finishes are 6th, 5th, 4th and then 2nd. This spring, Blaney was stout and in the second half of the race, he dominated. In the race, Blaney won the pole, finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a 2.6 average running position, led 190 laps and then finished 2nd overall. Late in the race on lap 474, Blaney was the leader but then during a caution just after that, he pitted which dropped him back to 7th, so he had to rally hard for his runner-up. In terms of speed stats, Blaney was tied for the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run. Last summer, Blaney ranked among the best. In the race, Blaney won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 30 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best average running position (7.2) and ranked 5th for Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, Blaney was a factor and ran an out of sync pit strategy race late, running long in hopes of catching a caution and trapping a lot of the field a lap down. In the race, Blaney started 5th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 8th in Stage #2, had a 6.4 average running position, led 48 laps and then finished 5th overall. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. In summer 2024, Blaney started 22nd, finished 9th in Stage #2 and then finished 6th when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, Blaney had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking and the 8th best Driver Rating. In spring 2024’s high tire wear race, Blaney started on the pole, finished 6th in Stage #1, was caught speeding during a caution in Stage #2 while running in 10th, got shuffled out of line in the last Stage around lap 394 while running just short of the top ten and then finished 16th overall.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Bristol Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier