NASCAR Bass Pro Shops Night Race DFS Preview

Photo Credit: Speedway Digest

DraftKings Preview

AustYn

Thunder Valley, The Last Great Colosseum, The World’s Fastest Half-Mile or whatever you want to call it…Bristol Motor Speedway is up next on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. This race is majorly important for the playoff drivers as this is an elimination race for the Round of 12. Martin Truex Jr. remains below the cutline after a tire failure last week at Kansas, despite being the regular season points champion. NASCAR created the system to create drama and it definitely does that. Christopher Bell will lead the field to the green and accompanying him on the front row will be his teammate, Denny Hamlin. My strategy for this week is pretty simple. I do not care about practice speeds…that’s right. This is a night race. They practiced in the daytime; therefore you can pretty much throw those lap times out of the window. History will be my deciding factor. The drivers that performed well last season will be considered in my lineup. Bristol is such a unique track, that you either are great or bad here. Truthfully, my strategy is to pick 3 dominators and 3 solid drivers who I think can get a top-20. With 500 laps, there are a lot of points to be made.

Photo Credit: RFK Racing

Top Pick: Brad Keselowski Starting 6th ($9,800)

Selecting Brad Keselowski at this price is not necessarily one that attracts a lot of players I imagine, but I do think that Brad gets his first win of the season. Chris Buescher has 3 wins this season and RFK has really stepped up their game. Brad looked fast here last year and is one of the best short track racers out there. Look for Brad to take home the sword.

Supporting Cast: Chase Briscoe Starting 14th ($6,700) & AJ Allmendinger Starting 22nd ($6,400)

Briscoe ran solidly last year, finishing in the top-5 in both stages before finishing 14th. Track position means a lot here and this track does fit Briscoe’s style well. I see him getting a top-15 easily tonight. AJ Allmendinger is another driver who doesn’t disappoint very often. He finished 7th here last season. The track position is attractive enough to warrant consideration and finishing in the top-20 is all we need.

FanDuel Preview

Yacs

It is cutoff time and the NASCAR Playoffs will be taken down to 12 drivers after tonight’s race. Tyler Reddick and the Toyotas were dominant in last weeks Kansas race. Today looks like there may be a little more competition, but I guess we’ll see. Bristol is always an interesting race and they announced this week that the Bristol dirt race is gone. I say, thank goodness. Those cars were never meant to run on dirt and there was no reason for it to be a points race. They will be on the concrete tonight, but how will the racing be. short track racing has been pretty bad since they went to this new car and Bristol just hasn’t been the same since the repave. The fact that it is a cut race will make things interesting in itself, but I really don’t know what to expect tonight. I am preparing for little opportunity for passing points and fast cars in practice continuing to be fast in the race. I also want to make a well-balanced lineup, rather than taking a big risk on a cheaper option or two. Let’s see if the strategy pays off on FanDuel this week.

First Picks: Kyle Larson ($14,000) Starting 36th; Chris Buescher ($10,500) Starting 20th

Larson is too good to pass up. I know I said that passing will be difficult, but I should’ve rephrased that. Passing will be difficult for everyone except Kyle Larson. He somehow finds a way to be at the front at the end of races. He has a fast car, but he is going to have to make a climb. He can definitely do it though. Larson has been the most consistent driver at short tracks since the entry of the new car. He has proven that he can make the climb and I will take the chance on him today. Expect him to be owned quite a bit, but he will be worth it.

Chris Buescher was the most recent winner at Bristol and aside from last week, he has been the hottest driver in the field. Buescher is starting 20th tonight, but where did he start in his winning effort last season? That’s right, 20th place. He has proven he can make the climb half way through the field and he should have no issue doing it again. He had the 2nd fastest hot lap, 5 and 10 lap averages in practice, so I think it is safe to say that he should be up there again tonight. Look for the 17 to be strong today. $10,500 is a reasonable price to pay.

Getty

Value Picks: Ross Chastain ($8,500) Starting 23rd; Joey Logano ($8,000) Starting 28th

I know that I am breaking all of my rules, butt I think this lineup will provide you the best value. Chastain finished 6th in his only effort with Trackhouse and he had some decent times in practice. He has consistently been good at short tracks in the last couple of years and he should be fast again tonight. I expect Chastain to be fast again if he stays out of trouble.

I really wanted to take Tyler Reddick tonight, but I will settle for Logano. Logano hasn’t had a great season, but he has quietly been on a solid run lately. I think he will be fast tonight and as long as he stays on the lead lap, he should finish well. He hasn’t had a Top 10 at Bristol since 2019, but I think he will break that streak today. Logano is teetering on the edge of the playoffs and a good finish tonight will advance him, but a bad one will potentially put him on the outside of the next round. Logano needs a good finish and he is possibly the most clutch driver out there, so look for him to be strong tonight.

NKP

Final Pick: Martin Truex Jr. ($9,000) Starting 5th

I don’t think he will be picked a lot and I think it will benefit us. Sure, Truex hasn’t had a great history at Bristol, but I refuse to believe that he will be done for the playoffs after tonight. As of now, he is on the outside looking in and I think that is a ridiculous thing considering how well he performed in the first 26 races. He was the regular season champ! He should not be on the brink of elimination after hitting the wall and an 18th place finish. NASCAR should reward drivers more that perform better than the rest of the field. He seemingly has a solid long run car and he will need all the help he can get today to stay alive.