NASCAR heads to a short track this week at Bristol for its first true short track race of the season. This is the first race on the concrete instead of dirt at the spring Bristol race in several years. I prefer the racing on the concrete, and it should make things a little more predictable about who will be good. Drivers that are good at Bristol are usually consistently good at Bristol.
POTENTIAL DOMINATORS
Ryan Blaney
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch
Blaney should be the top pick and a favorite this weekend. Coming into the week I expected him to be good and I bet him +1200 to win and he backed it up by having the best lap averages in practice and is starting from the pole. He should lead early and be the top contender to win. Hamlin was dominate here in the fall and should be good again this week as I expect him to contend for the win. Larson is another that is always good at Bristol and should run up at the front throughout the race. Busch is a riskier play as he was solid in practice but didn’t blow the doors off anyone. I liked him coming into the week and I think he will move forward and be a contender at the end of the day. He could be lower owned as well since there are more obvious choices.
PLACE DIFFERENTIAL PLAYS
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Tyler Reddick
Alex Bowman
Ty Gibbs
Buescher and Chastain both got loose in qualifying and are starting at the back of the field. They have huge place differential potential, and both are good at Bristol and should have good runs. Keselowski and Reddick were both fast in practice and I would not be surprised for them to be contenders this week. They should move forward and run top 10 with potential to run at the front. Bowman is a solid place differential play with top 10 upside. Gibbs is a bit of a risk as he didn’t show anything in practice because he hit the wall, but he has been running great lately and Bristol is a good track for him.
CHEAP OPTIONS
Noah Gragson
Austin Dillon
AJ Allmendinger
John Hunter Nemechek
Ryan Preece
Carson Hocevar
Gragson had really good speed in practice and a lot of the Stewart Haas cars looked fast. He should have potential for another top 15 or better. Dillon was ok in practice, but he starts 30th and should have top 20 potential. Allmendinger had some solid lap times in practice and has a great history at Bristol. He is a good place differential play starting in the 30s as he has top 15 upside. Nemechek and Preece are solid picks as they start a little past mid pack and were solid in practice, I think they could be good picks this week. Hocevar ran great at Bristol last season and has been running well as of late. He got loose in qualifying and starts at the back but should move forward and be a great pick this week.
FADES
Michael McDowell
Joey Logano
Martin Truex
Josh Berry
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Daniel Hemric
Harrison Burton
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