Elvis Merzlikins Signs Five-Year Extension With Columbus

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Elvis Merzlikins agreed to a five-year extension on Tuesday. Merzlikins will get paid an AAV of $5.4 million. He went 8-12-5 last year for the Blue Jackets with a 2.77 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. The goaltender followed up a brilliant rookie season with a solid second act.... Read More

Michael McDowell Eliminated At Bristol After Rough Night

Michael McDowell got into the playoff chase behind a win at the very first race of the season -- the Daytona 500. After that, McDowell had a few good results but little else. The No. 34 Ford crashed out in the season finale at Daytona and then crashed again at Darlington. That got him off... Read More

Kurt Busch's Chase Ends At Bristol

Kurt Busch was another case where the No. 1 car never really got going in any of the three playoff races. His 19th place finish at Bristol just cemented his fate and elimination from the playoff chase. The older Busch started great with a sixth at Darlington. However, he crashed early (after 40 laps) at... Read More

Tyler Reddick's Playoff Run Ends At Bristol

Tyler Reddick, like Aric Almirola, just could not get into the top 10 in any of the first three playoff races. As a result, he was eliminated from playoff contention over the weekend. Normally finishing 18th, 15th and 12th is pretty good. However, the No. 8 car was down near the bottom of the standings... Read More

Aric Almirola Eliminated At Bristol

Aric Almirola was one of four eliminations from the playoff chase over the weekend after the Bristol race. The No. 10 car finished 18th on Saturday. The problem was that though Almirola was consistent over the previous seven races. Finishing 16th, 14th, and 18th when starting 12th in the chase did not help matters. It... Read More

Alex Bowman Delivers Top-Five at Bristol

Alex Bowman needed a result that did not seem as automatic as some believed. The No. 48 car did find a way to charge forward when it counted. Bowman was just 14th after Stage 1 and 15th after Stage 2. He made up quite a bit of time in the end as he ran out... Read More

Ryan Blaney Sneaks Into Fourth Place at Bristol

Ryan Blaney lurked around most of the night. The Team Penske car then led 45 laps, out of almost nowhere. In the end, he battled back to a fourth-place result on Saturday night as he was sandwiched between William Byron and Alex Bowman. Blaney holding off Bowman was an interesting subplot over the final laps... Read More

William Byron Surprises Many, Finishes Third at Bristol

William Byron had to feel like deja vu was coming once again. He was starting 14th and was out of the playoff Round of 12 coming into the night. Byron was only tenth after Stage 1 and briefly had fallen out of the top ten during Stage 2. It looked like time was not on... Read More

Kevin Harvick Rides Rough to Second at Bristol

Kevin Harvick raced like vintage Kevin Harvick. Yes, it ruffled some feathers like Chase Elliott's but the result was a second-place finish at Bristol on Saturday. It was only the slightly faster No. 5 car of Kyle Larson that kept Harvick's Stewart-Haas ride from victory. Harvick was sandwiched between two Hendricks Motorsports cars as William... Read More

Kyle Larson Does It Again at Bristol

Kyle Larson let every other NASCAR driver know who is the top favorite for this year's NASCAR playoff chase. It was not enough the No. 5 car was leading the playoff points race. Larson punctuated the first three races by winning the short-track Round of 16 finale at Bristol. He passed Kevin Harvick in a... Read More

NASCAR DFS Prop Picks for 9/18 - PrizePicks

Hello once again everyone!  We hit the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway this week and another edition of NASCAR DFS on PrizePicks. Now, that means our new friends over at PrizePicks have a TON of great props we can look to take advantage of. PrizePicks is a great DFS props site... Read More

NASCAR DFS Prop Picks: Bass Pro Shops Night Race - Monkey Knife Fight

Saturday night features the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at the Bristol Motor Speedway from Bristol, Tennessee. Monkey Knife Fight has an extremely easy fantasy point system: 0.1 points for each lap led and then a set amount of points for their position (20 for 1st place, 19 for 2nd place, 18 for 3rd, and... Read More

Erik Jones A Good Possibility At Bristol

Erik Jones has nearly won the race at Bristol several times. The No. 20 car just has it when it comes to the short track. The 2017 race where he led 260 laps is still talked about today as he just barely missed out on a win. Last season, Jones finished fifth and third on... Read More

Daniel Suarez Could Surprise At Bristol Again

Daniel Suarez likes the short tracks but particularly Bristol. Before car issues snuffed his effort out last summer, Suarez was in the top-15 once more on the short track. He finished in the top 20 in every single race prior. Expect that trend to continue on Saturday. Suarez starts in 21st but should move up... Read More

Austin Dillon Not An Optimal Choice At Bristol

Austin Dillon just missed out on the playoff chase and now starts 18th at Bristol on Saturday night. Despite not leading a single lap, Dillon has fared well on the 0.533-mile course with seven top-15 results in his previous nine races. It is odd how consistent he has been at Bristol without leading one lap.... Read More

Ross Chastain Making Nice Push In Time For Bristol

Ross Chastain did not race at Bristol in 2020 and his limited history in a slower car makes those results almost irrelevant. He has raced great at Darlington and Richmond with third and seventh place results. If not for the crash at Daytona, Chastain would have finished in the top ten for three straight races.... Read More

Michael McDowell A Shaky Option At Bristol

Michael McDowell did finish 14th and 10th at Bristol in 2020. In three of the prior four races, he wrecked himself right out of contention. That is kind of the pattern with McDowell. The No. 34 car does well at Daytona and a few select tracks. Outside of that, though, it is often a battle... Read More

Kurt Busch Squarely On The Brink At Bristol

Kurt Busch is tied for 12th in playoff points heading into Saturday night's race at Bristol. There is no pressure at all other than Busch has been here the last two years before this. In his last five races at Bristol, the elder Busch does have a win and five top-15 results. He won the... Read More

William Byron In Real Trouble At Bristol

William Byron may be that one driver who just gets into trouble early in the playoff chase and never quite climbs out. This is the third year where he is up against it. Last year, he did not get to the Round of 12. Bristol does not help matters this year. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing... Read More

Tyler Reddick A Coin Flip At Bristol

Tyler Reddick has two races on the big stage at Bristol. In the first race he crashed out but in the second one, Reddick contended and finished fourth. That was the summer Bristol race as well. The Richard Childress Racing driver is currently 14th in the playoff chase and needs help to advance along with... Read More

Aric Almirola On The Bubble As Bristol Looms

Aric Almirola is just a few points ahead of Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman as Bristol beckons on Saturday night. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished fifth the last time this race was held on a non-dirt surface. Almirola must stay out of trouble. In two of the last four races, he did not. As a... Read More

Alex Bowman Has A Chance For Bristol Success

Alex Bowman is right around the Round of 12 bubble. He needs a very good result to avoid elimination. The crazy thing is Bowman has never led a lap on the Bristol track when it has been an asphalt course. Yet, there is something about this third race of the playoff chase that makes one... Read More

Brad Keselowski Not An Easy Choice At Bristol

Brad Keselowski won last year at Bristol and has led 40 or more laps in five of his last six races there. The summer race in 2020 was a mess as Keselowski sustained damage from a couple of wrecks and never was a factor. When his car is good, the Team Penske driver performs pretty... Read More

Kyle Busch Needs To Finish Well At Bristol

Kyle Busch is a bit up against it. Only a handful of points separate tenth (where he is) from 14th in the Chase. The ninth-place finish at Richmond helped but he likely needs another top-ten to seal advancing into the Round of 12. The No. 18 car is more than capable of that result. The... Read More

Kevin Harvick Excels On Bristol Track

Every drive has some mixed-bag results at Bristol, and Kevin Harvick knows that quite well. That being said, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver did take the checkered flag last summer on the track, and he led 226 laps to boot. The No. 4 car has the ability to get on a roll at the 0.533-mile course,... Read More

Ryan Blaney May Struggle At Bristol

There is a little cause for concern when it comes to Ryan Blaney at Bristol on Saturday night. For one, his last three races on the track have been shaky to say the least. The odd part is the race he crashed out, the Team Penske driver was running the best he ever had. As... Read More

Christopher Bell A Long Shot On Bristol Asphalt

Christopher Bell in a better car setup could be an intriguing storyline on Saturday, as he did finish ninth in the first race at Bristol last year. There is not a ton of history to go on, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver did finish third at Richmond last week and could enjoy a good... Read More

Kyle Larson Can Contend At Bristol

Kyle Larson has little to race for as he has already advanced to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoff chase. However, the Hendricks Motorsports Racing driver is wired differently compared to most racers. He wants to win and in any way possible. That was on full display two weeks ago at Darlington and... Read More

Chase Elliott A Lap-Leader At Bristol?

The one thing Chase Elliott can definitely do well at Bristol is lead some laps. He has led 23 or more laps in each of his past five appearances on the track (asphalt version). Four of those five times, the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has finished in the top ten. He has ended up on... Read More

Joey Logano An Intriguing Possibility At Bristol

Joey Logano, like Denny Hamlin, could lead a lot of laps at Bristol. He could win or he could falter quickly. That is the nature of the beast with the short 0.533-mile track. Laps are typically 15 seconds or less. Things happen quickly. Logano has three top-ten finishes over his last six appearances at the... Read More