2 months agoJohn Hunter Nemechek drove all the way up to sixth from 25th on Sunday at the Food City 500. Toyota was absurdly fast and the Legacy Motor Club driver racked up 13 stage points as he flirted around the Top 5 all afternoon. It was unfortunate that he could not stay on the lead lap. However, Nemechek held off Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott for the sixth spot. His 99.2 driver rating and 440 laps inside the Top 15 showed his racing ability. The high-tire wear did not phase the No. 42 Toyota at all. Nemecheck set several career highs on the 0.533-mile track including quality pass percentage (77.1%).
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoChris Buescher did not have the best of races starting 34th. However, the RFK Racing driver ended up seventh at the end of 500 laps in Bristol. Buescher led 17 laps but fell back even behind teammate Brad Keselowski. Keselowski finished third while Buescher ended up a lap down. With only five cars on the lead lap and all the tire wear, the No. 17 Ford clawed his way to a good result. Buescher now has three Top 10 results in his last four races heading to COTA next week. He did finished eighth last year and fifth after Stage 2 on the Austin track.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoIn an otherwise mediocre season, Alex Bowman made a surprise charge to fourth on the final stint of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol on Sunday. Bowman tends to thrive in chaotic situations, so his strong finish shouldn't come as much of a surprise. Nearly lapped in the closing stages of the race, he managed to pass a string of cars also fighting to stay on the lead lap and drove from 10th to fourth in the final twenty laps. While Bowman delivered a clutch performance, he did not run as well earlier in the race, as he only ranked 10th in average running position, ninth in driver rating, and 17th in speed. This season, Bowman has not had a race where he ran strongly from start to finish in quite a while, but his result at Bristol may be an encouraging sign that he will have stronger runs in the future.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoChristopher Bell had a solid run at Bristol this weekend, but in almost every regard he was outperformed by his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates. While all four JGR drivers took turns up front and had multiple passes for the lead, Bell had the worst finish (10th), the fewest laps led (29), the lowest driver rating (108.0), and the slowest average speed (sixth) among JGR drivers. His three teammates were the best in both speed and laps led in the Food City 500. As at Phoenix, JGR largely dominated start-to-finish, but this time, it was because they were the best at conserving their tires. Since tire conservation tends to be something where drivers improve with age, it makes sense that the veterans Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex, Jr. came out on top while Bell and Ty Gibbs faded in the end. It was a solid run for Bell, but nothing like last week, where he had the dominant car at Phoenix.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoMartin Truex Jr. finished the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as the runner-up for the victory on Sunday. Truex ran in the Top 10 throughout most of the entire race and was a contributing factor to Joe Gibbs Racing's dominance at Bristol this week. The driver
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2 months agoDuring the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney finished in the 16th position after a hard-fought day. Blaney began Sunday's race on the pole, where he would trade the lead with several drivers and lead a total of 14 laps. Blaney ran mostly inside the Top 10 as the race progressed, getting as high as the Top 5 before a bad-handling car shuffled him back through the field and eventually off the lead lap. Although Blaney would have to pit for tires in the late run, he would eventually rally back for his worst finish of the year since the Daytona 500 (16th). Despite a strong car in the earlier part of the race, Blaney's finish of 16th marks his third Bristol finish where he failed to place in the Top 10 by the end. As NASCAR heads to Circuit of the Americas next, Blaney will look to recapture the season points lead while looking for his second career top-10 finish there.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 months agoHendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will start the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway from the eighth position after qualifying. This marks the third consecutive race Byron obtained a top-10 starting position. In nine starts at Bristol, the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet has four top-10 finishes, all of which were scored in his last five appearances at the site. Byron could be primed for another top-10 finish as he ranked fifth in five and ten-consecutive lap averages while ranking fourth of all drivers in 15-consecutive lap averages. When considering how Byron is one of the better performers of the year regardless of track type, with two top-10 finishes in four races so far, it should not be a surprise for Byron to compete for a top finish, especially when factoring recent Bristol history.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoAfter hitting the wall in practice, Ty Gibbs nabbed a starting position of 19th for this week's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Following two top-10 starting positions in the last two races this year, Gibbs will make his second-lowest starting position of the year at Bristol.
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2 months agoJustin Haley will start 32nd for Sunday's race at Bristol, his fourth-consecutive starting position of the year at least 30th or worse. In three starts at BMS in the Cup Series, Haley has two DNFs due to accidents and a best finish of 12th from the September 2022 race while driving for Kaulig Racing. In four races so far this year while driving for Rick Ware Racing, Haley has three finishes with positive place differential and a best finish of 20th at Atlanta. In practice, Haley ranked 12th of all drivers in five consecutive lap averages and had the fifth-best overall lap average. Considering these factors, as well as how RWR equipment this season is an improvement compared to previous Bristol races, Haley is a safe and usable DFS option that should move up a few spots in the field, especially if others crash out.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoIn qualifying for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin scored a starting position of third, marking the second time he will start in the top five this season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is one of the most successful drivers in the field at BMS with three wins, 17 top-10 finishes, and the second-most laps led (1,036) of active drivers in 33 Cup starts. Despite the solid qualifying effort, Hamlin did not look great in practice, with all of his practice speeds being outside of the top-10 fastest. Based on past Bristol history, Hamlin is always a factor in competing for the win, especially with most sportsbooks putting him down as one of the top betting favorites to win alongside Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Christopher Bell. Despite the slow practice speeds, expect Hamlin's equipment to be competitive, as evidenced by his qualifying effort and JGR equipment, which did lead him to a victory the last time the Cup Series visited Bristol.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoRFK Racing's Brad Keselowski will start the Food City 500 from the 17th position on Sunday, continuing his streak of starts outside of the top 15 since the beginning of the year. Keselowski is one of the top drivers based on Bristol history with three wins, nine top-10 finishes, and the third-most laps led of active drivers (1,013) in 25 starts. In practice, Keselowski's overall lap average ranked 20th among all drivers, while his five-consecutive lap average ranked 19th. Considering how the driver of the No. 6 Ford has been consistent in recent Bristol races with four top-10 finishes in the last six Bristol Cup events, DFS players have to like how he has place-differential upside this week. RFK Racing is one of the best teams based on equipment at BMS, as evidenced by their recent runs with Chris Buescher, who won in 2022, and Keselowski, who still scored a top-10 despite mid-race struggles in 2023. Watch for Keselowski to have another favorable effort and compete for a top-10 finish on Sunday based on equipment and past BMS history.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoFor Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Joey Logano will start fourth, which will be the fourth time this season Logano has started a race inside the top five. In 27 starts at Bristol, Logano has two wins, 10 top-10 finishes, and 766 laps led. Except for overall lap averages, Logano displayed speeds among the top-10 fastest in all categories in practice. Despite three top-five starts this season and leading in three of the four Cup events so far, Logano has struggled to finish with only one top-10 finish and two DNFs. Bristol also has not been kind to the driver of the No. 22 Ford, as he also hasn't had a top-10 finish at the site since April of 2019. Regardless of his great practice speeds, qualifying effort, and history at Bristol, his results this season should have fantasy managers being cautious about rostering Logano this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 months agoTyler Reddick will start Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol from the 23rd position, his worst starting position of the year so far. In five starts at BMS, the 23XI Racing driver has three top-15 finishes with only one inside the Top 5, which he scored in 2020
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2 months agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. obtained a starting position of 11th for the Food City 500 on Sunday. In 33 starts at Bristol Motor Speedway, Truex has four top-10 finishes, while he only nabbed one top-10 finish in the past 10 Cup events at the site.
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2 months agoThe No. 12 Team Penske Ford unloaded super fast this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, and Ryan Blaney didn't hold back. In practice on Saturday, Blaney not only laid down the fastest single lap of the session, but he also had the fastest five-, 10-, 15-, 20-, and 25-lap average. In qualifying, it was more of the same, as Blaney won the pole for Sunday afternoon's Food City 500. Despite having just two top-five finishes in 14 career starts, Blaney has the sixth-most laps led (493) at Bristol among active driver in the Cup Series, which shows that he has the potential to run really well here. With the speed shown in practice and with Blaney starting on the pole, the upside is there for him to put down a dominating effort in the Food City 500 this weekend. He is a strong DFS pick, especially on DraftKings, where his driver salary is only $10,500.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
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