April 13, 2026
Ty Gibbs won the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after holding off the field at the end of the race. Gibbs started the race from fifth place after a strong qualifying run, but lost positions early on after being moved up the track by other drivers. The No. 54 Toyota driver struggled to regain positions through the first stage and ended it in 14th, leaving him with no stage points. In the second stage, the No. 54 team improved Gibbs' car, and he moved up through the pack to the top 10. Gibbs finished the second stage in seventh and he earned four stage points. In the final stage, Gibbs slowly moved closer to the front and then reached the top three before Chase Elliott spun and brought out the caution on lap 478, prompting Gibbs to stay out of pit road on older tires while other drivers went to pit road. Gibbs took over the lead as a result and never looked back, holding off Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson in the closing laps to claim his first career Cup Series victory. With his first win in the Cup Series, Gibbs moves up to fourth in the regular-season standings after eight races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
April 13, 2026
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney placed second in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and was one of the top contenders for the entire race. Blaney began the race from the pole position and led the opening 43 laps before Kyle Larson passed him for the lead. The No. 12 Ford driver had the pace in his car to keep up with Larson, but had to recover positions throughout the entire race as he continuously lost positions on pit road due to slow stops. Blaney finished the first stage in third behind Larson and Christopher Bell. In the second stage, Blaney started to show signs of better speed than Larson on longer runs, but finished behind him at the end of the stage in second. In the final stage, Blaney regained the lead from Larson on lap 338 and led until a late race caution occurred on lap 478, causing Blaney to pit for tires. On the second-to-last restart, Blaney went from the back half of the top 10 to second, chasing down new leader Ty Gibbs, but Gibbs held Blaney off for the win. Blaney finished as the runner-up for the first time in his Cup career at Bristol and remains second in the regular-season points standings after eight races and is 62 points behind Tyler Reddick.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
April 13, 2026
Kyle Larson finished third in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway after a dominant performance fell short of winning. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver started the race from eighth, but quickly made it up to the lead after 43 laps, taking it from Ryan Blaney. Larson ended up being untouchable and dominant through the first two stages, winning both and earning maximum stage points for the day. Deep into the third stage on lap 338 was when Larson lost the lead to Blaney, who dominated most of the closing parts of the race. Larson continued to run inside the top five until he went to pit road on the second-to-last caution of the race for two tires. Larson restarted around the back half of the top 10, but quickly moved back up to the front to challenge Ty Gibbs for the lead. The 2025 Cup Series champion was unable to get past Gibbs and was passed by Blaney in the last few laps, leaving him to finish the race in third after leading 284 laps total. After obtaining his second top-5 finish of the year, Larson now moves up to sixth in the regular-season standings after eight races completed in the 2026 Cup Series season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
April 13, 2026
Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing finished in fourth on Sunday in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Reddick began the race from second after a strong run in qualifying. In the first stage, Reddick ran inside the top 10 for most of the stage, but was impacted by a pit road speeding penalty that sent him back in the pack. The No. 45 Toyota driver finished the first stage in 26th and failed to earn stage points. In the second stage, Reddick tried recovering from the penalty, and while he did gain positions, he fell short of scoring stage points as he ended the stage in 12th. In the final stage, Reddick finally returned to the top 10 and then used a pit strategy of staying out on older tires under the race's final two cautions to gain track position. Reddick then challenged for the win against Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, and Kyle Larson, but faded back to fourth behind the three racers. With his finish of fourth, Reddick matched his best career Bristol finish, and he still remains the points leader in the regular-season standings by 62 points over Blaney after eight races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
April 13, 2026
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman returned for his first race back in the No. 48 Chevrolet, the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, after missing four races due to vertigo symptoms. Bowman struggled in qualifying and, as a result, started the race in 27th place. Throughout the race, Bowman had a poorly-handling race car, which prevented him from gaining positions, and he quickly fell off the lead lap. He finished the first stage in 30th place and failed to earn any stage points. Bowman's handling struggles continued in the second stage as he remained in the back of the pack until lap 160. The No. 48 driver was involved in a multicar accident and sustained too much damage to continue. This resulted in Bowman being credited with a finish of 37th at Bristol and is now 36th in the regular-season standings after eight races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
April 12, 2026
Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar qualified 10th for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. It will be the third time in his Cup Series career that Hocevar will start at race at Bristol from the top 10. In five prior starts at Bristol, Hocevar has three finishes of 11th or better, with a career-best finish of seventh scored in his last appearance. After seven races so far this year, Hocevar is 15th in the regular-season standings with five top-20 finishes and an average finish of 16.6. In practice for Sunday's race at Bristol, Hocevar ranked 13th in overall lap averages, but displayed top-5 speeds in the 10-25 consecutive lap average categories. Hocevar is preferred in DFS as a tournament option since his starting position offers little upside, but his track history and equipment are good enough to maintain a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 12, 2026
Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing will start this week's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway from the 12th position. This will be the fourth consecutive race this year where Wallace will start inside the top 15. In 13 previous races at Bristol, Wallace has eight top-20 finishes with two inside the top 10. Through the first seven races this season, Wallace is 11th in the regular-season standings and has five finishes of 11th or better with an average finish of 16.3. In practice for this week's race, Wallace ranked 12th in overall lap averages and displayed top-10 speeds in the 10-30 consecutive lap average categories. Despite a mixed history at Bristol, Wallace is a driver who has equipment capable of earning a solid finish overall.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
March 30, 2026
Chase Elliott obtained his first victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. Elliott began the race from 10th, but struggled to maintain his place inside the top 10 throughout the first stage. He eventually finished the stage in 12th and failed to earn stage points. The second stage was similar in the fact that Elliott could not reach the top 10 and ended the stage in 14th, leaving him with no stage points for the entire race. In the final stage, Elliott's crew chief, Alan Gustafson, made a call to pit the No. 9 Chevrolet driver early for tires on lap 261 and gained track position after late race cautions bunched the field back up. Elliott then took the lead from Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin and never looked back, leading 84 laps for the second win of his Cup career at Martinsville. With his victory this past weekend, Elliott is now ranked fourth in the regular-season standings after seven races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 30, 2026
Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing was the dominant driver in Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 11 Toyota driver went on to lead 292 of 400 total laps in the race while winning the first two stages, but fell short of victory to Chase Elliott. Through the first two stages, Hamlin looked untouchable outside of when William Byron passed him and led for six laps in the first stage until Hamlin took the lead back from Byron. In the final stage, however, Hamlin eventually lost the lead to Chase Elliott, who made his way to the lead thanks to a pit strategy call that allowed him to gain track position over Hamlin after some late cautions occurred for crashes and debris. Late in the stage, Hamlin was trying to catch Elliott to pass him for the win, but just could not pass Elliott as he did not have the proper tire grip in his car by the end of the race. Although Hamlin earned his third top-5 of the season and missed out on winning, he now rose up to third in the regular-season standings after seven races this year.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 30, 2026
Joey Logano, the No. 22 Ford driver for Team Penske, bounced back from a horrible 33rd-place run at Darlington to finish third in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Logano began the race from the ninth position and, in the first stage, showcased a car that was fast on longer green flag runs. The Penske driver went from ninth to seventh in the first stage, earning four stage points as passing became a challenge at the track throughout the day. In the second stage, Logano made up further ground as he went from seventh all the way to third by the end of the stage. He scored eight more stage points as the race transitioned to the final stage. For most of the stage, Logano ran inside the top five and made it as high as second to try and challenge Denny Hamlin for the lead. However, Logano's car was not fast enough to overtake Hamlin and then fell behind Chase Elliott, who took advantage of a pit strategy and the timing of cautions late in the race to gain track position. On the final restart, Logano went from the middle of the top 10 to finishing in third behind Elliott and Hamlin, matching his best result of the 2026 season so far and continuing his top-10 streak at Martinsville to 14 consecutive races. After seven Cup races this year, Logano is now 12th in the regular season standings.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 30, 2026
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Ty Gibbs placed fourth in the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Gibbs began the race from the same position and had one of the fastest cars in the field. In the first stage, Gibbs maintained his starting position throughout the stage and finished it with seven stage points. In the second stage, the No. 54 Toyota team improved Gibbs' car to the point that he drove up to second, but did not have the speed to get past Denny Hamlin, who proved to be the dominant driver of the day. Gibbs finished the second stage in second place and obtained nine more stage points. In the final stage of the race, Gibbs lost ground to Joey Logano and eventually Chase Elliott, who took advantage of a pit strategy to gain track position under two late race cautions to get past Gibbs. In the late parts of the final stage, Gibbs did not have enough speed to get past Elliott, Hamlin, and Logano and settled for fourth, leading to his fourth top-5 finish of the year. The No. 54 Toyota driver is now sixth in points after seven races this season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 30, 2026
William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports finished in fifth place during Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver ran a mostly consistent race from start to finish after beginning the race from second. In the first stage, Byron ran second for almost the entire stage, passing Denny Hamlin for the lead once midway through it in order to lead six laps before Hamlin took the lead back. Byron finished the first stage in second and earned nine stage points. In the second stage, Byron ran inside the top 10 throughout most of the stage, but then made his way back to fifth by the end of the stage to collect six more stage points. The final stage for Byron went similarly to the second stage as he continued to run inside the top 10, but did not have the pace to make it past his eventual finishing position of fifth. As a result, Byron earned back-to-back top-5 finishes in consecutive Martinsville races since the 2024 season, and he now sits fifth in the regular-season standings after five races.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 29, 2026
Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports will start in the 13th position for Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the first time that Larson qualified outside of the top 10 in a Martinsville race since April 2023. In 22 Cup races at the site, Larson has one win and 10 top-10 finishes with an average finish of 15.0. Through the first six races of the season, Larson has three top-10 finishes, an average finish of 16.0, and is currently 10th in the regular-season standings. In practice for this week's Cup race, Larson ranked sixth in overall lap averages and was fastest in the 15, 25, and 30 consecutive lap average categories. Due to his upside, great practice speeds, and overall favorable track history, Larson is one of the best drivers to consider for DFS this week at Martinsville.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
March 29, 2026
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start in the 11th position for this week's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. This marks the first time since the beginning of the year that Bell will start outside of the top 10 in back-to-back races this season. In 12 Cup starts at Martinsville, Bell has one win and five top-10 finishes with an average finish of 14.8. After six races completed in the 2026 season, Bell ranks ninth in the regular-season standings with three top-5 finishes scored. In practice for this week's race, Bell ranked 31st in overall lap averages and displayed top-10 speeds in the 15-30 consecutive lap average categories. Overall, Bell is a solid choice for DFS lineups this week as a driver capable of placing in the top 10 based on track history and practice speeds.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
March 29, 2026
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will start on the front row in second after qualifying for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway. This will be the first time in Byron's Cup career that he will have back-to-back starts on the front row of two Martinsville races, as he earned the pole and started first in last Fall's race at the site. In 16 Cup starts at Martinsville, Byron has three wins and nine top-10 finishes with an average finish of 13.1. With six races completed so far this season, Byron is sixth in the regular-season standings with three top-10 finishes scored. In practice for Sunday's race, Byron ranked 12th in overall lap averages and as high as 11th in 30 consecutive lap averages. Considering Martinsville is a great track for Byron, and how he starts at the front with some of the best equipment in the field, he will be a threat to win and to lead laps on Sunday.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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