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We are at Bristol this weekend! Some Saturday night racing at one of Nascar's most famous short tracks on the schedule. Much like last weekend, Jeff Nathans isn't available to write the Fantasy Nascar update unfortunately. So I have taken responsibility for it instead. Brstiol is one of the toughest tracks to get a read on. This is a short track which means a lot of these laps will be inflated due to lap traffic. So don't based someone speed on a 8 or 10-lap run, because it could be inaccuracy. Also remember practice is at day and the race is at night. The track typically changes from day to night. Just keep that in mind! Track position means a lot here and so does starting up front. Earlier this season, I only saw a few cars that could drive through the field. Usually if you start up front, then you can stay there. Unless something strange happens during the race like a blown tire or a wreck.
1.Kyle Busch - Busch looked very strong all day on Friday and I view him as one of the heavy favorites. Busch have not shown any dominance since the repave in 2012. Until Friday in practice. He showed flashes of that dominance. I don't know how many laps Busch will lead on Saturday night, but I think he will be one of the toughest drivers to beat in the field when it comes down to it. I thought he was very strong in both practices and arguably have the car to beat as well. He have scored 5 wins so far in his young career and I think he may add 6 on Saturday night. In fact, I think he will indeed do just that.
2. Kevin Harvick - Harvick will probably have one of the car to beat on Saturday night. The past three Bristol races, no driver have been better than him. Earlier this season he should have won, but after leading 185 laps he had issues which resulted in a poor finish. In practice on Friday, I thought he was easily a top 3 driver. . Expect him to be very fast on Saturday night and will most likely lead a lot of laps. However something always seems to go wrong here for him. If he can avoid issues, then Harvick is a legitimate threat!
3. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth was fast in both practices and looks to go for 3 wins in the past 5 Bristol races. Kenseth also have scored two wins in the past 3 Sprint Cup Series races since Pocono. More importantly he is on a 3-race Top 4 finish streak and is easily the hottest driver in Nascar. I think he is a great fantasy option with top 5 potential. I been high on Kenseth all week long and that does not change after watching practice and qualifying. He starting from 13th, so I bumped him down a few spots. Kenseth should be a threat all night long as the JGR cars looked like the class of the field on Friday.
4. Joey Logano - Logano was pretty good in both practices on Friday. He was not as good as he was back in April, but I still thought he was good enough to be a top 5 car on Saturday night. His best attribute as a fantasy pick is his recent success in the summer races at Brstiol. Since 2010, he have finished inside the top 20 in every race in the summer. In fact, he have finished 5th and 1st the past two summer races. Last summer he went to victory lane. I don't think he will repeat that feat, but I think he make it three straight top 5 finishes. I think Logano is being overlooked way too much this weekend and that could definitely be a mistake!
5. Brad Keslowski - I didn't watch Keselowski much in either practice session on Friday, but he seems to have some speed in his car based on his lap times on the charts. Also his past track record at Bristol is very solid. That is something I always try to look at when making my fantasy picks. He is a former 2-time winner at this venue, but haven't won in a few seasons. However I think he get back on track this weekend and contends for a win. Even though I don't think he is good enough quite to win, however that haven't stopped Keselowski in the past from winning races.
6. Carl Edwards - Edwards have been one of the most consisttent drivers in the series at the moment with only once finishing outside of the top 10 since Kentucky. He was solid in both practice sessions, but I am not sure what to expect from him though. As I didn't see him post any long runs in either practices, which means we don't know good he is. Okay we do sort of, but usually long runs are more important when looking a practice data. I like Edwards though. He was very fast earlier this season at Bristol and JGR seems to have the edge on the competition this season on the short tracks. I have Edwards listed as a top 10 finisher after 500 miles of action!
7. Kurt Busch - Busch who have found a lot of success at Bristol looked solid on Friday. I didn't pay a lot of attention to him, since I knew he would be fast once again like always seems to be. And he probably have a top 10 car for Saturday's race. To be honest, I debated weather or not to rank him this high. I wanted to rank him a little lower, but I feel like he will have a solid points weekend for his takers. He was very strong back in April, and should have finished inside the top 5 until he got caught up a wreck. He basically had to limp to a top 15 finish after that.
8. Denny Hamlin - I am not sure what to expect from Hamlin this weekend, but JGR looks really fast once again. We all knew that heading into the weekend. My big problem with him is that he only have one top 10 finish since the repave and quite frankly Hamlin is the most inconsistent driver at JGR. Those things concern me, but he will eventually have to break out again at Bristol. With the way this organization is running, I think he is due for a least a top 10 finish. If not better.
9. Kyle Larson - Larson fast again in practice? We seen that before and will likely continue seeing it. However he never seem to back it up. Bristol is one of his best tracks though. Earlier this season, he led 90 laps onto his way to a top 10 finish. I like Larson more than usual and I don't say that too often as he have been a bitter disappointment this season. I think Larson is a top 10 driver heading into Saturday's race. I would love for Larson to win and make the chase on Saturday night, but that just the biased fan in me talking unrealistic. I think he will hang around 7th or 8th for most of the race!
10. Kasey Kahne - Kahne have a very good track record here, but the Hendrick cars seems to be down on speed lately. So that why I am a little wary on Kahne this week, even though he showed decent speed in both sessions. However not what we are used to seeing from the 5 at Bristol. He looked like one of the best drivers among the HMS cars overall. I am really hoping Kasey scores a strong finish this weekend, and honestly if he don't then all hopes of him making the chase will be pretty much gone. I have a feeling he will finish inside the top 10 when the checkers wave.
11. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson's best finish since Kentucky is 10th at Watkins Gleen and only have two finishes better than that since his last win at Dover (in May). The struggle is very real for Hendrick at the moment. Over the past 3 races (minus Pocono), HMS have only placed one driver inside the top 10 each week. So as much as I would love to rank Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon higher, I don't think it would be very wise to do so. If the trend continues , then expect another frustrating weekend for HMS fans and drivers. In practice I wasn't very impressed by Johnson. He had probably a top 10 car or just outside of that. But his track record is very inconsistent at Bristol, so that bumped him down a few positions!
12. Dale Jr - Bristol is a not a very good track for Dale Jr since joining HMS with only 5 top 10 in 15 starts. He have knocked off a few good finishes here and there, but most of his finishes have been in the teens and that usually don't cut in a major NSCS ride! He looked decent I guess in practice and wasn't real far off his teammates. None of the HMS cars looked winning potential though. I have Dale pencil in as a top 12 driver with possible top 10 upside, since he have top-notch equipment. I am not gonna lie though. I do not like Dale Jr too much as a fantasy option. I think there better places to use him at!
13. Martin Truex Jr - I am not very high on Truex this week and it really have nothing to do with how he have finished lately. He have shown speed every week since Indy, but just not feeling him in the 78 at Bristol. One of the few races he struggled early in season was Bristol. That worries me because he was on fire then and didn't have anything beyond a teen-like car performance wise (when he was on the lead lap). I wasn't impressed by him in practice either on Friday. Not to mention he is now in a backup as well. I think Truex is a top 15 driver heading into Saturday's race.
14. Jeff Gordon - Much like his teammates, I am not very high on Gordon. He showed decent speed, but I would not be expecting a win or even a top 5 finish. At best, I would expect a top 10 finish from Jeff Gordon the 24 team. At this rate, he is more likely to finish inside the top 15 instead. Just been a bad season for him and personally I wouldn't want any part of him on my fantasy team. Earlier this season he had a car that ran around 11th or 12th most of the night, but was able to manage a finish inside the top 3. However I wouldn't expect that to happen again!
15. Jamie Mac - There were a few drivers that I considered for the final spot in the top 15, but in the end I decided to go with Jamie Mac. His recent performances at this venue have impressed with how strong he been. In practice on Friday, JMac was easily a top 15 driver and possible could be closer to top 10 finisher in the race. If recent history have anything to say about it, then expect Jamie Mac to be a top 10 performer. My only concern is he haven't finished better than 11th since mid-June.
Best of the rest -
16.Clint Bowyer
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
18. Paul Menard
19. David Ragan
20. Ryan Newman
21. Aric Alimirola
22. Ryan Blaney
23. Austin Dillon
24. Justin Allagier
We are at Bristol this weekend! Some Saturday night racing at one of Nascar's most famous short tracks on the schedule. Much like last weekend, Jeff Nathans isn't available to write the Fantasy Nascar update unfortunately. So I have taken responsibility for it instead. Brstiol is one of the toughest tracks to get a read on. This is a short track which means a lot of these laps will be inflated due to lap traffic. So don't based someone speed on a 8 or 10-lap run, because it could be inaccuracy. Also remember practice is at day and the race is at night. The track typically changes from day to night. Just keep that in mind! Track position means a lot here and so does starting up front. Earlier this season, I only saw a few cars that could drive through the field. Usually if you start up front, then you can stay there. Unless something strange happens during the race like a blown tire or a wreck.
1.Kyle Busch - Busch looked very strong all day on Friday and I view him as one of the heavy favorites. Busch have not shown any dominance since the repave in 2012. Until Friday in practice. He showed flashes of that dominance. I don't know how many laps Busch will lead on Saturday night, but I think he will be one of the toughest drivers to beat in the field when it comes down to it. I thought he was very strong in both practices and arguably have the car to beat as well. He have scored 5 wins so far in his young career and I think he may add 6 on Saturday night. In fact, I think he will indeed do just that.
2. Kevin Harvick - Harvick will probably have one of the car to beat on Saturday night. The past three Bristol races, no driver have been better than him. Earlier this season he should have won, but after leading 185 laps he had issues which resulted in a poor finish. In practice on Friday, I thought he was easily a top 3 driver. . Expect him to be very fast on Saturday night and will most likely lead a lot of laps. However something always seems to go wrong here for him. If he can avoid issues, then Harvick is a legitimate threat!
3. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth was fast in both practices and looks to go for 3 wins in the past 5 Bristol races. Kenseth also have scored two wins in the past 3 Sprint Cup Series races since Pocono. More importantly he is on a 3-race Top 4 finish streak and is easily the hottest driver in Nascar. I think he is a great fantasy option with top 5 potential. I been high on Kenseth all week long and that does not change after watching practice and qualifying. He starting from 13th, so I bumped him down a few spots. Kenseth should be a threat all night long as the JGR cars looked like the class of the field on Friday.
4. Joey Logano - Logano was pretty good in both practices on Friday. He was not as good as he was back in April, but I still thought he was good enough to be a top 5 car on Saturday night. His best attribute as a fantasy pick is his recent success in the summer races at Brstiol. Since 2010, he have finished inside the top 20 in every race in the summer. In fact, he have finished 5th and 1st the past two summer races. Last summer he went to victory lane. I don't think he will repeat that feat, but I think he make it three straight top 5 finishes. I think Logano is being overlooked way too much this weekend and that could definitely be a mistake!
5. Brad Keslowski - I didn't watch Keselowski much in either practice session on Friday, but he seems to have some speed in his car based on his lap times on the charts. Also his past track record at Bristol is very solid. That is something I always try to look at when making my fantasy picks. He is a former 2-time winner at this venue, but haven't won in a few seasons. However I think he get back on track this weekend and contends for a win. Even though I don't think he is good enough quite to win, however that haven't stopped Keselowski in the past from winning races.
6. Carl Edwards - Edwards have been one of the most consisttent drivers in the series at the moment with only once finishing outside of the top 10 since Kentucky. He was solid in both practice sessions, but I am not sure what to expect from him though. As I didn't see him post any long runs in either practices, which means we don't know good he is. Okay we do sort of, but usually long runs are more important when looking a practice data. I like Edwards though. He was very fast earlier this season at Bristol and JGR seems to have the edge on the competition this season on the short tracks. I have Edwards listed as a top 10 finisher after 500 miles of action!
7. Kurt Busch - Busch who have found a lot of success at Bristol looked solid on Friday. I didn't pay a lot of attention to him, since I knew he would be fast once again like always seems to be. And he probably have a top 10 car for Saturday's race. To be honest, I debated weather or not to rank him this high. I wanted to rank him a little lower, but I feel like he will have a solid points weekend for his takers. He was very strong back in April, and should have finished inside the top 5 until he got caught up a wreck. He basically had to limp to a top 15 finish after that.
8. Denny Hamlin - I am not sure what to expect from Hamlin this weekend, but JGR looks really fast once again. We all knew that heading into the weekend. My big problem with him is that he only have one top 10 finish since the repave and quite frankly Hamlin is the most inconsistent driver at JGR. Those things concern me, but he will eventually have to break out again at Bristol. With the way this organization is running, I think he is due for a least a top 10 finish. If not better.
9. Kyle Larson - Larson fast again in practice? We seen that before and will likely continue seeing it. However he never seem to back it up. Bristol is one of his best tracks though. Earlier this season, he led 90 laps onto his way to a top 10 finish. I like Larson more than usual and I don't say that too often as he have been a bitter disappointment this season. I think Larson is a top 10 driver heading into Saturday's race. I would love for Larson to win and make the chase on Saturday night, but that just the biased fan in me talking unrealistic. I think he will hang around 7th or 8th for most of the race!
10. Kasey Kahne - Kahne have a very good track record here, but the Hendrick cars seems to be down on speed lately. So that why I am a little wary on Kahne this week, even though he showed decent speed in both sessions. However not what we are used to seeing from the 5 at Bristol. He looked like one of the best drivers among the HMS cars overall. I am really hoping Kasey scores a strong finish this weekend, and honestly if he don't then all hopes of him making the chase will be pretty much gone. I have a feeling he will finish inside the top 10 when the checkers wave.
11. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson's best finish since Kentucky is 10th at Watkins Gleen and only have two finishes better than that since his last win at Dover (in May). The struggle is very real for Hendrick at the moment. Over the past 3 races (minus Pocono), HMS have only placed one driver inside the top 10 each week. So as much as I would love to rank Jimmie Johnson, Dale Jr and Jeff Gordon higher, I don't think it would be very wise to do so. If the trend continues , then expect another frustrating weekend for HMS fans and drivers. In practice I wasn't very impressed by Johnson. He had probably a top 10 car or just outside of that. But his track record is very inconsistent at Bristol, so that bumped him down a few positions!
12. Dale Jr - Bristol is a not a very good track for Dale Jr since joining HMS with only 5 top 10 in 15 starts. He have knocked off a few good finishes here and there, but most of his finishes have been in the teens and that usually don't cut in a major NSCS ride! He looked decent I guess in practice and wasn't real far off his teammates. None of the HMS cars looked winning potential though. I have Dale pencil in as a top 12 driver with possible top 10 upside, since he have top-notch equipment. I am not gonna lie though. I do not like Dale Jr too much as a fantasy option. I think there better places to use him at!
13. Martin Truex Jr - I am not very high on Truex this week and it really have nothing to do with how he have finished lately. He have shown speed every week since Indy, but just not feeling him in the 78 at Bristol. One of the few races he struggled early in season was Bristol. That worries me because he was on fire then and didn't have anything beyond a teen-like car performance wise (when he was on the lead lap). I wasn't impressed by him in practice either on Friday. Not to mention he is now in a backup as well. I think Truex is a top 15 driver heading into Saturday's race.
14. Jeff Gordon - Much like his teammates, I am not very high on Gordon. He showed decent speed, but I would not be expecting a win or even a top 5 finish. At best, I would expect a top 10 finish from Jeff Gordon the 24 team. At this rate, he is more likely to finish inside the top 15 instead. Just been a bad season for him and personally I wouldn't want any part of him on my fantasy team. Earlier this season he had a car that ran around 11th or 12th most of the night, but was able to manage a finish inside the top 3. However I wouldn't expect that to happen again!
15. Jamie Mac - There were a few drivers that I considered for the final spot in the top 15, but in the end I decided to go with Jamie Mac. His recent performances at this venue have impressed with how strong he been. In practice on Friday, JMac was easily a top 15 driver and possible could be closer to top 10 finisher in the race. If recent history have anything to say about it, then expect Jamie Mac to be a top 10 performer. My only concern is he haven't finished better than 11th since mid-June.
Best of the rest -
16.Clint Bowyer
17. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
18. Paul Menard
19. David Ragan
20. Ryan Newman
21. Aric Alimirola
22. Ryan Blaney
23. Austin Dillon
24. Justin Allagier
