Welcome to Timerssports
Fantasy Nascar Preview -
#1-Kurt Busch: Kurt has been great in his career at Bristol and starting to return (somewhat) to form here at this place. In 4 of his last 5 races here, he has finished 9th or better. In his last three races here, he has compiled 4.0 average finish with 8.3 average running position and 101.6 driver rating. The former 6-time winner at Bristol has posted some pretty good numbers over the last few years and he should be due for another top 10 finish, if recent history has anything to say about it. I cannot say that he has been a consistent driver here in the 2020 season, but he is usually a pretty ''safe'' option to go with.
#2-Brad Keselowski: Aside from the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Brad Keselowski isn't usually heavily on my radar. That's not a knock on Brad Keselowski because he's typically has a shot at a top 5 finish and more! Brad is a consistent driver, but he never been one of my ''go to guys'' in fantasy nascar. So if I ever don't sound super high on Brad, then more because personal baised showing than disrespect for him. And 9 times out of time, I will have him at least in my top 10. As for Bristol? Well he hasn't gotten many good finishes lately at this track. For his career, he has average finish of 17.3. In 7 of his last 8 races here, he has finished 16th or worse. No, that's not typo! Were all of those races his fault? Nope! Good news? He was very competitive in last season's races at Bristol. He led laps in both races and held over 100.0 driver rating. In two races in 2019 at Bristol, he compiled 10.5 average finish with 6.2 average running position and 107.2 driver rating. His average running position ranked 2nd in the series and his driver rating ranked 3rd in the series in 2019. It also should be noted that he finished 3rd in his most recent race here, in that event he led 92 laps and held 114.0 driver rating.
#3-Austin Dillon: Austin Dillon hasn't really impressed here in 2020 so far and Bristol isn't a place that will likely change, either. He will be at best a mid-teen guy. History says that this season says that, too. At Bristol, he only has two top 10 finishes and both races he performed really well at Bristol. When his performance hasn't shown top 10 speed, he basically has a zero chance of finishing in the top 10. I highly doutbt that he will show enough to be a top 10 contender here at Bristol. However, in 3 of his last 4 races he has finished 13th-15th place. Not great, but that pretty much his upside here. If you pick him, then expect nothing better than a top 15 finish. Unless, we see a messy race with a lot of wreck races. Even then will he make it through? That's anyone's guess!
#4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick has ran really well during the 2020 season and he has ran well here at Bristol in the past. From 2015 to 2018 (7 races), he finished 7 straight races in the top 10. Then came the 2019 (last season), where he had two rough showings. In the spring's race, he had a rough go and finished 13th. He had to do a lap through penalty, after failing inspection three times. At Bristol, you can lose laps real fast. Luckily he only lost one lap. His problems didn't stop there, as not much later he had to pit for a loose wheel. At one point, Harvick was 4 laps down and somehow managed to finish on the lead lap. In the summer's race, he had a clutch issue and finished 39th place. If things went his way, he probably would had a chance at a top 5. His car in both were bad fast, just like he has been all of this season and pretty much since he stepped inside of the #4 car at SHR!
#9-Chase Elliott: In general, I believe that Elliott is disrespected here at Bristol. If you ask your average fan, who's your pick to win at Bristol (without being baised of course) and I bet none of them would pick Chase Elliott. Simply because he isn't hyped up here at Bristol and one of the reasons because he has no wins here. He does supports a 11.5 career average finish in 8 career starts. He also is riding a 3-race top 11 streak at the track. In his last three races, he has finishes of 5th,11th and 3rd. In last season's event here, he ended up in 5th place. Why are the past three races so important (other than being relvant as the most recent races here)? Well, he has led 30 or more laps in each of those races. He also has posted a driver rating above 120.0 in two of those races. For those at home, a driver rating above 120 is considered elite!
#10-Aric Almirola: Aric is off a quietly real nice start to the 2020 season and not enough people have given him much love. We don't typically hear his name mention during races that much, but for him that's a good thing commonly. Typically, if we hear his name then it's a bad sign! Not that he's always running respectable when he isn't mention, but if he's mentioned then it's probably bad. I don't even want to discuss his Bristol numbers because they has been that bad overall. For his career, his average finish is 24th place. He has put together just one top 20 finish in his last 6 races and just 2 top 20 finishes in his last 8 races and just 7 Top 15 finishes in 21 career starts. And this is coming from a guy that's on the record saying (around 2015-ish I wanna say - I remember Garry quoting it in one of his posts) that's Bristol is his favorite racetrack in the cup series! After his most recent numbers, I wonder if that true holds true for Aric?
#11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin isn't the first driver that you think of when we come to Bristol Motor Speedway, but his numbers overall are pretty underrated here and has ran well over the last few seasons here. In his last 7 races here, he has compiled 7 straight top 14 finishes. With back-to-back top 5 finishes in two races during the 2019 season. In fact 4 of those 7 races has resulted in a top 5 finish. With 3 of his last 5 races here also resulting in a top 5 finish! In last summer's race, he led 79 laps on his way to a win from the pole. Not gonna lie, I actually forgot that he won here last season at Bristol. Not often am I caught off suprise with a driver. During the 2019 season, he compiled 3.0 average finish with 9.8 average running position and 102.0 driver rating.
#12-Ryan Blaney: I think the biggest problem with Ryan Blaney is his inconsistency on a weekly basis. He is very tough to trust, but I feel most comfortable with him at his best tracks and Bristol is exactly that. He is a stud here at Bristol and should be considered a favorite. He not only run well here at Bristol, but he typically will lead some laps at some point! What stands out the most? When he leads lap here, there's in the bunches, too. In 3 of his last 4 races (every race with the #12 team), he has lead 100 or more laps. In fact, last summer's race is the first time that he didn't lead a single lap at Bristol since joining the #12 team. Currently, Ryan is a on 3-race top 10 streak with finishes of 10th, 7th and 5th. If you are looking for a strong dark horse pick, then Blaney might be good as any pick to go with!
#14-Clint Bowyer: Clint is another underrated driver here at Bristol and will be on my radar! He's a machine at this place and he has always ran better these short tracks and shorter flat tracks, honestly. He has never been an intermediate track guy, anyways. In 7 of his last 9 races, he has finished in the top 10. In his last 16 races, he has posted 10 top 10 finishes. And 13 of his last 16 races has ended inside the top 15! In his last 4 races here, he has compiled 7.0 average finish with 8.3 average running position and 101.7 driver rating. Heading into the season, Bristol were one of the tracks that I was planning to use him on. With the new schedule, it's probably more important than before to try to squeeze some value out of him here at Bristol!
#18-Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch to many is considered the master of Bristol. He was unstoppable here for awhile, then he was bad here a few races after the repave prior to the 2013 season and now he back to being one of the best in the series! From 2014 to 2017 (6 races), he had just one finish better than 29th place and that was 8th place finish. But he has returned to form and has looked awesome lately at the track. In his last 5 races here, he has scored 3 wins and additional top 5 finish during that span. I view Kyle as one of the heavy favorites here at Bristol!
#19-Martin Truex Jr: If Truex Jr has a weakness, it would be at places like Bristol. He's obviously a superstar on those intermediate tracks, but he more human at these shorter tracks. And his record at Bristol isn't great, even though it isn't the worst I ever seen. He was competitive in last summer's race and led 52 laps on his way to a 13th place finish. However, that 13th place finish is his best finish in his the last 8 races at the track. In fact, he has just one top 10 finish in his last 15 races here. In those 15 races, he has just 5 top 15 finishes. That's only 30% of the time. In 28 career starts, he has just three top 10 finishes. Folks, it's not luck that he has questionable numbers at Bristol. He just not that good here at Bristol. A few years? Okay that could be luck, but 14 seasons of being just okay is a trend. And trends of that long aren't typically broken overnight. I wouldn't consider him as one of the favorites to win, but you never know with Martin Truex Jr!
#20-Erik Jones: Erik Jones has basically been top 5 or bust here at Bristol, so far in his cup career. In 6 career starts, he has 2 top 5 finishes with 4 finishes of 17th or worse. Even worse? He has 3 finishes outside of the top 20 in those 6 career starts. In 2019, he compiled 23.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 77.4 driver rating. Depsite finishing 22nd and 24th in those two races during the 2019 season, he happen to lead in both races. That came a bit of a suprise to me. Even though, his overall performance was pretty meh to me. I am not very high here on Erik Jones and honestly I been kinda low on him a lot so far in the 2020 season.
#22-Joey Logano: Logano is a former multiple time winner here at Bristol and probably one of the safer fantasy options in the field for Sunday's race. In his last 11 races here, he has compiled 8 top 10 finishes overall. In his last 4 races here, he has posted 3 top 9 finishes. During those 4 races, he has compiled 9.5 average finish with 11.2 average running position and 103.8 driver rating. While his numbers aren't overly impressive by any means, he is having a pretty good season in 2020. I think his speed so far in 2020 makes him a solid option in all fantasy formats.
#24-Wiliam Byron: I am a lot higher on Byron on the intermediate tracks than I am on any other kind of tracks. I think he is a working progress here at Bristol and at best will likely be a mid-teen driver. How has he done so far at Bristol in his short cup career? Not pretty so far! In 4 career starts, he has a career-best finish of 16th and no driver rating above 70.0. Folks, if your driver rating is in the 60s and you finished on the lead lap in each race, then you have some problems on your hands. Exactly what Byron has on his hands here at Bristol. In 4 career races, he has compiled 19.5 average finish with 17.7 average running position and 64.8 driver rating. William Byron isn't on my radar this weekend!
#48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has been okay lately at Bristol and honestly his best asset lately has been his consistency at the track. In his last 7 races, he has finished 11th or better in six of those races. In fact, he had 6 straight top 11 finishes, prior to finishing 19th in his most recent race here in last summer's race. Believe it or not, he was a pretty solid performer in 2017 and 2018 at Bristol. His numbers are actually pretty good overall. In 4 races (during the 2017 and 2018 seasons), he held a series-leading 6.0 average finish (among drivers that started all 4 races) with 8.1 average running position (2nd to only Joey Logano) and a series-leading 106.0 driver rating. He was not only good in those 4 races, but he might have been the best driver in the series. And the numbers say he was!
#88-Alex Bowman: Bowman was alright in his first full-time season with the #88 team, but he took a step back in year number 2. In 2019, he had finishes of 23rd and 15th. He wasn't great in either race overall. Even though, he was better in the summer race than he was in the spring's race. There isn't a lot to talk about with him here at Bristol, honestly. He has been fast in 2020, but like his teammates I am a lot higher on him on the intermediate tracks. I think Bristol will be a bit of a rougher race for Bristol overall. I wouldn't rule out a top 15 finish (probably the most likely result) for him on Sunday. There will be plenty of other places to use Alex that are much more appealing than at a track like Bristol!
***All stats are from Driver Averages and FCRS.PRO
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Preview -
#1-Kurt Busch: Kurt has been great in his career at Bristol and starting to return (somewhat) to form here at this place. In 4 of his last 5 races here, he has finished 9th or better. In his last three races here, he has compiled 4.0 average finish with 8.3 average running position and 101.6 driver rating. The former 6-time winner at Bristol has posted some pretty good numbers over the last few years and he should be due for another top 10 finish, if recent history has anything to say about it. I cannot say that he has been a consistent driver here in the 2020 season, but he is usually a pretty ''safe'' option to go with.
#2-Brad Keselowski: Aside from the 2014 and 2015 seasons, Brad Keselowski isn't usually heavily on my radar. That's not a knock on Brad Keselowski because he's typically has a shot at a top 5 finish and more! Brad is a consistent driver, but he never been one of my ''go to guys'' in fantasy nascar. So if I ever don't sound super high on Brad, then more because personal baised showing than disrespect for him. And 9 times out of time, I will have him at least in my top 10. As for Bristol? Well he hasn't gotten many good finishes lately at this track. For his career, he has average finish of 17.3. In 7 of his last 8 races here, he has finished 16th or worse. No, that's not typo! Were all of those races his fault? Nope! Good news? He was very competitive in last season's races at Bristol. He led laps in both races and held over 100.0 driver rating. In two races in 2019 at Bristol, he compiled 10.5 average finish with 6.2 average running position and 107.2 driver rating. His average running position ranked 2nd in the series and his driver rating ranked 3rd in the series in 2019. It also should be noted that he finished 3rd in his most recent race here, in that event he led 92 laps and held 114.0 driver rating.
#3-Austin Dillon: Austin Dillon hasn't really impressed here in 2020 so far and Bristol isn't a place that will likely change, either. He will be at best a mid-teen guy. History says that this season says that, too. At Bristol, he only has two top 10 finishes and both races he performed really well at Bristol. When his performance hasn't shown top 10 speed, he basically has a zero chance of finishing in the top 10. I highly doutbt that he will show enough to be a top 10 contender here at Bristol. However, in 3 of his last 4 races he has finished 13th-15th place. Not great, but that pretty much his upside here. If you pick him, then expect nothing better than a top 15 finish. Unless, we see a messy race with a lot of wreck races. Even then will he make it through? That's anyone's guess!
#4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick has ran really well during the 2020 season and he has ran well here at Bristol in the past. From 2015 to 2018 (7 races), he finished 7 straight races in the top 10. Then came the 2019 (last season), where he had two rough showings. In the spring's race, he had a rough go and finished 13th. He had to do a lap through penalty, after failing inspection three times. At Bristol, you can lose laps real fast. Luckily he only lost one lap. His problems didn't stop there, as not much later he had to pit for a loose wheel. At one point, Harvick was 4 laps down and somehow managed to finish on the lead lap. In the summer's race, he had a clutch issue and finished 39th place. If things went his way, he probably would had a chance at a top 5. His car in both were bad fast, just like he has been all of this season and pretty much since he stepped inside of the #4 car at SHR!
#9-Chase Elliott: In general, I believe that Elliott is disrespected here at Bristol. If you ask your average fan, who's your pick to win at Bristol (without being baised of course) and I bet none of them would pick Chase Elliott. Simply because he isn't hyped up here at Bristol and one of the reasons because he has no wins here. He does supports a 11.5 career average finish in 8 career starts. He also is riding a 3-race top 11 streak at the track. In his last three races, he has finishes of 5th,11th and 3rd. In last season's event here, he ended up in 5th place. Why are the past three races so important (other than being relvant as the most recent races here)? Well, he has led 30 or more laps in each of those races. He also has posted a driver rating above 120.0 in two of those races. For those at home, a driver rating above 120 is considered elite!
#10-Aric Almirola: Aric is off a quietly real nice start to the 2020 season and not enough people have given him much love. We don't typically hear his name mention during races that much, but for him that's a good thing commonly. Typically, if we hear his name then it's a bad sign! Not that he's always running respectable when he isn't mention, but if he's mentioned then it's probably bad. I don't even want to discuss his Bristol numbers because they has been that bad overall. For his career, his average finish is 24th place. He has put together just one top 20 finish in his last 6 races and just 2 top 20 finishes in his last 8 races and just 7 Top 15 finishes in 21 career starts. And this is coming from a guy that's on the record saying (around 2015-ish I wanna say - I remember Garry quoting it in one of his posts) that's Bristol is his favorite racetrack in the cup series! After his most recent numbers, I wonder if that true holds true for Aric?
#11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin isn't the first driver that you think of when we come to Bristol Motor Speedway, but his numbers overall are pretty underrated here and has ran well over the last few seasons here. In his last 7 races here, he has compiled 7 straight top 14 finishes. With back-to-back top 5 finishes in two races during the 2019 season. In fact 4 of those 7 races has resulted in a top 5 finish. With 3 of his last 5 races here also resulting in a top 5 finish! In last summer's race, he led 79 laps on his way to a win from the pole. Not gonna lie, I actually forgot that he won here last season at Bristol. Not often am I caught off suprise with a driver. During the 2019 season, he compiled 3.0 average finish with 9.8 average running position and 102.0 driver rating.
#12-Ryan Blaney: I think the biggest problem with Ryan Blaney is his inconsistency on a weekly basis. He is very tough to trust, but I feel most comfortable with him at his best tracks and Bristol is exactly that. He is a stud here at Bristol and should be considered a favorite. He not only run well here at Bristol, but he typically will lead some laps at some point! What stands out the most? When he leads lap here, there's in the bunches, too. In 3 of his last 4 races (every race with the #12 team), he has lead 100 or more laps. In fact, last summer's race is the first time that he didn't lead a single lap at Bristol since joining the #12 team. Currently, Ryan is a on 3-race top 10 streak with finishes of 10th, 7th and 5th. If you are looking for a strong dark horse pick, then Blaney might be good as any pick to go with!
#14-Clint Bowyer: Clint is another underrated driver here at Bristol and will be on my radar! He's a machine at this place and he has always ran better these short tracks and shorter flat tracks, honestly. He has never been an intermediate track guy, anyways. In 7 of his last 9 races, he has finished in the top 10. In his last 16 races, he has posted 10 top 10 finishes. And 13 of his last 16 races has ended inside the top 15! In his last 4 races here, he has compiled 7.0 average finish with 8.3 average running position and 101.7 driver rating. Heading into the season, Bristol were one of the tracks that I was planning to use him on. With the new schedule, it's probably more important than before to try to squeeze some value out of him here at Bristol!
#18-Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch to many is considered the master of Bristol. He was unstoppable here for awhile, then he was bad here a few races after the repave prior to the 2013 season and now he back to being one of the best in the series! From 2014 to 2017 (6 races), he had just one finish better than 29th place and that was 8th place finish. But he has returned to form and has looked awesome lately at the track. In his last 5 races here, he has scored 3 wins and additional top 5 finish during that span. I view Kyle as one of the heavy favorites here at Bristol!
#19-Martin Truex Jr: If Truex Jr has a weakness, it would be at places like Bristol. He's obviously a superstar on those intermediate tracks, but he more human at these shorter tracks. And his record at Bristol isn't great, even though it isn't the worst I ever seen. He was competitive in last summer's race and led 52 laps on his way to a 13th place finish. However, that 13th place finish is his best finish in his the last 8 races at the track. In fact, he has just one top 10 finish in his last 15 races here. In those 15 races, he has just 5 top 15 finishes. That's only 30% of the time. In 28 career starts, he has just three top 10 finishes. Folks, it's not luck that he has questionable numbers at Bristol. He just not that good here at Bristol. A few years? Okay that could be luck, but 14 seasons of being just okay is a trend. And trends of that long aren't typically broken overnight. I wouldn't consider him as one of the favorites to win, but you never know with Martin Truex Jr!
#20-Erik Jones: Erik Jones has basically been top 5 or bust here at Bristol, so far in his cup career. In 6 career starts, he has 2 top 5 finishes with 4 finishes of 17th or worse. Even worse? He has 3 finishes outside of the top 20 in those 6 career starts. In 2019, he compiled 23.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 77.4 driver rating. Depsite finishing 22nd and 24th in those two races during the 2019 season, he happen to lead in both races. That came a bit of a suprise to me. Even though, his overall performance was pretty meh to me. I am not very high here on Erik Jones and honestly I been kinda low on him a lot so far in the 2020 season.
#22-Joey Logano: Logano is a former multiple time winner here at Bristol and probably one of the safer fantasy options in the field for Sunday's race. In his last 11 races here, he has compiled 8 top 10 finishes overall. In his last 4 races here, he has posted 3 top 9 finishes. During those 4 races, he has compiled 9.5 average finish with 11.2 average running position and 103.8 driver rating. While his numbers aren't overly impressive by any means, he is having a pretty good season in 2020. I think his speed so far in 2020 makes him a solid option in all fantasy formats.
#24-Wiliam Byron: I am a lot higher on Byron on the intermediate tracks than I am on any other kind of tracks. I think he is a working progress here at Bristol and at best will likely be a mid-teen driver. How has he done so far at Bristol in his short cup career? Not pretty so far! In 4 career starts, he has a career-best finish of 16th and no driver rating above 70.0. Folks, if your driver rating is in the 60s and you finished on the lead lap in each race, then you have some problems on your hands. Exactly what Byron has on his hands here at Bristol. In 4 career races, he has compiled 19.5 average finish with 17.7 average running position and 64.8 driver rating. William Byron isn't on my radar this weekend!
#48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson has been okay lately at Bristol and honestly his best asset lately has been his consistency at the track. In his last 7 races, he has finished 11th or better in six of those races. In fact, he had 6 straight top 11 finishes, prior to finishing 19th in his most recent race here in last summer's race. Believe it or not, he was a pretty solid performer in 2017 and 2018 at Bristol. His numbers are actually pretty good overall. In 4 races (during the 2017 and 2018 seasons), he held a series-leading 6.0 average finish (among drivers that started all 4 races) with 8.1 average running position (2nd to only Joey Logano) and a series-leading 106.0 driver rating. He was not only good in those 4 races, but he might have been the best driver in the series. And the numbers say he was!
#88-Alex Bowman: Bowman was alright in his first full-time season with the #88 team, but he took a step back in year number 2. In 2019, he had finishes of 23rd and 15th. He wasn't great in either race overall. Even though, he was better in the summer race than he was in the spring's race. There isn't a lot to talk about with him here at Bristol, honestly. He has been fast in 2020, but like his teammates I am a lot higher on him on the intermediate tracks. I think Bristol will be a bit of a rougher race for Bristol overall. I wouldn't rule out a top 15 finish (probably the most likely result) for him on Sunday. There will be plenty of other places to use Alex that are much more appealing than at a track like Bristol!
***All stats are from Driver Averages and FCRS.PRO
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
