This weekend the Cup series heads to Bristol, Tennessee to race under the lights a the Bristol Motor Speedway. This race always brings the excitement and this season it is the cut off race for the first round of the playoffs which could lead to even more excitement and crazier things happening. Bristol is a half mile steep track where laps run under green in about 16 seconds. As it pertains to dfs, it is all about nailing the dominators here since there are 500 laps which leaves a lot of dominator points out for the taking. On Draftkings, you are looking to fit between 2-4 dominators into your lineups and on Fanduel its going to be important to find the drivers that will finish all the laps and grab 1-2 drivers that have a chance to lead a chunk of laps. We have seen this package run this year including just last week at Richmond. Dover is also a great track to use as a comparison to Bristol and data from that doubleheader is relevant this weekend as well.
Brad Keselowski (DK $11,200 FD $13,200)
Brad started from the pole earlier this year and with some late race hard racing, Brad stole the victory from the likes of Hamlin, Chase and Joey. However, Brad did dominate a good portion of that race leading 115 laps. Penske has really come on as of late as we saw last week with Brads performance at Richmond in the same package they are running at Bristol. Brad should be a popular play in cash games and gpps. With so many dom points on the table and him starting on the pole, rostering Brad almost secures you of a driver who could lock in a chunk of laps led.
Kyle Busch (DK $10,400 FD $12,000)
Kyle Busch has been up and down all year. However one place where we saw a glimpse of the Kyle Busch we know was here at Bristol this season. He led 100 laps and finished 4th and was on the optimal lineup which took down all the gpps. Kyle starts ninth and has the potential to be a dominator again on Saturday. Kyle is still winless this season and Bristol is a great place for Kyle to score that first victory of the season and move into the next round with momentum. In the last six races here, Kyle has won three times and finished 4th twice. He has also led laps in 5 of those 6 races as well.
Erik Jones (DK $9,400 FD $9,200)
Bristol tends to be one of Erik Jones better tracks. He finished 5th here earlier this season and has an average finish of 14th in his Cup career. He starts 20th and has some place differential upside. On Draftkings he is priced up a lot higher then he was back in May. With some really good options ahead of him and some place differential options a little cheaper, Jones is intriguing but not the lock he was last time. On Fanduel where he is priced down considerably, I like him a lot more.
Ryan Blaney (DK $8,800 FD $11,300)
Ryan could still technically point his way into the next round of the playoffs but his best chance at getting into the next round is a win on Saturday night at Bristol. Back in May, Blaney was well on his way to dominate the race until he got in an accident with Ty Dillon and his day was over finishing last after leading 60 laps. Prior to that race, Blaney had led over 100 laps in 3 of the 4 races at Bristol. However his average finish here is right around 19th. Blaney has already come out publicly saying if theres a slower car in his way he has no issues moving him out of the way. Expect Blaney to be aggressive Saturday and with his price tag I can see playing him being a popular play that could pay off…..or backfire.
Jimmie Johnson (DK $8,600 FD $9,400)
Just below Blaney is Jimmie Johnson starting 10 spots further back then him. In the last seven races here among active drivers, Jimmie has the second best average finish of 8th just behind Clint Bowyer. He has one win in those seven races and he finished 3rd here back in May. Jimmie also had success at Dover this season with finishes of 3rd and 7th. His 24th starting spot gives him a decent floor with some place differential upside as long as he doesn’t put himself in the same spot he did last weekend at Richmond.
Ryan Newman (DK $7,300 FD $8,000)
One of Ryan Newmans best tracks statistically is Bristol. Over the last seven races here he has an average finish of 11th which is the best of any track in that time for him. He finished 15th which was his worst finish here since 2016 which includes 3 top 10s. Ryan starts 25th on Saturday night and with that average finish at Bristol, Newman offers great place differential with a solid floor. Newman has a reputation of being the toughest driver to pass, just ask Matt DiBenedetto last year where many think Newman cost him a win here when MDB was trying to lap him. At a track where passing is already tough, once Newman gets that track position, it will be almost impossible for others to get by him.
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