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Before I get into some of my favorite plays for the Bristol Dirt Race, I’m going to give you guys a preview and also what lineup construction will look like for this race.
Race Preview/Lineup Construction
The Cup Series drivers will face a new challenge this Sunday as they’ll be racing on dirt for the first time since 1970. There are going to be a lot of unknowns because the drivers have never raced here before, but we’ll be able to look at how much dirt experience these guys have. A lot of people will probably look at the practice data, but I think it’s not as important as some will think because the track was constantly changing, and there was major tire falloff as well. This race is 250 laps, so there are plenty of dominator points available but in terms of lineup construction, we kind of have to treat this like a superspeedway race because there could be a lot of wrecks and DNFs. This means we’ll want to target drivers starting near the back with some guys that have the potential to score dominator points throughout the race. The main decision we’re going to have to make is what we do with Kyle Larson. I think everyone is aware of his success on dirt, but he’ll start from the rear because of an engine change and will be scored from 1st. He could definitely work his way back up quickly, but his odds of being involved in a wreck are way higher. With that all out of the way, here are some of the drivers that I’ll be targeting for the Bristol Dirt Race.
Christopher Bell (DK $10,400 FD $13,500)
Bell won the 2015 Truck Series Eldora race and has also won 3 consecutive Chili Bowl Nationals from 2017-2019. He’ll start 15th, so he offers place differential and could definitely be a dominator in this race. He has the 2nd best odds to win at 8-1, so Bell looks like a very strong top tier option we can target in our lineups this weekend that offers plenty of upside as well.
Tyler Reddick (DK $10,500 FD $7,800)
Reddick is another driver that has a lot of dirt experience and offers a ton of place differential starting 27th. He has 16-1 odds to win this race, so there’s a ton of upside for him this weekend. I think he’s a driver you lock into your cash games, but I definitely think there are some pivot options in the top tier we can target on DraftKings. FanDuel completely missed his price tag, so it’s going to be very difficult to get away from him on that site.
Chase Elliott (DK $8,600 FD $13,000)
Elliott raced in a late model here to help prepare him for this race. He’ll probably be a very popular option on DraftKings because of the place differential upside starting from 26th and his 14-1 odds to win. I’m not as high on him on FanDuel at his $13,000 price, but I still think he’s in play over on that site. This race could have a lot of chaos, so I don’t mind being underweight on Elliott in tournaments and playing some of the other guys around him that’ll have lower ownership.
Bubba Wallace (DK $8,500 FD $9,200)
Bubba won a Truck Series race at Eldora back in 2014 when he was driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports. You want the drivers with dirt experience, and he’s clearly one of those guys that can run well in these dirt races. He’ll be starting from 19th, so there’s place differential and top 5 upside for him this weekend. Wallace looks like a solid option that we can target in the mid tier that might go overlooked with guys like Elliott and Kurt Busch around him.
Ryan Newman (DK $6,900 FD $5,000)
Newman is a driver that has plenty of dirt track experience, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him run well this weekend. Tire falloff is going to be massive, but I think he’s one of the better drivers when it comes to managing tires. He’s definitely a riskier option because of his 14th place starting spot, but this could scare people away from him which makes him a great value option for tournaments that’ll have low ownership.
JJ Yeley (DK $6,400 FD $2,500)
Yeley has a ton of dirt track experience, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he has lower ownership because people don’t recognize the name or his racing background. He’ll be in the #53 for Rick Ware Racing, which isn’t the greatest equipment, but he offers plenty of place differential starting from 34th and has top 20 upside. Don’t think you’ll have to go to him on FanDuel, but he’s definitely a value option we can look at on DraftKings.
