After the Watkins Glen race a couple of weeks ago, we go from one extreme to the other in terms of DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR. This week at Bristol Motor Speedway–otherwise known as “The Bullring” and “Thunder Valley”–the Sprint Cup Series drivers are set to run at least 500 total laps, meaning there are 125 bonus points for laps led and 250 bonus points for fastest laps up for grabs. In other words, there’s going to be some big DraftKings scores this weekend. We ran here back in April, and it was Carl Edwards that got the win after starting on the pole and leading 276 laps, and one statistic that’s worth noting is the fact that each of the last four Bristol winners have started inside the top 5.
High-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Bristol 2
($9,000 or above)
Kyle Busch ($10,600) – It’s difficult to justify putting the highest-priced driver on your DraftKings team, but with so many bonus points up for grabs in this 500-lap race, the risk is well worth the reward this weekend. Kyle Busch used to be the king of Bristol, and with the bottom groove coming back as the preferred line, he just might take over that crown once again. The #18 Toyota was hands-down the best car during both practice sessions on Friday afternoon, and Rowdy qualified 3rd later that evening to back up that speed. Busch is always a favorite when the series stops here at Bristol, and with eight career finishes of 1st or 2nd here in Sprint Cup action, it’s not hard to figure out why. Our only concern with Kyle Busch this weekend is how much bad luck he has had here at Bristol as of late, with three finishes of 29th or worse in the last four races. With that being said, we find it almost impossible to leave the fastest car off of your roster this weekend. We’ll probably have a couple of DraftKings teams that fade Rowdy on Saturday night, but that is by no means our main strategy this weekend.
Denny Hamlin ($9,500) – That #11 Toyota is just bad to the bone fast this weekend, and while Denny’s track record here at Bristol is a little shaky, we don’t like going against that type of speed. We were honestly surprised that Hamlin didn’t end up with the pole on Friday, although he did qualify 2nd. Hamlin had top 5 speed in both practice sessions on Friday afternoon and had the best ten-lap average in each. He finished 3rd in this race one year ago and does have one victory here at Bristol (back in 2012). Unless Carl Edwards didn’t quite show all of the speed he actually has during practice on Friday, we should see Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch out front quite a bit during the race on Saturday night, racking up those laps led and fastest laps bonus points.
Matt Kenseth ($9,200) – We’re continuing on this JGR trend with Matt Kenseth. This is actually a very good price on the driver that we had ranked P1 heading into the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race weekend. Kenseth is a four-time winner here at Bristol Motor Speedway and has finished inside the top 3 in three of the last six races at this track. In the April race this season, the #20 Toyota led 142 laps but blew a tire while leading. Still, Kenseth was able to bounce back and make his way back up into the top 10 but ended up blowing yet another tire, which relegated him to a 36th-place finish. The fact still remained, however, that he had one of the cars to beat. This weekend, Kenseth has another great race car for Saturday night’s race, as he was very fast overall during the two practice sessions on Friday. With DraftKings, there’s always a risk when it comes to taking a driver that starts up front (Matt qualified 5th) but at Bristol it could very well be worth it if they put down a bunch of fast laps and lead some as well. Kenseth has the potential to score a bunch of FPTS this weekend and at a pretty nice price.
Mid-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Bristol 2
(between $7,000 and $9,000)
Kyle Larson ($8,500) – Kyle Larson has a much better race car than his 23rd-place qualifying effort shows, and as long as he can keep the car off the wall and keep his temper in check, he should post a nice amount of FPTS in DraftKings on Saturday night. Our main concern is whether or not Larson is going to try and pay back A.J. Allmendinger for the spin-out at Watkins Glen a couple of weeks ago. However, Larson is still fighting for his Chase life, so we don’t really see that happening. Kyle has had two rough races here at Bristol as of late, but in his first three career starts here in Thunder Valley he never finished worse than 12th. This weekend, he had top 10 speed in both practice sessions on Friday, and with the way this #42 team has been running as of late, it wouldn’t surprise us one bit if he made his way through the field and ran with the leaders in Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. It’s pretty risky putting Larson on your DraftKings team this weekend but the upside here is pretty big.
Tony Stewart ($8,300) – Smoke has some work to do here on Saturday night, as he was one of the bigger names to miss advancing on to the second round of qualifying on Friday. Because of that, the #14 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 27th-place on Saturday night. However, when it comes to fantasy leagues that award points based on place differential–like DraftKings–that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially with Tony Stewart. You see, he just doesn’t seem to have qualifying down here at Bristol, but when it comes to the actual race, it’s a totally different story. In the last three Sprint Cup events here in “Thunder Valley,” Stewart has started 40th, 21st, and 37th, and posted finishes of 19th, 6th, and 4th (respectively). Those are some great place differential point values. This #14 team is getting finishes whether they have the car to do so or not, and that is something I don’t like going for; Tony Stewart has finished 11th or better in seven of the last eight Sprint Cup races overall, and while it’s nowhere near a guarantee that that happens here on Saturday night, it wouldn’t surprise us one bit.
Greg Biffle ($7,000) – This is actually one of the riskiest plays there are this weekend, but the upside with Greg Biffle on Saturday night is huge. He spun out during qualifying on Friday and because of that will roll off the grid from the 34th-place starting spot. Biffle also spun during the Happy Hour practice session on Friday, but we’re not overly concerned about that because the track should be much tighter during the actual Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Now, if The Biff can keep from wrecking during the entire 500 laps on Saturday night–and that’s a big if–that’s when he’s going to be a great fantasy pick in DraftKings and other leagues that award points based on place differential. Greg has a knack for staying out of trouble and has ended up 12th or better in five of the last seven Bristol races because of it. Oh, and one other thing? This #16 team gambles on fuel and other strategy factors on a constant basis, and most of the time it works out for them. If that happens again here in Thunder Valley on Saturday night, don’t be surprised to see The Biff finish top 15. Don’t say we didn’t warn you! Biffle was 11th-fastest in the Happy Hour practice session on Friday.
Low-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Bristol 2
(under $7,000)
Paul Menard ($6,800) – We actually though Paul Menard would be quite a bit higher in price this weekend for the Bristol race, so the fact that we can grab him at $6,800 for our DraftKings team is pretty nice. There are two race tracks that Paul Menard can be counted on time in and time out in Fantasy NASCAR, and they the two tracks that we are visiting to end the month of April: Bristol and Michigan. Focusing on the former–since, ya know, we’re here–in seven of the last nine races here in “Thunder Valley,” Menard has ended up 15th or better, and he has collected five of his six career top 10 Bristol finishes over that span. This Saturday night the #27 Chevrolet will start from 20th, which gives DraftKings owners a bit of room for place differential points. Menard showed top 15 speed during the practice sessions on Friday, and if he’s able to accomplish a finish of 15th on Saturday night, that will be at least 34 FPTS for DraftKings owners.
Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($6,700) – For whatever reason, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has a knack for getting a good finish here at Bristol, and we’re not going to try and figure out why. After the first couple of good finishes here at “The Bullring” we thought it might just be luck, but when you step back and realize that Stenhouse has the best average finish (11.9) among active drivers that aren’t rookies, it’s hard to say it’s a fluke. That average is over seven career starts by Ricky here at Bristol, by the way. The best part about it–at least from a DraftKings perspective–is that he isn’t a very good qualifier here, so there’s definitely room for place differential points. This weekend, Stenhouse will start the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race from 25th, but if he can pull off his magic here once again he should finish much better than that. The #17 Ford isn’t the fastest car in the field this weekend, but like we said before, Stenhouse knows how to stay out of trouble at this race track and that is going to be a big part of a good finish here on Saturday night.
Trevor Bayne ($6,200) – Trevor Bayne has actually been a great value play in recent weeks, as he’s scored 40+ FPTS in three of the last six Sprint Cup races, and over the last nine Cup races, Bayne is averaging 34.7 FPTS. That’s a pretty nice return for a driver that is constantly one of the cheapest options available. As mentioned before, here at Bristol, the Roush-Fenway cars tend to be able to avoid the wrecks and end up with a good finish. Bayne wound up 15th in this race one year ago and ended up finishing a career-best 5th here back in April (while scoring 45 FPTS). Now, we don’t expect the #6 Ford to come away with another top 5 finish this weekend, but you never know how these Bristol races are going to play out. The fact that he starts 22nd is pretty good, although we would have preferred he qualified a little further back. Still, at this price, Trevor remains a pretty nice option for your DraftKings team.
