BRISTOL NIGHT RACE

Alright race fans! It's the one we all have circled every year. It is time for the Bristol Night Race! The Last Great Colosseum under the lights has been incredible for years, but in recent years as a playoff race is even bigger. Practice starts at 4:30p today with qualifying immediately after. Look for the normal Bristol studs to turn the fastest laps today and start up front. I expect Larson, Hamlin, and Bell to separate from the rest.

Playoff Standings

Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe are locked into the next round. After those two is Larson at +60 above the cut line. A whole lot would have to happen to knockout Larson. These drivers are fighting for the remaining 9 spots.

Wallace +50

Blaney +42

Byron +39

Reddick +37

Bell +32

Elliott +28

Logano +21

Chastain +19

Cindric +11

Dillon -11

van Gisbergen -15

Bowman -35

Berry -45

Berry and Bowman are essentially in MUST WIN scenarios. The rest need to accumulate as many points as possible in every stage.

BEST BETS

As I said, I expect Larson, Hamlin, and Bell to have the best cars and qualify very well. They are the favorites too, but Bell at +850 to win is a decent number for a guy who has not finished outside the top 10 in his last 5 races at Bristol. Moving away from the favorites though, Elliott, Gibbs, and Buescher are not getting the respect they deserve. Gibbs and Buescher are not in playoff contention so perhaps Vegas is opening the door for a slight edge there. Buescher has a win and two top 5s. Gibbs has two top 5s as well. Gibbs is +1600 to win while Buescher is +4500. There is a lot of value on both of those drivers to win and for a top5. Elliott is in the playoff hunt and has been great at Bristol with his worst finish in 5 races being 15th. Chase at +1000 to win is a good bet.