NASCAR DFS Pit Stop: MENCS Food City 500 – Bristol Motor Speedway

Welcome to NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sundays Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. Similar to the Xfinity series race on Saturday where we have a ton of laps to pick up laps led points. This race has 500 laps which is a total of 125 laps led points available, which could prove to be the difference between cashing and missing out if you don’t get someone who can run up front all day. Unlike the Infinity series you can find drivers in the middle price point who have the ability to run up front for a while (IE: Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer) . 

There were not too many cautions and there were no real big wrecks on Saturday in the Xfinity race so hopefully we have similar results today in the Cup series. One thing to be concerned with is the engines in the Hendrick cars. On Saturday Justin Allgaier’s engine blew up on him when he was leading the race and he gets his engines from Hendrick. Hopefully it was a one time thing and not something we need to worry about today but it is something to consider when building your rosters.

NASCAR DFS: Leaders of the Pack

Kevin Harvick ($11,600) 

Qualifying Position: 13th

Kevin Harvick is having what some will consider a disappointing season, but as far as DFS goes, he is doing just fine. Harvick’s 49.4 DKFP per race average is 4th best in the series, only .2 points behind Kurt Busch for 3rd. Starting in P13, Harvick’s 3rd time qualifying outside the top 10 this season, is a great spot for the #4 who averaged the 9th fastest overall in all practice sessions and also carries an average finish of 6th in the last 6 races at Bristol. I am predicting a top 5 finish today for Harvick.

Joey Logano ($11,100)

Qualifying Position:  7th

Joey Logano will most likely be underowned today because of his poor performances of late. After 3 top 5’s (4 top 10’s) in his first 5 races, Logano has finished 19th and 17th in his last 2 races respectively. Nobody was faster overall this weekend than Logano, finishing with the 2nd overall average speed in all practice session. While most may fade him, I will roster Logano confidently and reap the benefits.

Kyle Larson ($9,500) 

Qualifying Position: 16th

Like Logano before him, Larson is off to a slow start this season. Larson has only 2 top 10’s this season and an average finish of 15.2, but he does have an average finish of 7th in his recent races at similar short tracks. Over the last 3 years at Bristol only Kyle Busch has led more laps than Larson’s 489, if he can up front Larson definitely knows how to stay there.

Other Options: Ryan Blaney ($10,300) – He’s due! He has to win at some point this season, right?

NASCAR DFS: Middle of the Pack

Chase Elliott ($8,900)

Qualifying Position: 1st

Usually I shy away from rostering pole sitters, but I like the idea of using Elliott today. Elliott was the only driver who had anything for Keselowski at Martinsville and has led 128 laps in the last 6 races at Bristol. Elliott will need a top 5 to really make value and lead at least 100 laps. I think he can do that today, as long as he stays out of trouble. Like I mentioned, the Hendrick engine from Saturday is something to consider, but I am not going fade Hendrick drivers because of it.

Clint Bowyer ($8,600)

Qualifying Position: 8th

Bowyer had the 10th best combined practice rank this weekend including 7th fastest lap in final practice on Saturday. Bowyer has finished inside the top 20 in 6 of the 7 races this season, including 2 top 5’s, 3 top 10’s, and 5 top 15’s, including finishing 7th in Martinsville 2 weeks ago.

Erik Jones ($7,800)

Qualifying Position: 4th

Erik Jones loves Bristol it seems, but he just doesn’t have luck in finishing here. In only 4 races at Bristol, Jones has led 260 laps, which is the 3rd most over the last over the last 6 races overall. Jones had the combined 5th best overall practice times this week, and I feel like he come up big today and surprise with a top 5.

Other Options: Jimmie Johnson ($8,000) – Jimmie loves Bristol and does well here every time. He has a fast car and could earn his 6th top 10 today.

NASCAR DFS: Back of the Pack

Daniel Suarez ($7,300)

Qualifying Position: 20th

Suarez had the 9th best speed in final practice Saturday and combined 7th best  overall practice rank. Suarez is a great place differential play today based on the speed his car has shown this weekend.

Matt DiBenedetto ($6,700)

Qualifying Position: 21st

DiBenedetto has not finished higher than 18th this season so there is some risk in using him today, but he has a fast car and could earn his best finish inside the top 15. DiBenedetto has one of the fastest cars in the field this week, he had the 6th best time in final practice, and the 3rd best 10 lap average and it was at the end of his run which is good because there should be a lot of long runs today.

Ryan Preece ($6,400) 

Qualifying Position: 30th

I love Preece since he qualified 30th and could see 10-12 positive place differential points this week. Preece has constantly been a mid 20’s or better car each week, he has a top 25 finish in 4 of 6 races this season and he had a great finish at Martinsville where he finished 16th.

Other Options: Ryan Newman ($7,000), Matt Tift ($5,500)

NASCAR DFS: Place Differential Plays

Kyle Busch ($12,900) 

Qualifying Position: 17th

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Kurt Buch ($10,700)

Qualifying Position: 27th

The Busch brothers are both in prime spots to pick up some great points today because of some poor qualifying efforts. Kyle definitely has the better car this weekend but both brothers won races here at Bristol last season. Kurt has an average finish of 15th in his last 6 races at Bristol, and has a 15th place average in practice this week.

As for Kyle, he had the 8th fastest average practice speed this weekend and the best 10 lap average speed in final practice, even though it was early in his run. Nobody has led more laps at Bristol in the last 6 races with 529 laps led.

NASCAR DFS: Lineup Build

Usually I know where I am going when I write this article so my lineup build is easy, but I am still torn on some spots trying to get all the drivers I want in my lineup. I know I want Joey Logano and Daniel Suarez as my core. I want to have Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Preece, but if I can’t fit them both I will probably go with Preece.

Thank you for reading my NASCAR DFS Pit Stop article this week and make sure you look for my daily NHL DFS Man Advantage piece each night of the NHL schedule. Be sure to check out Fantasy CPR daily for all your DFS needs, and remember all content is ALWAYS FREE here!