NASCAR heads to The Last Great Colosseum of Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend. The long-time staple on the Cup Series schedule will host a Saturday Night under the lights, NASCAR Playoff race this weekend. It’ll serve as the end of the first round; 16 drivers enter, but only 12 will still have championship dreams when the checkered flag flies. You can catch the race on USA with coverage beginning at 7:30 PM ET. Let’s get into this week’s NASCAR picks, odds, and best bets for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol.
Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin have each picked up a win in the first two races, meaning they get to enjoy a nice Saturday night driver around Bristol without any points worries at all. They are locked into the next round. Kyle Larson (+60 to the cut line), Bubba Wallace (+50), and Ryan Blaney (+42) are all feeling great. Don’t finish last and have a driver below the cut win, and do well, and they are in. William Byron (+39), Tyler Reddick (+37), Christopher Bell (+32), and Chase Elliott (+28) are all feeling pretty good about their standings. Just have a clean race, and they should move on.
Joey Logano (+21), Ross Chastain (+19), and Austin Cindric (+11) are the three drivers just above the cut line. Austin Dillon (-11) and Shane Van Gisbergen (-15) sit just below the cut line. Alex Bowman (-35) and Josh Berry (-45) are in almost must-win situations to advance. They can point in, but they’ll need a lot of help. Of course, a win for any of the 16 drivers will automatically move them into the Round of 12. Goodyear is bringing what they hope to be a softer tire, wearing out after around 70 laps is the goal. I wouldn’t let that change your NASCAR picks for Bristol too much. NASCAR is also applying PJ1 to the track to help improve the racing this weekend.
NASCAR Picks: Bass Pro Shops Night Race Odds and Best Bets
Bristol Night Race Odds to Win
Kyle Larson +240
Denny Hamlin +425
Christopher Bell +800
Ryan Blaney +800
Chase Briscoe +900
William Byron +1100
Chase Elliott +1100
Ty Gibbs +2000
Joey Logano +2200
Alex Bowman +2200
Tyler Reddick +2500
Bubba Wallace +2500
Brad Keselowski +3500
Kyle Busch +3500
Ross Chastain +3500
Chris Buescher +4000
Carson Hocevar +4000
Josh Berry +5000
Ryan Preece +6000
Austin Cindric +6000
Austin Dillon +10000
Erik Jones +10000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +12500
John Hunter Nemechek +15000
AJ Allmendinger +15000
Noah Gragson +20000
Michael McDowell +20000
Justin Haley +20000
Daniel Suarez +20000
Corey Heim +35000
Zane Smith +50000
Cole Custer +50000
Shane Van Gisbergen +50000
Todd Gililland +50000
Austin Hill +50000
Ty Dillon +100000
Riley Herbst +200000
Cody Ware +200000
Chad Finchum +200000
Bubba Wallace Over Alex Bowman (-105)
These two drivers check in with similar average finishes in the five NextGen races at Bristol. Wallace boasts an 18.8 average to Bowman’s 19.0. However, Wallace has gotten the better of Bowman in the last two Bristol races and in three of the five in this NextGen car. Wallace has started off the playoffs on a great note, hence the 50-point cushion to the cut line. It’s been tough for Bowman; back-to-back pit road mistakes left the team scrambling.
Hendrick Motorsports made the decision to swap most of that pit crew with the pit crew from Carson Hocevar’s #77, another Hendrick pit crew team. On top of that, Wallace has finished better than Bowman in five of the last eight races this season and has all the momentum. Bowman’s going to have to be aggressive if he wants to advance; aggression and desperation lead to mistakes. Give me Wallace in this one.
Chase Briscoe Top 5 (+150)
Just copy and paste everything we’ve said for weeks about Briscoe. He’s arguably the hottest driver in the series right now, and heads to a track he finished fourth at in the spring race. He’s finished top two in the two playoff races and top five in six of the last nine races. He had a fast car at the comparable track from a few weeks ago at Dover. Where he finished in second place once again. Briscoe has been a man on a mission, and I’m not going to stop riding that money train!
Denny Hamlin to Win (+425)
Hamlin is just too good to pass up, for the same reasons as his teammate. He’s coming off the win last week at World Wide Technology Raceway and recently won at Dover as well. He’s chasing that big win #60 he’s been after for years, and now he’s coming to a track he loves to race at.
Hamlin has a 3.4 average finishing position in the NextGen era at Bristol. Hamlin finished second here in the spring and has won two of the last four races. Can Hamlin get to victory lane at Bristol for a fifth time in his career and for a sixth time this season? He’s already gone back-to-back this year, winning Martinsville and Darlington. He’s worth the bet this week.
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