NASCAR returns to the Last Great Colosseum for the Bristol Night Race! In the spring, this track delivered an interesting race as the track just ate away at tires and delivered fall-off that nobody saw coming. Goodyear is sending the same compound to Bristol again, to increase passing and put more into drivers’ hands. This race will also serve as the final race of the round of 16. The bottom four drivers of the playoff standings will all have work to do.
As usual, Chris and I are here to deliver who we think you should bet on to perform well this weekend, and who to stay away from. Let’s get this show started. Here are the BellyUp Racing picks for the 2024 Bristol Night Race!
Chris’s Picks: #9 Chase Elliott (+1800) & #17 Chris Buescher (+1200)
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been a few weeks of “okay” performances for the sport’s most popular driver. However, if he’s going to keep moving on in the playoffs those performances have to take a step up and become solidly in the top ten if not competing for wins. Bristol is a good place to start that if he doesn’t contend for a win. In nine of his fifteen career starts at Bristol he’s ended up in the top ten nine times and won once. Also, he’s not finished outside the top ten on the high banks of Bristol since the fall of 2021. Chase is another guy who easily can contend for the win but if he doesn’t do that I look for him to be in the top ten for sure. So depending on how you like to lay your money down there is still a solid opportunity here to make some cash.
This choice seemed kind of like an easy one once you get to looking at past performances. Since re-joining what is now RFK Racing back in 2020 he’s only finished outside the top ten in two of the seven races in that span. Something else I thought was interesting too was in all seven of those races Chris only managed one time to qualify in the top ten. So, he’s driven into the top ten in six races after he and his team worked their butts off on the cars and made them better. Even won this exact race two years ago. If Chris doesn’t win he should at least be a solid top-ten choice.
Kaleb’s Picks: #6 Brad Keselowski (+1100) & #24 William Byron (+1500)
Embed from Getty ImagesI think the #6 of Brad Keselowski is going to be racing for the win. He’s -12 below the cutline and this is his last chance at sneaking in. Martin Truex Jr and Denny Hamlin both sit in front of him and are very good at Bristol. So he’ll have some stiff competition. Though, he’s no slouch himself. Keselowski was P3 in the spring and finished P8 in the fall last year. Will that be good enough to make it? Especially with the #11 and #19 finishing ahead of him in the spring? It’ll be a tall task, but there isn’t much the former Cup Series Champion hasn’t seen or done.
As for William Byron, the #24 car has been nothing short of great in Bristol. Before last spring’s race, he finished in the top 10 for three straight races, as well as two P3 finishes before this last race on St. Patrick’s Day. Sure, a P35 is very concerning. But he’d have finished well in a Hendrick car if he didn’t slam the wall so early in the race. HMS is also really due for a win. Putting that all together, I like Byron at these odds. But you can get all the Hendrick drivers on some pretty good value if you lean that way.
Chris’s Fade: #22 Joey Logano (+1500)
Embed from Getty ImagesI know he opened up the playoffs with a win, and he’s locked in to the next round. So he is able to take more risk in an attempt to grab another win. I don’t see it happening though. Joey hasn’t won on the concrete at Bristol since August of 2015. That’s a stretch of fifteen races. Not to mention, in his last five trips, he’s not cracked the top ten finish-wise. Coming close with a few 11th-place finishes. As the old saying goes though “Close only counts in the game of horseshoes.” If that’s not enough to deter you though let me give you one more fact. In the last five races on the concrete surface, Joey has only grabbed stage points in three total stages out of those five races. Joey and Bristol haven’t gotten along well lately, and I for one will not be losing my money at least not on Joey.
Kaleb’s Fade: #45 Tyler Reddick (+1800)
Embed from Getty ImagesIt doesn’t feel great to fade the regular season champion, but Bristol seems to be a track that Reddick just can’t figure out. His highest finish in the last three races here is P15. with two stages resulting in points altogether. Reddick hasn’t finished in the top-10 since 2020 when he was driving the 8 car for Richard Childress Racing. I’m not a fan of Reddick at this short track, but he’s in a good spot sitting +30 above the cutline. The Bristol Night Race shouldn’t take Reddick out of the playoffs and he can move on to the round of 12 with ease. But this just isn’t a track I’m considering Reddick at despite really good value.
If you enjoyed this content, or hate it and want to argue with me, follow me on Twitter @KalebMcChesney! Also, read up on the rest of the NASCAR content Belly Up Sports offers here! Heck, for all your other sports needs, follow the main page. If you love racing of any shape or form, find Chris on Twitter, and let’s talk1
