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Fantasy Fastlane: Bristol night race
By RJ Kraft | Published: August 15, 2017 15
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Editor's note: Fantasy Fastlane will look at each race from a fantasy perspective, examining the outlook for the top drivers as well as three sleepers and three value plays based on NASCAR Fantasy Live prices. NASCAR.com fantasy expert RJ Kraft breaks down the drivers you want in your lineup for this week.
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Clint Bowyer Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford
Learn more about Bowyer
Fantasy Live price: $25.00
Fastlane forecast: Bowyer came in second in the spring race at Bristol. Dating back to 2015, he has four top 12s in the past five races here. Be aware though, given his points situation, Bowyer may take some chances.
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Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 ChevroletLearn more about Elliott
Fantasy Live price: $26.25
Fastlane forecast: Elliott has an 8.7 average finish in three Bristol starts – boosted by two top-seven finishes at the 0.533-track. With a playoff spot not yet secured, the 24 team could take some risks to get that win.
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Matt Kenseth
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 ToyotaLearn more about Kenseth
Fantasy Live price: $27.00
Fastlane forecast: Kenseth is a four-time winner at Bristol – with two of those wins coming in the past five seasons with JGR. In nine races here with JGR, Kenseth has led 650 laps – he led 922 laps in 26 starts with Roush.
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Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 ToyotaLearn more about Hamlin
Fantasy Live price: $27.25
Fastlane forecast: Hamlin has just one win at Bristol but the JGR veteran has a pair of third-place finishes in the last two summertime races. With six top-four finishes in the past nine races, he enters on a solid run.
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Kevin Harvick
Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 FordLearn more about Harvick
Fantasy Live price: $27.50
Fastlane forecast: Harvick is the defending race winner at Bristol and has led 339 laps over the past five races in Thunder Valley. He enters Saturday night's race with an average finish of 4.3 in his last four Bristol races.
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Kyle Larson
Chip Ganassi Racing, No. 42 ChevroletLearn more about Larson
Fantasy Live price: $27.75
Fastlane forecast: Larson led 202 laps here in the spring race en route to a sixth-place finish and his best Bristol result. The three-time 2017 winner got his mojo back at Michigan with a victory and is a solid play.
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Kyle Busch
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 ToyotaLearn more about Busch
Fantasy Live price: $28.00
Fastlane forecast: Pros: Busch has five wins and has led 1,960 laps at Bristol. Cons: He hasn't won here since 2011 and has four finishes of 35th-or-worse in his last five starts. Our gut says trust in the speed he's had.
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Martin Truex Jr.
Furniture Row Racing, No. 78 ToyotaLearn more about Truex
Fantasy Live price: $28.25
Fastlane forecast: Truex only has three top 10s in 23 starts at Bristol, but with the way the 78 camp has run all year, you can toss out past history. The New Jersey native led 116 laps in the spring and should be in the mix.
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SLEEPER PICK: Jimmie Johnson
Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 ChevroletLearn more about Johnson
Fantasy Live price: $24.75
Fastlane forecast: Hard to believe the most recent Bristol winner is a sleeper pick, but a summer swoon will do that. Over the past five races in Thunder Valley, Johnson owns the best average finish (7.4) among active drivers.
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SLEEPER PICK: Erik Jones
Furniture Row Racing, No. 77 ToyotaLearn more about Jones
Fantasy Live price: $22.50
Fastlane forecast: Jones comes into Bristol with three straight top 10s on the season. The rookie had speed here in the spring and sports two XFINITY wins at the short track.
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SLEEPER PICK: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Roush Fenway Racing, No. 17 FordLearn more about Stenhouse
Fantasy Live price: $18.75
Fastlane forecast: Stenhouse owns a 10.4 average finish at Bristol – with two runner-ups. He went three-for-three in top 10s during the spring short-track stretch.
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VALUE PICK: Chris Buescher
JTG Daugherty Racing, No. 37 ChevroletLearn more about Buescher
Fantasy Live price: $14.00
Fastlane forecast: A crash sent Buescher to a last-place finish in April, but he had two top-17 finishes at Richmond and Martinsville this year. He also finished fifth at Bristol last year.
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VALUE PICK: Matt DiBenedetto
Go Fas Racing, No. 32 FordLearn more about DiBenedetto
Fantasy Live price: $5.00
Fastlane forecast: DiBenedetto's career-best finish – sixth – came at Bristol and he has three straight top-20 finishes here. In five starts, he has an average place differential of +9.6.
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VALUE PICK: Cole Whitt
TriStar Motorsports, No. 72 ChevroletLearn more about Whitt
Fantasy Live price: $4.75
Fastlane forecast: Whitt had an average place differential of +9.7 during the spring short-track stretch. That's nice value at a really economical price point.