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Fantasy Update: Last-minute Bristol lineup, props advice

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Denny Hamlin is on the pole for the Bristol Night Race on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does the surging Joe Gibbs Racing driver merit a spot in your Fantasy Live lineup? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

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RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Bristol: 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Kyle Larson 3. Kurt Busch 4. Joey Logano 5. Erik Jones Garage: Kyle Busch

RELATED: Odds for Bristol | Lap averages | Weekend preview Analysis: We're back with the Fantasy Update after a week away. With three races to go in the regular season, we are not saving uses -- it's about playing the best drivers you have at your disposal. So with that in mind, let's dive into Bristol. I'm taking the front row of Hamlin and Larson. Hamlin is one of the hottest drivers in the series in the past month and Larson has been extremely solid at Bristol in his career. Following the solid-at-Bristol mindset, Kurt Busch will be in the lineup as well. I don't love his lap averages from Friday, but I like the starting spot, the fact that he's the reigning race winner and a six-time Bristol winner. Jones had solid lap averages in opening practice and has run well in the night race in the past. Logano has won the night race twice and Bristol has been one of his stronger tracks of late. For the garage, I will take Kyle Busch despite the not-so-great starting spot. I have two uses left on "Rowdy" and I've had this race earmarked as one. It's tempting to bail, but here's a stat to consider: In seven of his eight Bristol wins, Busch has started outside the top 10. He's too good here to not roll the dice on his track record. For the bonus picks, I have Hamlin in Stage 1 and the win, with Elliott in Stage 2. Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players. MORE: Need Props help? The Action Network has you covered | Play the Props Challenge today 1. Will either Chip Ganassi driver, Kurt Busch or Kyle Larson, be the highest finishing Chevrolet? Considering I have two Chevrolets in my lineup and they are both of the Ganassi drivers, I am a resounding YES on this prop. Elliott could play the spoiler on this one, but I like one of the two Ganassi drivers to take the top spot in the bowtie camp. 2. O/U 20.5 lead changes. I am taking the UNDER here. In the last six summer races at Bristol, the number of lead changes have averaged 17.7 lead changes and only hit the over once (in the 2017 race). I am playing the odds based on past history that trend continues and turning a blind eye to the spring race results that saw 21 lead changes in April.