Fantasy Update: Ryan Blaney is leading the way at Bristol

Cup Series practice and qualifying for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway was puzzling. It was certainly entertaining from afar. The entire field was tested in multiple ways. The lack of grip, specifically in Turns 3 and 4, caught teams by surprise. The resin that was applied to the bottom groove was slick, and teams couldn’t figure out why. All that to say, it’s unclear how much we learned for the 500-lap race. One thing is for certain, Ryan Blaney was the fastest car in the Blue Ridge Mountains. FANTASY: Set your lineup | Bristol 36 for 36 picks Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup: Starter 1: Ryan Blaney Starter 2: Christopher Bell Starter 3: Denny Hamlin Starter 4: Kyle Larson Starter 5: Chase Elliott Garage pick: Michael McDowell NEXT IN LINE: Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher RISING: This has been the most dominant start to the weekend for Blaney in what feels like forever. The No. 12 car led the way in practice on one, five, 10, 15 and 20-lap averages. The reigning Cup champion backed that speed up in qualifying, winning his first pole award in nearly two years. Consistent speed across the board needs to be in your lineup, and Blaney has rocketed to the top of must starts for Sunday. Neither Briscoe nor Josh Berry made my final lineup, but those two Stewart-Haas Racing drivers had a promising start to the weekend. Berry, a coveted short-track racer, snuck through to the final round of qualifying and shot up to the front row. Meanwhile, Briscoe will start inside the top 10 for the fourth consecutive race. Both cars lacked long-run speed, but their starting track position make them lineup considerations. FALLING: It took just one lap for Ty Gibbs to bounce off the wall in practice. The No. 54 car ran the fewest laps of anybody in the session at 14, and Gibbs ultimately believed the right-rear toe link was bent. Gibbs salvaged a 19th-place starting position before his crew chief, Chris Gayle, wanted to take a deeper dive into the damage. Believing that Gibbs will be featured in plenty of fantasy lineups throughout the regular season, I’m saving him this weekend.  Chris Buescher was one of many drivers who barely hung on to their race cars during a gripless qualifying session. He chattered his tires towards the end of his first lap, killing the momentum for the beginning of his second lap. The result was a 34th-place starting spot. Buescher has speed in his car – he ranked eighth in 10-lap averages – but will likely need to play some sort of strategy to score stage points. I wouldn’t rely on that this weekend. FEATURED MATCHUPS: Chris Buescher vs. Chase Elliott: This clash has flipped from earlier this week. With lap times so close, it can be hard to really gauge who has consistent speed at a track like Bristol. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Buescher maneuver through the field at a rapid pace. And though Buescher is one of three drivers to have top five finishes in both Next Gen races on the Bristol concrete, I’m slightly leaning towards Elliott. It’s the first time the No. 9 team has earned consecutive top five starting positions since the final three races of the 2022 season. Michael McDowell vs. Ryan Preece: McDowell and Front Row Motorsports continue to unload with pace off the hauler and have moved into my garage pick for the weekend. The No. 34 car filed in seventh on single-lap speed and 11th on 10-lap averages. He also finished sixth at Bristol last fall and ran inside the top 10 for the duration of the event. Preece was the slowest of the four SHR cars in qualifying, matching his practice ranking of 25th. He never made a long run. McDowell is the pick. Brad Keselowski vs. Christopher Bell: Bell barely missed out on the final round of qualifying, but was capable of running inside the top five in practice. Keselowski was in the middle of the pack, exactly where he qualified in 17th. The 2012 Cup champion is a three-time Bristol winner, but it feels like Bell is destined for a Bristol win soon… on concrete. Carson Hocevar vs. Josh Berry: I’ve done a full 180 on this pick from earlier this week. Hocevar made an immaculate save during his qualifying run, fully getting out of the racing groove and even dipping below the apron on the backstretch. It resulted in a 35th-place effort. Berry had a career qualifying session, placing second. His previous best starting position was 14th. Berry is an expert on short tracks and is in need of a strong finish on Sunday.