Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
At a historic venue that would be an ideal setting for a future WrestleMania, Bristol Motor Speedway has a knack for putting on a spectacle. The sport’s cream of the crop tends to shine at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile,” though some of NASCAR’s elite have struggled to find consistent success in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The most recent visit produced Ty Gibbs’ first Cup Series victory, a finish that unfolded almost too perfectly to be scripted, even by WWE standards.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
MUST START
Driver: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: The two-time Cup champion is getting hot at the right time. With a monstrous points day at World Wide Technology Raceway, Larson enters his best track nine points behind Denny Hamlin for the championship lead. The No. 5 team has won three of the last eight visits to Bristol, cracking the top five on seven occasions during that span.
Driver: Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Hamlin is every bit as strong as Larson at Bristol, winning three of his last 11 starts, including two of the last six. He has seven top 10s in the last eight races and ranks among the top five in points scored in five of the last six.
Driver: Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 54 Toyota
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: An emotional scene awaits Saturday night as M&M’s returns to JGR to honor the late Kyle Busch, a Bristol legend. Gibbs is building his own Bristol legacy, leading 465 laps in seven starts while posting a 5.0 average finish at short tracks in 2026, second only to Hamlin.
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing, No. 45 Toyota
Selections remaining: 4
Comment: Given the aggression required at “The Last Great Colosseum,” Bristol would seem to fit Reddick’s wheelhouse. Yet consistency has eluded him at the Tennessee short track. He has just two top 10s in 10 starts and has led a grand total of seven laps. His fourth-place finish in the spring marked his first lead-lap finish here since 2021.
Driver: Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing, No. 23 Toyota
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: It could be a challenging weekend for 23XI. Wallace has a single top-10 finish in eight Bristol starts with the organization, coming in the fall of 2024. His 19.6 average finish across 14 career starts is the third-worst among Chase drivers, ahead of only Daniel Suárez (19.7) and Austin Cindric (22.7).
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports, No. 77 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: Ever since Hocevar jumped to the Cup level at the conclusion of the 2023 season, he’s ripped around Bristol, finishing 11th. Four of his six starts in Thunder Valley have been 11th or better, including two top 10s. Of course, this is a place where one of his enemies — got a lot of enemies — could trigger payback.
Driver: Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 5
Comment: It feels odd calling Elliott, the 2020 Cup champion driving for powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports, a sleeper. But with the No. 9 team managing just one top-10 finish in its last 14 races, Bristol could be just what the doctor ordered. Elliott has never hoisted the victory sword in a points-paying Bristol race, but he has four finishes of eighth or better in his last seven starts.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Chris Buescher vs. Ryan Preece
Pick: Preece
Comment: Via Buescher’s 2022 triumph, it would seem as though he’s the easy pick. Bristol is also his favorite venue on the NASCAR schedule. However, the No. 17 team has tumbled of late, with a best finish of 10th in the last 11 races in 2026. Meanwhile, Preece has top 10s in two of the last four Bristol starts.
Denny Hamlin vs. Joey Logano
Pick: Hamlin
Comment: In seven Next Gen races at the bullring, Logano has an average finish of 21.0. Hamlin has won two of those seven races, and you can almost guarantee he will be a threat again.
Ty Gibbs vs. Ryan Blaney
Pick: Gibbs
Comment: It was Gibbs who got the better of Blaney in April by .055 seconds to win his first Cup race. However, Blaney led 190 of 505 laps and was in position for the victory late until a caution in the final laps. Blaney has led 775 laps at Bristol, but this is Gibbs’ best venue statistically.
Kyle Larson vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Larson
Comment: Bell, the defending winner of this race, tends to fly under the radar at Bristol. He has six top-10 finishes in the last seven Bristol races. But Larson is the best in the field at Bristol, placing sixth or better in 10 of his 12 last starts at the Tennessee short track.
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell.
Garage: Chase Elliott.
36 FOR 36
Pick: Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Comment: Larson has been the thunder in Thunder Valley recently, and it’s a scary sight for the field to see the No. 5 team starting to regain its early-season consistency. Since taking over the No. 5 ride in 2021, Larson leads the series in several categories at Bristol, including: wins (three), top fives (seven), laps led (1,405), average finish (6.25), stage wins (seven), laps inside the top five (2,860) and top 10 (3,232).