Posted on by RJ Kraft

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott will start from the Busch Pole in Sunday’s Food City 500 (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Does he merit a spot in your lineup two weeks removed from a runner-up finish at Martinsville? We’ve dissected the numbers to offer a suggested lineup worthy of your Fantasy Live consideration.

PLAY NOW: Set your lineup | How the game works | Tips to set your lineup

Remember that the garage locks at the end of Stage 2. Once the final stage starts, your roster is locked in.

RJ Kraft’s Fantasy Live lineup for race day at Bristol:
1. Clint Bowyer
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Erik Jones
5. Chase Elliott
Garage: Kyle Busch

Starting from rear: Kevin Harvick (failed pre-race inspection three times) — read more here; Ryan Preece (backup car)–read more here

RELATED: Odds for Bristol | 10-lap averages from Bristol | Podcast: Fantasy Fastlane

Analysis: On the Fantasy Fastlane Podcast, Steve Letarte and #StatGuyRussell enjoy giving me grief for making multiple changes from my planned lineup entering the weekend. Plans are all well and good, but when the stats and lap averages are telling you something glaring, it behooves you to pay attention and make changes. That’s where I find myself heading into race day. Into the lineup are Blaney, Jones and Elliott. Out of my initial lineup are Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman.

The Blaney-Jones-Elliott trio is in for a few reasons. First, they hold three-fourths of the top four spots on the grid, so I like the opportunity for stage points. Second, Blaney and Jones have each shown a lot of speed this weekend. Third, Elliott has been strong on short tracks with six top 10s in his last seven races on that track type. I have used neither of these three more than two times, so I feel good about the usage levels. Bowyer and Johnson have looked solid as expected and have strong recent histories at Bristol to boot. I have hardly used either of them so I don’t have any concerns there.

For the garage, I debated between three options: Busch, Kevin Harvick and Stenhouse (Note that this was before Harvick’s pre-race inspection penalty). Harvick was top four in both Saturday practice sessions on the 10-lap board. He also topped the best 15-, 20- and 30-lap averages (h/t @mikejoy500). Busch has won two of the last three races at Bristol and has seven victories there. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also topped the 10-lap board in final practice. Stenhouse is more of a wild-card option with six top 10s at Bristol. Though he qualified 19th, he had a top-10 lap average in final practice. Busch has been pretty much a top-five machine all year, so I am going to place that in reserve in the garage — especially since I have eight uses left there as well. In addition, Harvick will now be starting at the rear of the field and must serve a pass-thru penalty at the start of the race for failing pre-race inspection a third time which means saving him is a MUST.

For the stage and race wins, I have Blaney across the board — think the Team Penske driver’s combo of speed and track position pays off for him early. Ford is my manufacturer pick.

Each week in this space, we’ll also highlight two Props Challenge items for players.

MORE: Play the Props Challenge today

1. The average starting position for the race winner the past 6 races at Bristol is 10.6. Will Sunday’s race winner start inside the top 10? I’m a Yes on this question even though it means betting against Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson. I simply like several of the options in the top 10 — most notably Denny Hamlin (starting fifth) and Joey Logano (starting seventh) in addition to the drivers starting in the top 10 that are in my Fantasy Live lineup.

2. Which driver finishes higher at Bristol: Austin Dillon or Daniel Suarez? This is a pretty close one to pick. Based on lap averages, Suarez had the better times in Saturday’s practices. Based on the best single laps, they split the Saturday sessions. In the four races they’ve both run at Bristol, each has finished better in two of the four. In seven races this year, Suarez has the edge in better finish 4 to 3. I’m giving Suarez the advantage based largely on his momentum coming off a third-place finish last weekend at Texas.

Posted on by Zack Albert

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Tyler Reddick, who wore a wig in pre-race driver introductions, fittingly missed a six-figure payday by a hair at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Reddick finished with a not-quite-that-close .906-second margin behind eventual Alsco 300 winner Christopher Bell, who pocketed the NASCAR Xfinity Series $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus Saturday at the .533-mile track. But Reddick came as close as possible in several instances Saturday, when his car number kept coming up.

Reddick’s Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet started second, finished second in Stage 1, second in Stage 2 and second at the checkered flag.

“All in all, to run second, second, second and qualify second, it’s not a bad day for the No. 2 car,” Reddick said on pit road post-race.

RELATED: Race results | Dash 4 Cash updates

Reddick led 61 of the 300 laps, second only to stage sweeper and early retiree Justin Allgaier (138). But he bottled up behind Brandon Jones and Bell during a late-race restart, unable to quite close for the win and the bonus. The other two drivers with Dash 4 Cash eligibility came home with top-10 finishes — rookie Chase Briscoe in fourth and Michael Annett in eighth.

Tyler Reddick dons a Dolly Parton wig during pre-race ceremonies at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Donald Page | Getty Images

On a day that began with the 23-year-old driver donning a curly blonde wig as a nod to sponsorship from country music legend Dolly Parton, Reddick’s path to the second step on the podium came with a pair of hiccups near the end of the stages. One was a sluggish pit stop that cost the team five spots during the Stage 2 break, but the mixup that preceded it was more unusual.

Chalked up to either a misreading of the timing and scoring or a lag between the official feed and the track feed, the No. 2 team’s spotter informed Reddick about the final lap of the first stage one lap early. With one lap to go before the green-checkered flag, Reddick eased up on the throttle, allowing Justin Allgaier’s No. 7 to squeak by for the stage win and playoff point.

“I don’t know what happened, but up on the Colossus TV board, a few people thought the stage ended on the lap that it did,” Reddick said. “Obviously, I wasn’t looking for the flag — I had the 7 on my inside. I thought we were coming to the end of Stage 1, so I don’t know what happened, but a lot of people’s timing and scoring was showing that on our side that it ended on that lap, so I just thought it was done so I quit racing. Just a shame.”

Reddick’s finish ensured his eligibility for another shot at the Dash 4 Cash bonus in the Xfinity Series’ next race, next Saturday at Richmond Raceway. Bell will also vie for the $100,000 alongside Cole Custer (third at Bristol) and the returning Briscoe (fourth).

Bell swept last season’s Xfinity Series events at Richmond, but Reddick said his organization’s prominence in the top five there provided a measure of encouragement.

“Christopher is so good at Richmond, his cars that Joe Gibbs brings are a great package, but what I saw at RCR last year at Richmond makes me feel really, really good,” Reddick said. “I can promise you me and Randall (Burnett, crew chief) will be working hard on what package and what setup tweaks we’re going to make to it.”

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Christopher Bell overtook Brandon Jones with less than 20 laps remaining to capture Saturday’s Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race and pocketed a $100,000 bonus for his efforts.

Bell, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was one of four drivers competing for the series’ Dash 4 Cash bonus. Other eligible drivers didn’t finish far behind – Tyler Reddick finished second, Chase Briscoe finished fourth and Michael Annett wound up eighth.

RELATED: Full results | Bell celebrates Dash 4 Cash win

“That’s pretty cool to get my first win here with the Dash 4 Cash bonus,” Bell said in Victory Lane. “Joe Gibbs Racing has a really, really good package at Bristol. For whatever reason, we struggled to find that. I didn’t feel good basically all practice and didn’t qualify good.

“As soon as they dropped the green flag for the race, I was really, really loose. But the longer the runs went the better I got.”

Third place went to Cole Custer while John Hunter Nemechek rounded out the top five.

Reddick, piloting the No. 2 Chevrolet out of the Richard Childress Racing shops, was second in both the first and second stages en route to his runner-up finish.

After leading 61 laps, he mistakenly thought the first stage had ended, and the hesitation while still under green allowed Justin Allgaier to shoot past for the stage win.

Reddick shadowed Allgaier for the entire second stage, only to finish second, then lost five spots on pit road due to a problem in the pits. Late contact with the wall wasn’t an issue, he said, as he tried to chase down Bell.

“Not necessarily getting into the wall,” he said. “These composite bodies are just as durable as can be. I just needed a little bit more there to get past Christopher.

“The unfortunate part is when I got behind him it is hard to make the pass.”

Allgaier (JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet) won two stages and led 138 of the race’s 300 laps. But during a heated battle up front among himself, Bell, Reddick and Custer, Allgaier’s entry began to slow. Moments later he was pulling his blue and white entry behind pit wall, the victim of an apparent engine issue.

RELATED: Mechanical issues sideline Allgaier

Custer rallied from an early setback that saw him pit twice under yellow to repair damage to his Ford after the opening stage. By the start of the final stage, he was back among the race leaders.

“We just didn’t really have the fire-off speed or the perfect scenarios to pass people when we got up in the top five to really get track position,” Custer said. “It was impossible to pass, really. I don’t know. I’m pretty mad because I think we had the best car there at the end, we just didn’t have the best fire-off (speed). I know we’ve got to get a little bit better.”

The top four finishers — Bell, Reddick, Custer and Briscoe — will be eligible for the $100,000 bonus next week at Richmond Raceway. The program will continue in subsequent races at Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway.

Jones inherited the lead when he did not pit after Harrison Burton brought out the caution flag at lap 261. With nearly 80-lap old tires, Jones still managed to hold Bell and the others at bay for nearly 20 laps.

“He (Jones) did a great job,” Bell said of his JGR teammate. “He really did. This place, for whatever reason, suits his driving style. He should have won this race last year. … He just couldn’t quite hang on on those older tires. …

“I knew I was going to have to do the slide job and hopefully take the top away, which I was able to do.”

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

Rookie of the Year contender Ryan Preece is a former Bristol winner in both the Whelen Modified Tour and Xfinity Series. Sunday will be his first start at the 0.533-mile oval in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

“I think all short tracks should be good tracks for me, but this is a team sport,” Preece said. “ … We’ve got some work to do on our car to make it better and I think we’ll be alright.

“I’ve won here in a Modified and I’ve won here in and Xfinity car, so I expect to run good here (in Cup) for sure.”

Can past success in those series translate?

RELATED: Rookie Preece makes splash in debut

“I think it’s all relative; a race car is a race car,” he said. “They need to be able to get into the corner, you need to be able to turn the center and you need to be able to put the gas pedal down as quick as possible.

“It’s all the same. It’s just a heavier car with a smaller tire and a radial tire.”

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Many NASCAR competitors can trace their racing roots to family members, those from a generation or so removed who raced on either the local or national stage.

Daniel Hemric, driver of the Richard Childress Racing No. 8 Chevrolet in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, has a different sports heritage. And it’s a fitting one to note this weekend as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four gets under way in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Hemric, 28, will start 26th in Sunday’s Food City 500 here at Bristol Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Bristol starting lineup | Starting lineup in photos

Race fans might not recognize the name Dickie Hemric. He never won the Southern 500 or the Daytona 500 or any other legendary NASCAR event. But Dickie Hemric etched his name in the record books of both the NCAA as well as the NBA.

“He was my grandfather’s first cousin,” Daniel Hemric told the NASCAR Wire Service. “My grandfather, my dad’s dad, I think he was 6-foot-3, 6-4. Obviously, Dickie Hemric (at 6-6) was in that realm. (The height gene) definitely skipped me.”

Dickie Hemric held the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) scoring record for 50 years, totaling 2,587 points as a Wake Forest Demon Deacon. He was named player of the year during the first two seasons of the ACC’s existence (1954-55). The mark stood until 2006 when it was finally broken by J.J. Reddick of Duke University.

His 1,802 career rebounds still stands as a conference record.

A third-team All-American as a junior and a second-team All-American selection as a senior, Hemric was a member of the Boston Celtics’ first championship-winning team in 1956-57.

Daniel Hemric had no idea of his relative’s exploits on the court until taking in a college game with current RCR teammate Austin Dillon and younger brother Ty Dillon.

“I found out about it, believe it or not, this goes way back,” Hemric recalled. “Almost 13 years ago. I went to my first college basketball game and I went with Austin and Ty. We went to see North Carolina and Wake Forest. We get there inside the arena and I see Hemric hanging from the rafters, the jersey. I had no idea.

“It was something I started doing a little research on after I got out of that situation. It was pretty cool to find out.”

Racing won out over other endeavors when he suffered a knee injury as a teenager.

“That’s something that sidelined me a little bit, led me to staying on four wheels, sitting in the seat,” he said. “I figured that was my path and my knee showed me that. So that’s what I ended up doing.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Joey Logano led the way in the final Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, pushing his No. 22 Team Penske Ford around the track at 128.830 mph.

RELATED: Final practice results

The practice was the final one in preparation for Sunday’s Food City 500 (2 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Jimmie Johnson was second-fastest, turning his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the track at 128.571 mph. Austin Dillon in the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (128.563 mph), Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (128.477 mph) and Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (128.185 mph) completed the top five.

The 50-minute session included a few mishaps, but no significant damage to any car.

Polesitter Chase Elliott scraped the right side of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on the wall about five minutes into the session, and his crew quickly worked to repair the damage; he was back on the track 13 minutes later. His lap of 127.529 mph was 16th-fastest in the session.

WATCH: Elliott scrapes wall

Kyle Larson also scraped the right side of  his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet about 39 minutes into the practice, but continued turning laps.

Ryan Preece’s No. 47 Chevrolet began smoking with about 10 minutes left in the session, and his crew worked to assess damage. FOX reported that Preece will have to go to a backup car because of damage from a blown tire.

 

EARLY PRACTICE

Erik Jones topped the leaderboard for Saturday’s first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Bristol Motor Speedway after wheeling his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the track at 129.903 mph.

Jones was one of three Joe Gibbs Racing drivers in the top five for the second practice session in preparation for Sunday’s Food City 500 (2 p.m., FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Practice results

Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 JGR Toyota was second-fastest in the session (129.850 mph) while Kyle Busch was fifth in the No. 18 JGR Toyota (129.186 mph)

Daniel Suarez was third-fastest in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (129.482 mph) while Joey Logano was fourth in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford (129.195 mph).

The caution came out once in the 55-minute session, with about 23 minutes remaining, for debris.

Additional PJ-1 traction compound was applied to the track before the practice session.

Posted on by Jordan Bianchi

The speed has been present nearly every race. There is no disputing that, as Ryan Blaney has had a fast car capable of contending in all seven Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season.

But while Blaney has had speed and led the third-most laps, that speed has not translated into winning. Instead, happenstance and miscues have contributed to what Blaney acknowledges has been a frustrating season heading into the Food City 500 on Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“There are moments you get frustrated at it,” Blaney said. “You just wish stuff would stop happening.

“The good thing is we’ve had speed all year. Honestly, I think we’ve had cars good enough to win almost every single one of them – at least have a shot at them.”

Blaney’s season began by crashing-out of the Daytona 500, a race he spent the majority of running up front before being collected in a multi-car accident with 10 laps remaining. Then came consecutive 22nd-place finishes at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway, where again Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford was among the fastest cars on the track but mistakes and luck prevented him from contending.

Pushing aside three races in a row where the results were not indicative of performance, Blaney rebounded by posting three consecutive top-five finishes. Everything seemed to be pointing upward.

Then came last week, when the gremlins that inflicted Blaney to start the season returned at Texas Motor Speedway. He was leading when his car began billowing smoke, later diagnosed as a parts failure that caused the water to leak out and caused the engine to blow. In a race where he led 45 laps, Blaney finished 37th.

It has just been that kind of season thus far for Blaney. He is third in laps led and only three other drivers have more top-five finishes, except those totals are offset by him having finished 22nd or worse in the other four Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races this season.

“We had that run there of really good finishes like we finished where we had been running,” Blaney said. “I wouldn’t say it’s relieving, but it was nice to finally actually not have anything go wrong in those races. And then, you look at last week leading the race and a part falls off and we end up blowing up. That part is frustrating.”

Amid what has been roller coaster year, Blaney says he doesn’t let himself dwell on the lows for any considerable amount of time. He attempts to find solace in the number of times he’s been in contention and how well Team Penske has executed in 2019, with teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano having combined for three wins already this season. (Joe Gibbs Racing drivers have won the other four races.)

And as Blaney reminds himself, things could be worse. That Penske has had such speed gives the impression that his first victory of the season could occur any week. And all it takes is for one win to change the complexion of his season.

“When we have so much speed right now as a whole group, yeah, you want to capitalize on it,” Blaney said. “You want to rack (wins) up as much as you can as quick as you can when you can.

“But I’d rather have fast cars and things happening when we’re in contention to win races than be running 15th and wondering, scratching our heads where the speed is at. They’re both frustrating, but I’d rather be in this position and you just keep having fast cars and running up front.”

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

Natalie Decker, 21, will make her NASCAR K&N Pro Series East debut Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway, competing in the Zombie Auto 150 for DGR-Crosley. A native of Eagle River, Wisconsin, Decker recently returned from Spain where she was one of 28 finalists competing for 18 spots in the new, all-female W Series.

While she failed to make the final cut, Decker said the experience was unforgettable.

“It was amazing and so wonderful,” Decker said. “I’m so happy I did it. I have a lot to learn in road racing; I had never done that before.

“It was really cool to get that experience and I learned a lot. Maybe one day I can race an F3 car, but I really don’t want to do that now. I really want to focus on (NASCAR). I really wanted to do the W Series just because of what they were doing for women and being a part of that.”

Decker has made three starts for the DGR-Crosley team this year in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Her best finish was 13th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

MORE: Decker joins DGR-Crosley, to race across three series

Bristol’s fast, high-banked, 0.533-mile layout left a quick impression.

“When I first pulled in, I was getting dizzy just trying to look at everything,” she said. “I couldn’t imagine what it would be like when I got out on the track.

“It was totally different. I come from short-track racing, but this is a whole new level of short-track racing. I’ve raced at Slinger Speedway (in Wisconsin) and that’s a really banked track but this is just totally different.”

Posted on by Kenny Bruce

BRISTOL, Tenn. — Saturday’s Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race brings additional incentive for four drivers – the series’ seventh race is the first for this year’s Dash 4 Cash bonus program.

Tyler Reddick (Richard Childress Racing No. 2 Chevrolet), Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 Toyota), Chase Briscoe (Stewart-Haas Racing No. 98 Ford) and Michael Annett (JR Motorsports No. 1 Chevrolet) qualified for the opening round of the program based on their respective finishes a week earlier at Texas Motor Speedway.

RELATED: Dash 4 Cash 101

The highest finishing Dash 4 Cash-eligible driver in any of the four races – consecutive stops at Bristol, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway – earns a $100,000 bonus.

The drivers agree on one thing – competing in a Dash 4 Cash event is very similar to NASCAR’s season-ending playoffs. The goal is to win the race but finishing ahead of the other qualifiers will be enough to collect the six-figure bonus.

“At the beginning … you still want to win the race,” Bell noted. “But at the end of the race, if you’re not in position to win, then it really changes. It almost kind of relates to the final four at Homestead because you’re only racing three other competitors.”

Reddick says his approach is the same as it would be for any race, but that “you kind of look at it like a cutoff (elimination) race.

“I’ll pay closer attention to Chase and Michael than I have in the past … obviously me and Christopher have been pretty even about everywhere we’ve gone this year.”

Said Annett: “I definitely think it comes into play when it’s not your day, you can turn it into it and not necessarily have to win the race. That’s the biggest thing – taking chances that you probably wouldn’t for a fifth- or sixth-place finish.”