Bass Pro Shops Betting News and Notes

Bristol - Driver Tale of the Tape

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford Fusion)

· Six top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.174, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.087, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 90.2, 10th-best
· 338 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.917, 11th-fastest
· 7513 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2), seventh-most
· 608 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Five wins, eight top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.136, third-best
· Average Running Position of 13.858, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 99.7, second-best
· 689 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.102, sixth-fastest
· 6959 Laps in the Top 15 (63.2), eighth-most
· 546 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Kurt Busch (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS)

· Five wins, nine top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 15.304, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.200, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, seventh-best
· 435 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.044, seventh-fastest
· 7746 Laps in the Top 15 (67.2), fourth-most
· 739 Quality Passes, series-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Four wins, six top fives, 11 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 13.435, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.150, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 94.1, sixth-best
· 561 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.037, eighth-fastest
· 7962 Laps in the Top 15 (69.1), third-most
· 561 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Chase Elliott (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 4.000, series-best
· Average Running Position of 16.298, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 95.3, fourth-best
· 21 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.392, series-fastest
· 236 Laps in the Top 15 (47.2), 13th-most
· 42 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Five wins, 17 top fives, 25 top 10s; five poles
· Average finish of 12.682, second-best
· Average Running Position of 10.132, series-best
· Driver Rating of 99.5, third-best
· 477 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.160, fifth-fastest
· 8582 Laps in the Top 15 (77.8 ), second-most
· 698 Quality Passes, third-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· One win, five top fives, nine top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 16.810, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 15.423, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.0, 11th-best
· 450 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.966, 10th-fastest
· 6094 Laps in the Top 15 (57.9), 10th-most
· 497 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Chevrolet SS)

· One win, ten top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.043, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.458, third-best
· Driver Rating of 94.4, fifth-best
· 585 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.201, fourth-fastest
· 7693 Laps in the Top 15 (66.7), sixth-most
· 632 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· One win, ten top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 15.000, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.411, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.2, ninth-best
· 584 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.909, 12th-fastest
· 7747 Laps in the Top 15 (67.2), fifth-most
· 563 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· One win, five top fives, ten top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.391, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.373, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.5, 13th-best
· 493 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.877, 13th-fastest
· 6452 Laps in the Top 15 (56.0), 12th-most
· 694 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 13.739, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 11.139, second-best
· Driver Rating of 102.1, series-best
· 621 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.236, third-fastest
· 9086 Laps in the Top 15 (78.8 ), series-most
· 720 Quality Passes, second-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford Fusion)

· Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 14.615, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 13.951, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.8, eighth-best
· 240 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.993, ninth-fastest
· 4047 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1), ninth-most
· 481 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet SS)

· Two top 10s
· Average finish of 21.000, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.861, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 88.2, 12th-best
· 107 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.268, second-fastest
· 1428 Laps in the Top 15 (56.8 ), 11th-most
· 179 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Bass Pro Shops Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

After a week off from NASCAR Sprint Cup racing, we've got the perfect stage set for a reboot where some intensity is sure to unfold in Saturday's Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The half-mile bullring, coupled with the lights on and wild fans -- a few of them liquored-up -- makes the scene the perfect place to start the final 14 races of the season. No more off weeks for the rest of the season. It's go-time for every driver involved that has hopes for winning a championship.

We can say that 20 drivers have sights set on winning the title and in reality maybe only 10 can actually win. Only four races remain before the Chase with five positions available -- four if Chris Beuscher finishes within the top-30 after Richmond (he's 3-points behind 30th-place David Ragan).

The type of racing at Bristol has changed -- some say for the worse -- since they altered the track layout in 2007, but drivers still get pumped for the atmosphere, especially for the night race.

“Yes. Bristol is one of those tracks I get a little extra pumped up for," said five-time Bristol winner Kurt Busch. "For me, I think that feeling gets a little stronger when you’re talking about the night race at Bristol. There’s just something special about that race. I knew it before I ever made it to the big-league level of the Sprint Cup Series but, the first time I was able to experience the night race as a competitor, it’s almost indescribable. It’s a place that gives you a big adrenaline rush. You can literally feel the energy around the track from the competitors and the fans who are just excited for 500 laps of racing at Bristol. There’s really nothing quite like it.”

The first thing we want to do in handicapping the race is check out the Bristol results from April where Carl Edwards led 276 of the 500 laps starting from the pole. It was a dominating performance and kind of a prelude of what was about to happen the rest of the year at all tracks. Chevrolet had won three of the first five races, but then only twice in the next 17. The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have won 11 of the 22 races this season. Surprisingly, Hendrick Motorsports hasn't won a race since Jimmie Johnson won his second and final race of the season at Fontana in March.

So from that perspective, you have to start with JGR cars again. They're all in the Chase, they all have raced well at Bristol over their career and they're all looking to tack on more wins. Kyle Busch is a five-time winner at Bristol, Matt Kenseth has won four times, including twice in the last six. Edwards also has four wins, twice in the last five. Denny Hamlin captured his only Bristol win in 2012 and was third last August.

"We’ve had a number of wins there," said Edwards. "Dave (Rogers) and I and our team’s first win of the season was there. We’re going back with what we think is a better plan, a better car, and hopefully we can go qualify well again and put the STANLEY Toyota in Victory Lane. Bristol is 500 laps of insanity with the groove being up by the fence. You’ve really got to plan your passes. You’ve got to work traffic. Hopefully we can start up front, stay up front and play the game the right way. We’ve been having a lot of fun. This race is one of the ones we look forward to as an opportunity to have a good time and win another trophy before the Chase starts.”

A better plan and a better care for Edwards? Wow, that could be bad news for the rest of the field. The last driver to sweep a season at Bristol was Kyle Busch in 2009.

It's hard to suggest another team will win this race, but if you had to take two guesses to derail Toyota, Team Penske's Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski would be the best candidates. Logano has won the past two August night races at Bristol and Keselowski won two straight there in the fall of 2011 and spring of 2012.

After those two Fords, and the five JGR Toyotas, the pickings are slim. Kevin Harvick will be considered one of the favorites just because he's so consistent with a series-leading 17 top-10 finishes, but he still has only one win on the year -- in the fourth race of season at Phoenix -- and his only Bristol win came in 2005 with the older layout when there was only one groove. The old layout provided much better racing because every driver was fighting for that inside line. Fans obviously agree as the Bristol Night Race is no longer the hardest ticket to get in the series.

Kurt Busch is a five-time winner at Bristol, but hasn't won there since 2006. He was third in the April race leading 41 laps. Of all the drivers outside of the Penske and Gibbs cars, he probably offers the best value on the board. But you're not going to get better than 12/1 odds and he's only won once this year. It's tough beating all those Gibbs cars.

Beyond looking at who has done what at Bristol over the years, we can also reference Dover's 1-mile high banked concrete layout. Bristol is only a half-mile, but it's also concrete and high-banked making the set-up requirements similar for crew chiefs. Kenseth won that race in May just prior to the Charlotte All-Star race. Kyle Larson was second -- leading 85 laps, Chase Elliott third, Kasey Kahne fourth and Kurt Busch fifth. Keselowski was sixth and Harvick led a race-high 117 laps before finishing a lap down in 15th.

There's enough reason to suggest Kurt Busch again who is using that same chassis this week from Bristol and Dover, but what about Elliott who also finished fourth at Bristol? He's got the Hendrick drought going against him and he's also finished 13th or worse in his last seven starts after having 11 top-10s in the first 15 races. His current form isn't so hot, which makes him a pass. Larson, who is trying to qualify for the Chase, might be a decent look at 25-to-1 odds to win this week.

So we've broken down a few things and everything still points to the Gibbs cars.

Good luck and enjoy the race!

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #20 Matt Kenseth (8/1)
2) #19 Carl Edwards (8/1)
3) #18 Kyle Busch (6/1)
4) #22 Joey Logano (8/1)
5) #41 Kurt Busch (12/1)

NASCAR Betting Odds: Irwin Tools Night Race At Bristol
by Greg Engle
CupScene.com

After a weekend off, the final one of the season, it’s time to for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series to head back to the track, and what better place to return than one of the most highly anticipated races of the year.

The NASCAR night race at Bristol Motor Speedway is a favorite among fans and competitors and a win here is hard earned and highly prized. A win at Bristol is also important for another reason. Only four races remain until the Chase field is locked in after Richmond. Only four more chances for a driver to either win their way into the Chase, or for a driver to add another victory to their season total.

There is a bit of a twist for this weekend. Since the NASCAR spring race at Bristol, the track has undergone some minor changes, mainly in the bottom groove of the racing surface. In addition to some polishing, a material has been added that will help rubber from the tires stick better. Will it help? That’s one big question that will only be answered Saturday night.

Here are my favorites for Saturday’s 23rd race of the year for your betting or fantasy racing leagues. Driver Ratings are compiled from 2005-2016 races (23 total) among active drivers at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Driver Rating is a number based on a formula developed by NASCAR which combines “loop data” elements such as average running position, average speed under green, number of fastest laps, and other stats. There is a maximum of 150 points that a driver can earn for each race. The odds from VegasInsider.com are current as of Wednesday.

Matt Kenseth (8-1) has four wins at Bristol, the last coming in the spring of 2015. He lost an engine early in the night race last season, and suffered two blown tires here in the spring after leading 142 laps. He will be looking for redemption Saturday night, and with the highest driver rating in the field, 102.1, should be in a great position to do just that.

Carl Edwards (8-1) is another of the Joe Gibbs Racing cars among the top picks this week. He won here in the spring leading a race high 276 laps. That was his fourth career win at Bristol and his second in the spring. He has the sixth highest driver rating in the field, 94.1, and a pretty good shot at adding a fifth win and completing a season sweep Saturday night.

Kyle Busch (6-1) is the third Joe Gibbs Racing entry among the favorites this week. Busch crashed out of this race in the spring, but lead a race high 192 laps in this race last year only to see his hopes for victory dashed by a loose wheel and a pit road speeding penalty. He does have the second highest driver rating among the field, 99.7, and has five wins overall which puts him in a three way tie for the most among active drivers.

Kurt Busch (12-1) is looking to bust up the JGR party and get one up on his brother. The elder Busch brother is part of the three way tie for most wins here. He has the seventh best driver rating, 93.4. His last win was back in 2006, but he did finish third here in the spring after leading 40 laps.

Joey Logano (8-1) is the defending winner of this race, leading 176 laps in route to his second career win at Bristol last August. His driver rating, 85.6, is 12th in the field, but if he can recapture the magic he had last August, he could be a contender Saturday night.

OTHERS: Jeff Gordon will be setting in for Dale Earnhardt Jr. again. Gordon is the third driver tied for the most wins at Bristol and his driver rating is third in the field, 99.5. Kevin Harvick was second here last August, and has the fifth highest driver rating in the field 94.4. No one would be surprised if Harvick added a second career Bristol win Saturday night.

Bristol Fantasy Racing Preview
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Who's HOT at Bristol

• Joey Logano (winner of the last two night races), Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth each have two wins in the last six races.
• Jimmie Johnson has finished in the top five in three of the last four races.
• Ryan Newman is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races.
• Five-time winner Kyle Busch led 192 laps in this event last year.
• Brad Keselowski has led 473 laps and scored five top 10s, including two wins, in the last 10 races.
• Kevin Harvick, who led 184 laps in the 2015 spring race until he got caught up in wreck, is coming off consecutive top 10s at Bristol, including a second-place finish in this event last year.

Who to Keep an Eye On at Bristol

• With changes to the lower groove at Bristol to improve tire grip, six drivers will get extra track time by competing in the XFINITY race: Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Keselowski, Austin Dillon, Matt DiBenedetto and Regan Smith.
• Chase Elliott finished fourth in his first Bristol Cup start in the spring.
• Kurt Busch (9.2), Clint Bowyer (10.5), Jamie McMurray (11.5) and Paul Menard (14.8 ) each rank in the top 10 in average finish among drivers that have competed in all four races with the current tire combination.
• Jeff Gordon will be back in the No. 88 Chevrolet this weekend. Gordon owns 25 top 10s at Bristol, including five wins.
• Tony Stewart, who missed the spring Bristol race, leads all drivers with a 5.6 average finish in the last five races of the season dating back to Kentucky. Martin Truex Jr., who finished 14th in the spring at Bristol, has scored three top 10s and led 186 laps in that five-race span.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Matt Kenseth
Pete Pistone: Kyle Busch
Robbie Mays: Joey Logano
John Singler: Joey Logano

Driver Notes - Ordered by Top 20 in Average Finish in the Last Five Races at Bristol

Chase Elliott started 19th and finished fourth in his first Cup start at Bristol in the spring.

Carl Edwards has the third-best average finish (9.8 ) among drivers that have competed in all four races with the current tire combination. Edwards has four wins at Bristol and won his first at the track with Joe Gibbs Racing from the pole in the spring after leading 276 laps. He leads all drivers with 436 laps led in the last four races.

Tony Stewart has competed in two of the four races at Bristol with the current tire combination, finishing a best-sixth in the 2015 spring race. The sixth-place run is one of three top 10s in 12 track starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart, who won this event in 2001 with Joe Gibbs Racing, will return in the same car (chassis No. 707), that he last finished 29th with at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 16th in the spring to give him an 11.9 average finish in seven starts at Bristol. He's scored two top 10s in the four races with the current tire combination. Stenhouse's fourth-place run in the 2015 spring race is his best in three races with crew chief Nick Sandler

Jimmie Johnson finished 23rd in the spring to snap a streak of three consecutive top fives at Bristol. Johnson's 8.2 average finish in the four races with the current tire combination leads all drivers that have competed in all races in that span. He won the 2010 spring race has led a total of 833 laps in 29 starts.

Ryan Newman is tied for second in average finish (9.2) among all drivers that have raced in all four of the last races at Bristol with the current tire combination. He's posted a 10.6 average finish in his five track starts with Richard Childress Racing and is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last three races. This weekend, Newman will pilot the same car (chassis No. 556) that his teammate Paul Menard finished 10th with at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Clint Bowyer has posted a 10.5 average finish in the four races at Bristol with the current tire combination. He finished eighth in the spring for his only top 10 this season on a non-restrictor-plate track with HScott Motorsports.

Jeff Gordon, who scored his last of five wins at Bristol in this event in 2002, is making his fourth consecutive start of the season in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Chevrolet. Gordon's last of 17 top fives at BMS came in the 2015 spring race, third.

Kurt Busch has posted a 14.4 average finish in five Bristol starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. He's scored two top fives and led a total of 167 laps in that span. Busch is a five-time Bristol winner with the last coming with Team Penske in the 2006 spring race.

Joey Logano has won the last two August Bristol races and ranks third in laps led (256) in the four races with the current tire combination. Logano finished 10th in the spring for his fifth top 10 in 15 starts.

Brad Keselowski has scored three top 10s - last two coming in this event - at Bristol since recording consecutive wins in the 2011 summer race and 2012 spring race.

Paul Menard has posted a 14.8 average finish in the four races at Bristol with the current tire combination. His last of six top 10s in 18 starts came in this event in 2014, in ninth. This weekend, Menard will pilot the same car (chassis No. 555) that teammate Austin Dillon finished ninth with at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Trevor Bayne finished fifth in the spring for his best finish, and first top 10, in four Bristol starts.
Ryan Blaney has a 16.5 average finish in two starts at Bristol with his best finish coming in the spring, 11th.

Jamie McMurray has posted an 11.5 average finish in the four races at Bristol with the current tire combination. McMurray's last of 10 top 10s at Bristol came in the 2014 summer race when he led 148 laps en route to an eighth-place finish.

Austin Dillon has posted a 19.2 average finish in the four races at Bristol withe the current tire combination. This weekend, Dillon will pilot the same car (chassis No. 550) that teammate Paul Menard last finished 33rd with at Pocono Raceway in June.

Greg Biffle recorded his last of 13 top 10s in 27 Bristol starts in this event in 2014. He finished 12th in the spring.

Matt Kenseth is a four-time Bristol winner with two of them coming with Joe Gibbs Racing in the last six races. He's finished in the top five three times and has combined to lead 650 laps in seven track starts with JGR. Kenseth led 142 laps in the April, but right-front tire issues relegated him to a 36th-place finish.

Denny Hamlin won this event in 2012 after leading 70 laps. Hamlin's best finish in the four races with the current tire combination came in this event last year when he came home third after starting from the pole.

Kevin Harvick has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts at Bristol. He's posted a 19.4 average finish and led a total of 300 laps in his five track starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. Harvick has one win at Bristol, 2005.

Drivers to Watch - Bristol
By Sportsbook.ag

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Bristol for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday. This is one of the most exciting and popular races of the year, so the drivers and fans will certainly be looking forward to it.

This 500-lap race will take place on a track that runs 266.5 miles and features a standard four turns. Joey Logano is the driver that will be looking forward to this thing the most.

Logano has won this race in each of the past two years and that is a good thing for Ford manufactured cars.

Four of the five winners before Logano were driving in Toyota cars, so now it’s looking like it’s winnable for any car in this race.

Other active drivers that have won more than once here are Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch.

It’s also worth nothing that Jeff Gordon will once again be in the #88 car, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. is still recovering from concussion-like symptoms.

With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at some of the best values in this weekend’s race:

Drivers to Watch

Joey Logano (8/1) - As previously mentioned, Logano comes into this race after having won each of the past two races here. He is clearly the driver to beat on this track, but he is still getting some decent odds and that makes him worth putting a few units on. Logano also happens to be coming into this race in pretty solid form. He came in second place in the race before the break after Watkins Glen and has now racked up eight top-10 finishes in his past 10 races. Putting a few units on Logano is as safe as it gets this weekend and it’d also be wise to pair him with a dark horse that just might pay off bigger.

Kyle Busch (5/1) - If there’s anybody that is a major threat to defeat Joey Logano on this track then it’s Busch. Busch used to be the guy that dominated Bristol, as he won in 2009 and 2010. He has also done pretty well in the other years, as he has two second place finishes and another two top-10 finishes at this track. Busch also happens to be having a very good season thus far, as he has four victories and has finished inside the top-10 at each of the past four races. He is the only guy that is as hot as Logano coming into this one and is worth a few units if you want to avoid taking the popular pick on Saturday.

Jeff Gordon (18/1) - Gordon’s last race could be any week now, but he’ll be out there on Saturday and that means he has a good chance of winning. Gordon has not looked great since returning to the track, finishing outside the top-10 in each of his three appearances. He is, however, one of the greatest drivers ever and would love to win at Bristol on Saturday. Gordon has not won at this track since back in 2002 and it’d be a great way for him to potentially go out. He also happens to have some pretty solid odds after his string of recent mediocre performances.

AJ Allmendinger (Field - 18/1) - Allmendinger isn’t necessarily a dark horse, but he is somewhat off the radar and could pay off big this weekend. Allmendinger is coming off of a very good performance at Watkins Glen, coming in fourth place two weeks ago. It was his best race since coming in second in the sixth race of the year, so he should be feeling confident coming into this one. If you’re looking for a driver that could shock everybody then this just might be it, so putting a unit on him wouldn’t be a bad move.