2 years agoChase Elliott did not have the best qualifying lap on Friday, ending up a mere 23rd. The silver lining is that the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver keeps improving on this type of track. The 0.533-mile course kind of suits Elliott's swashbuckling style of driving. The last few years have been interesting. Elliott won an All-Star Race two years ago. Then the No. 9 car finished seventh that fall. Last year, he just had a number of issues, but early on he was in the top three or so. Expect Elliott to ride near the front fairly fast. Elliott could provide a little late fireworks in the tranquil weather conditions.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing car are on the outside looking in at Bristol on Saturday night. He starts 21st which is not the greatest but far from fatal. The younger Busch has shown the ability to advance through fields on short tracks with ease. Overall, he is the only active driver with four top-ten results in his past five races. While Busch does not have six short track wins like Martin Truex Jr., he does have 16 top ten results in 19 races and seven top-five results. Busch is going to have better speed and acceleration err grip as the race goes on. That should help him gain spots and tenths of a second per lap on his competition.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTyler Reddick has been here before at Bristol. There was the dirt race that everyone talks about. Reddick was on his way to a win before Chase Briscoe torpedoed his checkered-flag aspirations. The Richard Childress Racing driver is right on the cutoff line. Well, he's a couple of points above it, technically. Somewhat fortunately, Austin Cindric is tied with him, which gives Reddick a fraction of assurance. However, the Chevy that begins Saturday night in 17th may not have an easy road, as the Fords and Toyotas looked great on Friday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoWilliam Byron has racked up good results with a stage win and extra stage points in the playoff chase so far. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver is now 48 points above the cutoff to advance. Barring some catastrophe of epic proportions, Byron will be in the Round of 12. With Texas, Talladega, and the ROVAL looming, the No. 24 Chevy has chances to advance even further in his chase for a championship. Byron does have nine top-tens in 19 short track events since 2019 including a win at Martinsville.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoJoey Logano and his Team Penske Ford qualified 15th for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday night. Logano has a solid average finish of 12.4 at Bristol. The No.22 car is third among active drivers in terms of short track results over the past three years and yet has not won a race. There has been a lot of bad luck. The good news is that Logano is 40 points above the bubble. That means advancing is likely into the next segment. Logano has tracks ahead of him where he has won in the past as well. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoBubba Wallace had been rolling along and then the 23Xi Racing driver found a way to win last week at Kansas. To be fair, the Kurt Busch No. 45 car had been excellent at Kansas this year. First, it was testing, then qualifying, and then on Sunday afternoon. Wallace has been great in this ownership race. He has put 23XI Racing up to fifth place. Starting 14th puts Wallace in good position for Saturday night. The feeling is that the driver is on a wave of confidence that has him believing the Toyota can win on any track now. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRoss Chastain still races the way he is used to. That makes him a marked man as the TrackHouse Racing driver begins 12th at Bristol on Saturday night. The No. 1 Chevy has shown a knack for just being at the front at the right time. Chastain has had his issues at Bristol, particularly on the dirt. He did start 17th and finish 14th last year while riding in the top ten for significant chunks of the race. There is a 26-point cushion that that Chastain has in the playoff chase. With other drivers marking him, Chastain might need those points. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoBrad Keselowski will start the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from the 10th position on Saturday night. The RFK Racing driver has a role in this NASCAR Playoff Chase. Keselowski has led 13.5% of the laps in his past five appearances. That goes along with a win, two top-fives and three top-10 results. Keselowski is more than capable of running 15-second laps in his No. 6 Ford. Can the Ford keep the speed late like it has the past couple seasons at Bristol? That seems possible with the Next-Gen car.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoSo, Austin Cindric is on the bubble as Bristol looms Saturday night. The good news is that Cindric will start ninth in his Team Penske Ford. The not so good news is that quite a few drivers are eyeing that 12th position which Cindric holds currently. The driver is among seven Ford's who qualified in the first 11 positions on the grid. Now can he maintain that momentum come the later stages on Saturday? Bristol has not shown the usual wear it does in practice so maybe Cindric has a shot at contending on a track he has less experience at.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChristopher Bell has been racking up points on the stages in the NASCAR Playoff Chase. Because of that and some nice finishes, Bell is locked into the "Round Of 12" already without even winning a race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will start a solid eighth on Saturday night. Like Denny Hamlin, Bell and his No. 20 have been quite consistent early on in the postseason. Now, can that continue? Short tracks have seen Bell finish in the top ten in six of his last 13 appearances. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTwo DNF's have put Kevin Harvick in an extremely bad bind. The Stewart-Haas Ford will start seventh on Saturday night from the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Simply, the No. 4 car stands dead last in the chase a full 35 points behind the 12th place cutoff. There are plenty of mathematical theories to advance Harvick into the "Round Of 12". However, it is still as simply as "win and get in". Harvick first has to be in a position to win. The Ford driver won in 2020 and was the runner-up last year. Watch for the "third" Stewart Haas car on Saturday night.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRyan Blaney and his Team Penske car have been pretty solid. The No. 12 Ford stands fifth in the playoff chase and 36 points above the cut line. Blaney will now start sixth at Bristol. The bigger question is can Blaney win this week on the short track? He has led 10.5% of the laps on the 0.533-mile course over the past three years and has two top-five results, too. Blaney has a pattern of nearly winning at quite a few places. When does that turn into a checkered flag? That's a great question.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Larson leads all active drivers when it comes to led laps percentage at Bristol Motor Speedway (15.8%). The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has two top-ten results in his three races over the past three years. That includes the win last September where the No. 5 Chevy led a race-high 175 laps in all. Other than April of 2019, Larson has scored a driver rating of 103 or better in six of his previous seven races on the Tennessee track. The 0.533-mile course suits Larson well as he loves the banking and the lower line. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoDenny Hamlin keeps rolling along in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The No. 11 car ended up fourth in qualifying on Friday as Hamlin is almost a lock to advance to the Round of 12. Behind consecutive second-place results, Hamlin is even a bit of a threat at Bristol. The driver has an average finish of 10.6 on the 0.533-mile course and has two top-five results. That has all come in his past five appearances. The Toyota tends to have some pretty solid late lap speed where they gain tenths of a second on the other cars. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAlex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports Racing car were quite agile on Friday in practice and in qualifying. Overall, Bowman and his No. 48 Chevy ended up third with a lap just under 15 seconds. Though Bowman is below 15th in average finish at Bristol, he is sixth in the playoff chase -- 30 points above the cutoff line. Longer runs did indicate some slowing but a half second is not so alarming on the surface. Bowman may start well but that 250 lap final phase may be problematic for the Chevy. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com