Stock car racing’s premier series makes it to the Tennessee hills of Bristol Motor Speedway. Make the most of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race with our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers.
We reveal our “Tire Tiers” and betting cards live every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST on our YouTube series, “The Backroad.” Be sure to tune in, enjoy the race, and reach out if you have any questions.
(DFS prices are courtesy of DraftKings)
2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race: NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings
Driver As | The Elites
The experienced drivers are some of the best at Bristol, and of the best four drivers, three have won the last four concrete Bristol races. The only one not to win? Christopher Bell ($10,300). This 2023 Bristol Dirt winner has also been very good at the concrete side, averaging over 55 NASCAR fantasy points per race and being No. 1 in the Bristol Next-Gen total speed rankings, courtesy of ifantasyrace.com. Bell had a top-five fastest car in past races, minus the 2024 spring race. That race was a bit fluky, with teams and drivers not knowing how hard they could push it, given the massive tire falloff. He still finished 10th and had the 12th-fastest speed late in a run.
Denny Hamlin ($11,000) and Kyle “Yung Money” Larson ($10,500) are the other favorites for the win. They are priced as the two most expensive drivers and are second and third in the Bristol Next-Gen total speed rankings. Both were excellent in the spring race, posting top-five times in green flag speed and speed late in a run. Only once out of the three races has either of the two scored under 50 fantasy points.
Driver Bs | Point-Getters
Brad Keselowski ($9,500) is fourth in the Bristol Next-Gen total speed rankings and the sixth-best career average finish here at 8.0. Keselowski wants to point his way above the cutline, as he is 12 out from making the next round. His worst NASCAR DFS scoring effort at Bristol was a 37-point effort in 2023 when he lost two spots from his starting spot to finish eighth. The veteran’s experience helps him stand out; Bristol relies on experience and knowing how to manage your tires while being fast.
Martin Truex Jr. ($8,400) is another driver looking to point his way out of the bottom four in the playoff standings. Truex Jr.’s average finish at Bristol is nothing to write home about at 19.0, but his past spring performance was one for the ages. He had arguably the best car and came home second to Hamlin. He had the second-best long run and green flag speed. His price tag is surprisingly affordable, and he could factor his way into the optimal lineup to a race win or a T5 for NASCAR DFS managers.
Driver Cs | In the Mix
Ty Gibbs ($8,700) is coming off back-to-back T10s in the last two races at Bristol and has shown top-10 green flag speed and speed late in a run. He enters the weekend six points above the cutoff and is looking to maintain, if not extend it to a safe margin. In his two Bristol races since becoming full-time in the Cup Series, he scored over 85 fantasy points, had over 40 fast laps and led over 100 laps.
Josh Berry ($8,200) and Michael McDowell ($7,300) are the third and fourth-best Fords in the field. Each had over 30 fantasy points and has shown T10 speed late in a run in one of the past two Bristol races. Their green flag speed is not as terrible, with both having T15 green flag speed in at least one Next-Gen Bristol race. McDowell’s camp has one of the former Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing engineers from when Chris Buescher won Bristol, so maybe that is why he has recently gained speed here. Berry has Rodney Childers, who guided Kevin Harvick to multiple T5s and T10s at Bristol in the same car.
Driver Ds | Could Do Worse
Ryan Blaney ($9,400) has to show speed at Bristol occasionally but feels slightly overpriced. Still, his recent momentum and current form fit his price tag. Chase Briscoe ($7,800) makes the most of what he’s working with, scoring two has two T15s in slower cars. He is looking to advance out of the Round of 16 once again, just as in 2022, when he made it to the Round of Eight.
My favorite cheap options for this NASCAR DFS slate are Todd Gilliland ($5,800), Ryan Preece ($6,400) and John Hunter Nemechek ($6,500). Gilliland has had two fantasy performances over 35 points. He has shown pace to be within the top 25 and has some of the best long-run speeds for a cheap option. Preece has been the most consistent of the inexpensive drivers, with an average of 39 fantasy points and top-12 green flag speed in the two Next-Gen races he has run. Nemechek showed some blistering pace in the spring race, with top-10 green flag and long-run speed. Although Legacy Motorsports has not run as well, you cannot deny his brilliant performance in the spring.
Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer
Austin Dillon ($6,000) and Carson Hocevar ($6,700) seem like the far-fetched options on this slate, but both have picked up a few spots here and there at Bristol. Either could be a great place-differential play, given how low they qualify and their ability to adjust to faster speeds in the race.
The cheapest I would go would be the Rick Ware Racing (RWR) duo of Justin Haley ($5,700) and Kaz Grala ($5,100). Both had stellar pace in the spring, and Haley has had some decent results, even during his time at Kaulig Racing. If both can qualify poorly, they should be the top NASCAR DFS priority among the drivers under $6,000.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race:
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race
- Between Bets: 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Outrights
- PropKings: 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Check out more of our racing content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to our YouTube channel to get your fix via video.
For more fantasy NASCAR content, find me on Twitter @NASINF1Fantasy.
*Photo Credit: Mike Dinovo – USA TODAY Sports*
