The final race of the Round of 16 for the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs takes place this Saturday night in Bristol, Tennessee. Thunder Valley is ready to rumble with 38 drivers taking to the short track in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Who could help or hurt your NASCAR DFS team this week? With this being a playoff elimination race, some drivers are going to be throwing everything they have at the wall and hoping it sticks in order to advance. That being said, let’s get into who could help you win a little money playing FanDuel NASCAR DFS.
FanDuel NASCAR DFS Overview
In this NASCAR Cup Series DFS column, we will be using FanDuel prices and scoring. Their scoring includes the following:
- .1 points for leading a lap
- .1 points for completing a lap
- Add/subtract 0.5 points based on the difference in a driver’s finishing position relative to their starting position
- Points based on where the driver finishes
FanDuel NASCAR DFS | Race 29
Bass Pro Shops Night Race Drivers to Consider
Kyle Busch ($13,500)
The NASCAR betting favorite to win this week at Bristol Motor Speedway comes into Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race with 8 wins at “The Last Great Collesium”, the most of any driver all-time. Kyle Busch is above the playoff cut line by nine points, so as long as he runs his race, he should be fine. Rowdy could very easily go out and put on a clinc to score his third win of the 2021 season.
Kevin Harvick ($11,000)
The No. 4 team seems to have turned a corner in the playoffs. The past two weeks have yielded back-to-back top-10 finishes for Kevin Harvick, and now he is coming to a track where he has the lowest average finish of any NASCAR Cup Series driver in the last 10 races. An average finish of 10.0 complements two wins, including this race last year. While it’s a stretch to say he gets back to victory lane, he should definately be getting another top-10 on Saturday.
Tyler Reddick ($8,500)
The driver of the No. 8 car has been mediocre in the NASCAR Playoffs thus far, but now he is coming to a track where he finished fourth last season. Tyler Reddick knows how to make the high line come alive as well as anyone, and Bristol Motor Speedway is known to have great high-line runs. Reddick is currently five points below the playoff cut line. Given the small deficit, he won’t have to make drastic moves. Reddick should be a solid play for your NASCAR DFS lineups.
Erik Jones ($5,500)
The No. 43 team has underperformed all year with the exception of a couple of top-10s. Erik Jones knows how to get top-5s at Bristol though. Jones has an average finish of 13.0 in his eight starts at “The Last Great Colosseum”, but that was with Joe Gibbs Racing. Jones can still survive 500 laps and should be fine at the end. He makes for be a good value play for FanDuel NASCAR DFS lineups this week.
Bass Pro Shops Night Race Drivers to Consider
Martin Truex Jr. ($12,000)
The winner of last week’s race at Richmond is a driver to avoid this week. Unlike his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Martin Truex Jr. hasn’t figured out this track as he has accumulated an average finish of just 20th in his last ten races here. For a guy who is starting on the pole, that is not something you want in your NASCAR DFS lineup.
William Byron ($9,300)
William Byron currently finds himself on the outside of the NASCAR Playoffs cutline looking in as he is 18 points back entering Saturday’s elimination race. Coming to Bristol Motor Speedway likely won’t help his chances of advancing. In his six Cup Series starts here, Byron has an average finish of just 20.7 and only one top-10. Byron and his crew are going to need to get points to move on so an aggressive strategy is likely one to avoid for FanDuel NASCAR DFS lineups.
Aric Almirola ($8,700)
Aric Almirola is currently in a position to advance to the Round of 12 on points, but he is barely above the cutline. Almirola has not been a stud here at Bristol either. A 24.4 average finish in his last ten races certainly is not ideal when it comes to driver stats. The No. 10 car is avoidable this week in NASCAR DFS.
Cole Custer ($6,500)
Almirola’s Stewart-Haas Racing teammate, Cole Custer, also makes the avoid list. In his two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Bristol, Custer’s average finish is a lowly 29th. That is a major red flag for anyone looking to take him this week. Add in the fact that SHR is probably working harder on the No. 4 and the No. 10 cars given that they are in the playoffs and the No. 41 of Custer is one to skip this week.
