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It’s Bristol Baby! The NASCAR Cup Series is set for the running of the Bass Pro Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday night. This is the last race of Round One of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series and several drivers are in a must-win situation if they hope to make it to the next round. The playoff field of 16 eligible drivers will be trimmed down to only 12 following this race.
One of the drivers in need of a win this weekend is also one of the favorites this week! Kyle Busch comes in at +800 and he’s been a perennial favorite at Bristol for much of his Cup Series career. But the younger Busch brother is now below the cut line following a couple of tough weeks. And Busch has announced he’s moving from Joe Gibbs Racing to the Richard Childress camp and from Toyota to Chevrolet.
Will that bit of news affect Busch? Probably not, but I’m fading on him simply because of his recent finishes and equipment problems. I probably should do the same with Kevin Harvick! But, for some reason, maybe sentimental, I’m keeping him in the loop this Saturday night.
This week’s favorites are names associated with running well at Bristol. That’s an indicator that oddsmakers are considering past finishes. However, if you look at the stats, Chevy drivers have only won once at Bristol in the last eight visits to the track. And, this race is the first time that the new NextGen cars have raced at this track as the last Bristol race was on dirt.
Here are the favorite drivers to win the outright:
Denny Hamlin +700
Kyle Larson +750
Chase Elliott +750
Kyle Busch +800
Christopher Bell +800
Kevin Harvick +900
2022 Bristol Bass Pro Shops Night Race Preview
Date: Saturday, September 17, 2022, 7:30 pm EST
Track: Bristol Motor Speedway / Bristol, Tennessee
Type: High-banked oval, concrete, .533 miles, 4 turns, progressive banking
Race Distance: 266.5 miles, 500 laps
Defending Track Winner: Kyle Larson
TV/Radio: USA / SiriusXM / PRN Local Affiliates
This is the final race of Round One of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Sixteen drivers qualified to race for the Championship and four will be eliminated following the Bass Pro Shops Night Race.
No. 1 Christopher Bell
No. 2 William Byron
No. 3 Denny Hamlin
No. 4 Joey Logano
No. 5 Ryan Blaney
No. 6 Alex Bowman
No. 7 Chase Elliott
No. 8 Kyle Larson
No. 9 Ross Chastain
No. 10 Daniel Suarez
No. 11 Tyler Reddick
No. 12 Austin Cindric
Cup Series Playoff Cut Line (Before Bristol)
No. 13 Kyle Busch
No. 14 Austin Dillon
No. 15 Chase Briscoe
No. 16 Kevin Harvick
2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Shop Predictions
Chase Elliott +750
I don’t often run with Chase Elliott. But he is one of the best drivers at Bristol according to NASCAR Fantasy Stats. In his last 10 races at the track, he’s led 439 laps! That’s a tough task at the track known as the Colosseum. Elliott has shown that he can win on any type of track during his Cup Series career and he is running better than regular Bristol favorites over the last several months.
Kyle Busch +750
Many are pointing toward Bristol as the place where Kyle Busch punches his ticket to the next round of the Cup Series Playoffs. As of now, he’s below the cutline. The driver of the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing has eight Cup Series wins at the track as well as 9 in the Xfinity Series, and 5 in the Truck Series. He’ll have to avoid equipment issues similar to the one that ended his day at Darlington.
Kevin Harvick +900
Kevin Harvick made the playoffs by winning two races down the regular season stretch. Now he’s at the bottom of the playoff list in the 16th spot. He’s one of the best drivers in the Cup Series when it comes to Bristol. Over the ten visits (on the concrete surface) he has 2 wins and 7 runs in the top ten. Harvick will not make it into the next round on points. He needs to win to avoid being cut.
Kevin Harvick +900
Kevin Harvick made the playoffs by winning two races down the regular season stretch. Now he’s at the bottom of the playoff list in the 16th spot. He’s one of the best drivers in the Cup Series when it comes to Bristol. Over the ten visits (on the concrete surface) he has 2 wins and 7 runs in the top ten. Harvick will not make it into the next round on points. He needs to win to avoid being cut.
Joey Logano +1400
Joey Logano should have no problems making the next round of the Playoffs as he’s No. 4 in the standings heading into the race. Logano has won at Bristol twice on the hard surface and once on the dirt surface. He’s finished 11th in his last two visits to the track and has finished 10th or better five times in his last 10 Bristol starts.
Others: Chase Elliott (+750) has been very close to getting a win at Bristol but he’s yet to win there. He’s cracked the top ten 6 times with a 7th place run last time around. Ryan Blaney (+1600) always looks like he’s in contention for a Bristol win until things go south suddenly. Maybe this is the time he grabs a Bristol checkered flag.
2022 Bass Pro Shops Night Race Betting Lines
Denny Hamlin +700
Kyle Larson +750
Chase Elliott +750
Kyle Busch +800
Christopher Bell +800
Kevin Harvick +900
Tyler Reddick +1200
Joey Logano +1400
Ross Chastain +1600
William Byron +1600
Ryan Blaney +1600
Martin Truex Jr +1600
Darrell Wallace Jr. +2500
Alex Bowman +2800
Chase Briscoe +4000
Daniel Suarez +4000
Erik Jones +4000
Ty Gibbs +5000
Austin Dillon +6000
Austin Cindric +6000
Aric Almirola +6600
Chris Buescher +9000
Brad Keselowski +9000
AJ Allmendinger +9000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +10000
Michael McDowell +15000
Cole Custer +25000
Ty Dillon +50000
Justin Haley +50000
Harrison Burton +50000
Josh Bilicki +70000
Todd Gilliland +100000
Pierre Gasly +100000
J.J. Yeley +150000
BJ McLeod +150000
Corey Lajoie +150000
Cody Ware +150000
