Food City 500 Betting News and Notes

Bristol Driver Tale of the Tape

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Roush Fenway Racing Ford)

· Six top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.227, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.043, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 90.9, ninth-best
· 335 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.781, 10th-fastest
· 7246 Laps in the Top 15 (65.7), sixth-most
· 588 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Five wins, eight top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 11.952, series-best
· Average Running Position of 13.276, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 101.3, second-best
· 676 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.948, fourth-fastest
· 6832 Laps in the Top 15 (65.0), ninth-most
· 524 Quality Passes, 10th-most

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

· Five wins, eight top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 15.864, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.344, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.7, fifth-best
· 419 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.878, fifth-fastest
· 7358 Laps in the Top 15 (66.7), fourth-most
· 695 Quality Passes, series-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· One win, seven top fives, 15 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.955, second-best
· Average Running Position of 15.002, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.1, 12th-best
· 262 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.829, eighth-fastest
· 6306 Laps in the Top 15 (57.2), 12th-most
· 554 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Three wins, five top fives, ten top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 14.000, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.660, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 91.7, eighth-best
· 476 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.835, seventh-fastest
· 7462 Laps in the Top 15 (67.7), third-most
· 529 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· One win, five top fives, nine top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 16.650, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 15.460, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 89.5, 10th-best
· 443 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.825, ninth-fastest
· 5873 Laps in the Top 15 (58.6), 11th-most
· 481 Quality Passes, 11th-most

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

· One win, ten top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.455, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 12.847, second-best
· Driver Rating of 93.3, fourth-best
· 506 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.010, third-fastest
· 7193 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2), seventh-most
· 588 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· One win, ten top fives, 16 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.636, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 13.221, third-best
· Driver Rating of 92.7, sixth-best
· 561 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.758, 11th-fastest
· 7550 Laps in the Top 15 (68.5), second-most
· 535 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· One win, five top fives, ten top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.409, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.651, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.3, 11th-best
· 478 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.718, 12th-fastest
· 6043 Laps in the Top 15 (54.8, 13th-most
· 631 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 12.727, third-best
· Average Running Position of 10.897, series-best
· Driver Rating of 102.5, series-best
· 595 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.116, second-fastest
· 8809 Laps in the Top 15 (79.9), series-most
· 693 Quality Passes, second-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)

· Two wins, four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 14.333, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.748, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 94.1, third-best
· 222 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.843, sixth-fastest
· 3823 Laps in the Top 15 (63.6), 10th-most
· 441 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Kyle Larson (No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet)

· Two top 10s
· Average finish of 17.500, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.880, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 92.4, seventh-best
· 95 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 116.252, series-fastest
· 1325 Laps in the Top 15 (65.8, fifth-most
· 165 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet)

· Two top fives, 15 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 15.636, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.857, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 86.5, 13th-best
· 168 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 115.687, 13th-fastest
· 7176 Laps in the Top 15 (65.1), eighth-most
· 608 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Food City 500 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Kyle Busch winning the championship last season after missing the first 11 races was absolutely amazing. Winning four of five races during a stretch on his way to the championship was also pretty cool, but his recent flair for dominating in spectacular fashion is on an entirely different level.

Busch is currently on one of the more incredible runs you'll ever see in NASCAR. The Las Vegas native has finished in the top-five in six of the first seven races of 2016, including winning the last two at the vastly different layouts at Martinsville and Texas. Dating back to last season, he's finished fifth or better in 10 of his last 11 starts.

That's amazing enough by itself, but wait, there's more.

He has been on such a roll lately that his run has spilled over into the lower level NASCAR series. He completed a weekend sweep at Martinsville two weeks ago by also winning in the Craftsman Truck Series and last week at Texas he won the Xfinity Series race Friday night before winning Saturday's Cup race. That's four straight NASCAR races that Busch won and he heads into Sunday's race at Bristol race tied for the most wins among active drivers with five.

The only good news for the rest of the field this week is that the last of Busch's five Bristol wins came in 2011, a span of eight races there that he hasn't won. The bad news for the rest of the field is that they've seen this before out of Busch. Last July, Busch won three straight races on the schedule which completed a run of him winning four of five races. Those wins came on a road course at Sonoma, a 1.5-mile track at Kentucky, a 1-mile flat track at New Hampshire and the 2.5-mile Brickyard.

That, my friends, is one diversified driver and it's part of the reason why he's the favorite to win Sunday's Food City 500 on the high-banked half-mile Bristol bullring.

The one thing that stands out about past winners at Bristol is that the wins come in bunches, which could give a few drivers an edge this week. When Busch won his five Bristol races, four them came in a five race stretch over three seasons. When his brother Kurt Busch won his five races, four of the five came over five race stretch including three straight (2003-04). Prior to them, it was Jeff Gordon and Rusty Wallace with similar stretches and before them it was Dale Earnhardt and Darrell Waltrip dominating.

The top candidates to win outside of the Busch brothers now is Joey Logano, who has won two of the past three Bristol races, Matt Kenseth, who has won two of the last five and Brad Keselowski, who won two straight (2011-12).

Logano led four times for 176 laps in last fall's Bristol race, including the final 63 laps after passing Keselowski. Kyle Busch actually led the most laps (192), but settled for eighth. Kevin Harvick would finish second in the race -- of course, right? But what was telling about Harvick faring well last fall was that he led a race-high 184 laps in the spring race won by Kenseth. Harvick would end up finished 38th in that race.

Perhaps the oddest past about recent past Bristol history is that Chevrolet has won only twice in the past 15 races and none in the last five. Jimmie Johnson grabbed his only career win there in 2010. The other Chevy heavyweight, Harvick, notched his only win there in 2005.

I like the angle of going with the recent hot hand at Bristol because its worked well for me in the past, which leads me to Logano. He's ran well this season and is hungry for his first win, and he obviously likes this track.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #22 Joey Logano (7/1)
2) #18 Kyle Busch (6/1)
3) #4 Kevin Harvick (7/1)
4) #2 Brad Keselowski (8/1)
5) #20 Matt Kenseth (10/1)

NASCAR at Bristol Betting Odds, Driver Previews
By Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

The red hot Kyle Busch opened as the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook's 5-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch has swept the past two weekends of NASCAR races at Martinsville and Texas and is tied for the most Bristol wins among active drivers with five.

The red hot Kyle Busch opened as the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook's 5-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch has swept the past two weekends of NASCAR races at Martinsville and Texas and is tied for the most Bristol wins among active drivers with five.

Let's take a look at all the drivers odds and how they've fared on the world's fastest half-mile track:

KYLE BUSCH 5/1 - He's got an 11.9 average finish in 21 starts, which include five wins, but his last win came in 2011, a span of eight races. Last fall he led the most laps (192) before settling for eighth-place. He's led 1,703 laps at Bristol, which is tops among active drivers. The easy favorite to win this week because of past history, and also recent history of winning four NASCAR races in eight days. The Vegas kid is on hot roll.

“I’m not exactly sure what makes me so good at Bristol," said Busch. "I’ve just had a lot of success there, but I’ve also had some misfortune there, too. Ever since I got through my rookie year, I’ve just taken a liking to the place. But, when they changed the track to this current surface in 2007, I just really took to it even more."

KEVIN HARVICK 6/1 - He was runner-up last fall and led the most laps (192) in the spring before finishing 38th. His only win came in 2005 under the old Bristol layout. His second-place finish in August was his first top-five there since 2008, and fifth overall there in 30 starts. His stats show he was much better at Bristol prior to the repaving in 2007 which gave the track multiple grooves.

JOEY LOGANO 6/1 - He's won two of the past three Bristol races and is searching for his first win of 2016 after leading the series with six last season. Track history shows that select drivers win in bunches — 12 drivers have won consecutive races — and he fits the criteria. He should be expected to start well too since he leads active drivers with a 7.9 average start position.

JIMMIE JOHNSON 7/1 - He finished second last spring and fourth in the fall, but didn't lead a lap in either. His lone win came in 2010 and has a 14.1 average finish in 28 starts. If he leads 120 more laps, he'll be the ninth driver in NASCAR history to lead 18,000 laps for a career.

MATT KENSETH 7/1 - Since 2005, when NASCAR's loop data began, he's had the top driver rating (102.5), top average running position (10.897) and most laps in the top-15 (79.9 percent) at Bristol. Last spring he won for the fourth time at Bristol and did it from the pole. It was the 23rd time in 110 Bristol races (20.9%) that the pole winner has won.

"There’s a lot of keys to Bristol," said Kenseth, "but that track has changed a lot through the years. You obviously want to have the track position at the end for those last restarts and you want to have the outside lane. The inside lane has always been a pretty big deficit there lately to try and make anything happen, especially on restarts."

BRAD KESELOWSKI 8/1 - He was the last driver to win back-to-back at Bristol (2011-12). In 12 starts he's averaged a 14.3 finish.

CARL EDWARDS 8/1 - He's been steady throughout his career on the new Bristol layouts, winning three times (2007,2008, 2014).

DENNY HAMLIN 10/1 - 2012 winner with 16.6 average finish in 20 starts. His next win will be his 28th which will tie Rex White for 25th on all-time wins list. Car No. 11 has won a Bristol high 19 times (think Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip).

KURT BUSCH 12/1 - He's won five times which makes him tied with his brother for most among active drivers, but 19 races have passed since he last won (2006). It's a crazy turnaround from his stellar beginnings, but he's only had three top-five finishes in his last 19 starts, which coincides with the repaving of the track in 2007. He'll be using a chassis this week that finished fifth at Charlotte in October.

MARTIN TRUEX JR 15/1 - Two top-five finishes in 20 starts, but has been 20th or worse in his past five starts.

DALE EARNHARDT JR 18/1 - 2004 winner with a 12.84 average finish in 32 starts. His last top-five was in fall of 2008.

CHASE ELLIOTT 25/1 - Makes his Cup debut at Bristol; finished third in 2014 Xfinity Series race.

AUSTIN DILLON 35/1 - 15.4 average finish in four starts. He was running third last fall on the final restart and ran out of fuel to finish 13th. He's using a RCR chassis that teammate Paul Menard used to finish 15th with at Las Vegas in March. His best finish in the Xfinity Series was third in the fall of 2014.

KASEY KAHNE 40/1 - His 2013 spring win was the last Chevrolet to win — only two Chevy wins in past 15 Bristol races. All five of his top-five finishes came on the new Bristol layout.

KYLE LARSON 40/1 - After finishing 10th, 12th and seventh in his first three Cup races at Bristol, he got involved in an accident last fall to finish 41st which dropped his average finish down to 17.5.

JAMIE McMURRAY 50/1 - Three top-five finishes in 26 career starts with a 17th-place average finish. He was 14th last spring and 11th in the fall.

RYAN BLANEY 100/1 - Finished 22nd in his first career Bristol Cup race last fall. He won an Xfinity Series race there in the fall of 2014.

RYAN NEWMAN 100/1 - No active driver has started as many races as him at Bristol (28) without winning. He'll be using his 13th-place Las Vegas chassis this week. "It’s a different Bristol from what we grew up with but it’s still a fun Bristol,” said Newman.

TY DILLON 100/1 - Makes his Sprint Cup debut at Bristol. Rookies usually don't fare very well at Bristol, but Dale Earnhardt won in his Cup debut there in 1979. Two years later, Dillon's grandfather, Richard Childress, would hire Earnhardt to drive his car and the rest was history as the No. 3 black Chevrolet became a legend. This week Dillon drives for another legend, Tony Stewart, in the No. 14 Stewart Haas Racing Chevrolet which has finished in the top-15 in its last three starts on the schedule with Brian Vickers driving. The No. 14 chassis being used this week finished sixth at Bristol last spring with Stewart driving.

RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100/1 - You noticed the low odds, didn't you? Usually 300-to-1 or more weekly, he's being respected a lot this week just because he's the active leader in average finish (11.1) at Bristol. No, that's not a mistake. It's been his best track and he had a career best second-place in 2013. The Roush Fenway Racing cars are on an upward progression and the next win at Bristol will be the team's 12th which will tie Roger Penske for second most in track history. Junior Johnson won 16 times as an owner.

PAUL MENARD 200/1 - Leads the series in Bristol starts with the fewest DNFs — few as in none. Good to know for match-up bettors. He's using a chassis this week that finished 13th at Texas in November.

GREG BIFFLE 200/1 - Always solid throughout his Bristol career; 13th-place average finish in 26 career starts. “I’m really looking forward to Bristol this weekend. We run hard at Bristol, which is always fun and exciting," said Biffle. "You race right up against the fence, as fast as you can go."

ARIC ALMIROLA 300/1 - A 23rd-place average finish in 13 starts; career-best third in spring of 2014.

CLINT BOWYER 500/1 - A 15.3 average finish in 20 career starts; fifth-place last fall.

A.J. ALLMENDINGER 500/1 - In 15 starts, he's got a 25.4 average finish; career-best 12th in 2011.

DANICA PATRICK 500/1 - She had her best Bristol finish in this race last season with ninth-place. She's been 18th or worse in her six other starts.

TREVOR BAYNE 500/1 - Makes his fourth career start at Bristol. His best finish was 15th last fall.

CHRIS BUESCHER 1,000/1 - Made his Bristol Cup debut last spring and finished 25th.

FIELD - ALL OTHERS 500/1 - The better wager, just because it actually has a chance to win would be to go with Joey Logano or Matt Kenseth to win instead. And you certainly couldn't be faulted in choosing Kyle Busch to win just because we saw him win three straight races in July.

Bristol Fantasy Racing Preview
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

To assist in making your fantasy racing picks, MRN.com's Jeff Wackerlin takes a look at some notes and statistics for Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Who's HOT at Bristol

• Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano are the only multiple race winners in the last five races, two each.
• Five-time winner Kyle Busch, who missed this race last year, has led the most laps (192) with the current tire combination used in both races last season.
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver that has finished in the top five in each of the last three races.
• Brad Keselowski has led 473 laps and scored two wins in the last nine races.
• Carl Edwards, who won this event in 2014, combined to lead 160 laps last season in his first two track starts with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Denny Hamlin, the 2012 August race winner, has won three of the last five poles and has finished sixth or better in two of those races.

Who to Keep an Eye On at Bristol

• Kasey Kahne (2013 spring winner), and Paul Menard each have recorded four top 10s in the seven races since the track was grinded down in top groove in the corners.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has the best average finish (10.2) among all drivers that have competed in the last five races at Bristol.
• Kevin Harvick, who led 184 laps in this event last year until he got caught up in wreck, is coming off his first top 10 in the last seven races, finishing second last August.
• Kurt Busch led 98 laps in this event last season to rank fifth in laps led with the current Bristol tire configuration.
• Kyle Larson led 90 laps and finished seventh last season in this event for his second top 10 in four Bristol starts.
• Ryan Newman (7.5), Clint Bowyer, Austin Dillon (11.5), Jamie McMurray (12.5) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (12.5) each rank in the top 10 in average finish in the last two races (current tire package) at Bristol among drivers entered in the Food City 500. Note: Bowyer has yet to score a top 10 with HScott Motorsports this season.
• Ty Dillon will be back in the No. 14 for the injured Tony Stewart. He will be driving the same car (chassis No. 827) that Stewart drove to a sixth-place finish in this event last year. It will mark Dillon's first start at Bristol in the Sprint Cup Series.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Carl Edwards
Pete Pistone: Kyle Busch
Robbie Mays: Carl Edwards
John Singler: Carl Edwards

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

Ricky Stenhouse Jr's 21st-place finish in the August race last season snapped a streak of three consecutive top-six finishes at Bristol. He is tied for fifth in average finish (12.5) among drivers entered in the Food City 500 that have raced in both of the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination.

Matt Kenseth is a four-time Bristol winner with two of them coming with Joe Gibbs Racing in the last five races. He's finished in the top five three times and has combined to lead 508 laps in six track starts with JGR. Last year in this event, he led 47 laps from the pole en route to the win.

Clint Bowyer ranks third in average finish (8.5) among drivers that have races in both of the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination when he drove for Michael Waltrip Racing. However, he has yet to post a top-15 finish in seven starts with HScott Motorsports this season.

Jimmie Johnson is the only driver that has finished in the top five in the last three Bristol races, but has yet to lead a lap in that span. He leads all drivers with a 3.0 average finish in the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination. Johnson won this event in 2010 and has led a total of 833 laps in 28 starts.

Ryan Newman ranks second in average finish (7.5) in the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination. He's posted an 11.0 average finish in his four Bristol starts with Richard Childress Racing. This weekend, Newman will return in the same car (chassis No. 520) that he finished 13th with at Las Vegas last month.

Joey Logano has won the last two August Bristol races and ranks third in laps led (176) in the two Bristol races with the current tire combination. Last year in this event, Logano was swept up in an early race accident with his teammate Brad Keselowski after starting sixth.

Paul Menard has finished in the top 10 six times in his 10 Bristol starts with Richard Childress Racing, which ties him for second among all drivers in top 10s in that span. Menard, who finished 11th in this event last year, will pilot the same car (chassis No. 527) that he finished 13th at Texas last fall.

Austin Dillon ranks fourth in average finish (11.5) among drivers that have races in both of the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination. Dillon, who finished 10th in this event last year, will pilot the same car Paul Menard drove to a 15th-place finish at Las Vegas last month.

Carl Edwards ranks fourth in laps led (160) in the two Bristol races with the current tire combination. Both of those races came in his first two track starts with Joe Gibbs Racing. Edwards won three times in his previous 21 starts with Roush Fenway with the last coming in this event in 2014.

Greg Biffle scored his last of 13 top 10s in 26 Bristol starts in the 2014 August race. Last year, he recorded an average finish of 27.5 in the two races with the current tire combination.

Brad Keselowski has scored three top 10s at Bristol since recording consecutive wins in the 2011 summer race and 2012 spring race. An accident early in this event last year raised his finishing average to 14.3 in the last three races.

Kyle Larson posted finishes of 12th or better, including two top 10s, in his first three Bristol starts. An accident in last year's summer race raised his finishing average to 17.5 in his four overall starts. Last year in this event, Larson led 90 laps and finished seventh.

Aric Almirola scored his last of two top 10s in 13 Bristol starts in this event in 2014, finishing third. He's yet to lead a lap in 5,155 circuits completed at the track.

Jamie McMurray is tied for fifth in average finish (12.5) among drivers entered in the Food City 500 that have raced in both of the last two Bristol races 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.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is tied for fifth in average finish (12.5) among drivers entered in the Food City 500 that have raced in both of the last two Bristol races with the current tire combination. Earnhardt finished ninth last summer for his 15 top 10 and sixth with Hendrick Motorsports at the track.

Kasey Kahne won this event in 2013 and it was part of a run of four consecutive top 10s at Bristol that started in the summer of 2012. Last year in this event he finished 37th after a multi-car accident on lap 483.

Kurt Busch has posted a 17.3 average finish in his four Bristol starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. He led 98 laps in this event last year, which ranks him fifth in laps led in the two races with the current tire combination. Busch, who is a five-time winner at Bristol with Roush Fenway Racing (14) and Team Penske (1), saw his best finish (fifth) with SHR at the track come in the 2014 summer race. This weekend, Busch will return in the same car (chassis No. 933) that he last finished fifth with at Charlotte Motor Speedway last fall.

Denny Hamlin has won three of the last five poles at Bristol and finished in the top 10 in two of those races, including this event in 2014. He won the 2012 August race and has nine top 10s and 578 laps led in 20 overall starts.

Kyle Busch did not race in this event last year due to injury, but went on to finish eighth in the summer race after leading 192 laps. He's laps led total in that race leads all drivers in the last two races there with the current tire combination. Busch is a five-time Bristol winner with his last win coming in this event in 2011.

Danica Patrick finished ninth in this event last year for her first top 10 in seven Bristol starts. Last year in the August race, she finished 27th after a pit road speeding penalty and a loose wheel.

Drivers to Watch - Bristol
By Sportsbook.ag

The Sprint Cup Series drivers head to the exciting Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on Sunday. This is one of the most interesting tracks for these guys to drive on, as it is only .533 miles long. This completely changes the way they’ll race and it makes for an intriguing viewing experience.

Two guys to keep an eye on in this race are Kurt and Kyle Busch. Kurt was once dominant in this race in his career, winning it four times (2002, 2003, 2004, 2006) in a span of five years. He has not won since then, though. Instead it has been his brother that has made his mark on the race. Kyle has won three times (2007, 2009, 2011) over the past nine races and the two of them will be looking to best each other in this race.

Another guy worth noting in this race is Matt Kenseth, who won here a year ago. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at who might win this race on Sunday:

Drivers to Watch

Kyle Busch (5/1) - As previously mentioned, Kyle Busch has been fantastic at Bristol over the years. He has now won this race three times since 2007 and that is not all for the Joe Gibbs Racing superstar. Kyle Busch has been as hot as could possibly be lately, winning each of the past two Sprint Cup races. He also happens to have four other top-five finishes on the year. It’s extremely tough not taking somebody as hot as him, so he’s worth throwing a few units on this weekend.

Kurt Busch (12/1) - One guy that could get the best of Kyle in this race is his brother, Kurt. As mentioned earlier, he’ll be going for his fifth win at this track and there’s little reason to believe that he won’t be able to do it on Sunday. Kurt Busch is in solid form coming into this race, as he finished in ninth at last week’s Duck Commander 500. Returning to a track that he is very familiar with should only give him a better shot and he’s a great play at 12-to-1. It might be worth it to just ultimately put a few units on each of the Busch brothers to be safe.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (18/1) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been racing very well this season, but he has not yet recorded a victory. Earnhardt Jr. finished in second place for the second time this season at last week’s Duck Commander 500. He’s due for a victory soon and this is definitely one that he’d love to win. Earnhardt Jr.’s father won this race five times and he definitely wants to find some success at a track his dad dominated. He also happened to have raced well the last time he was here, coming in ninth place late in 2015. He’s a good value play at this price.

Ryan Newman (100/1) - Ryan Newman has not won a Sprint Cup race since 2013, but he is a very good driver and has been solid to start the 2016 season. Newman has already picked up four top-15 finishes on the year and he came in fifth place at this race a year ago. There are not many dark horse picks that can match that type of production and if you’re looking for somebody that can earn you a big payday on Sunday then put a unit on Newman. His odds are absurdly favorable and there’s a good shot he’s somewhere in the front of the pack when this race is over.