The Cup Series is schedule to race on the concrete at Bristol Motor Speedway Sunday. The teams had a 20-minute practice session to dial in their cars for the race. The teams lined up for group qualifying after practice and then the field was set for the Food City 500. Practice was kind of crazy, so I am not selecting my team based on practice speed. Qualifying position is important, because a driver can go a lap down quickly at Bristol. Just keep that in mind when you select your drivers for Sunday’s race.
Here is my starting lineup for the Food City 500…
POST PICKS
KYLE LARSON (8): Larson was on the wrong side of the groups in practice. The drivers in Group A dominated the practice speed chart, so ignore Larson’s speed in Group B. Larson qualified for the final round of qualifying and then he had to abort his lap in the final round because he got lose. I am not worried about it. The same thing happened last year and Larson had to start 36th. He quickly drove through the field and finished second. Larson should have a good chance to win from the 10th starting position.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (8): Keselowski finished 8th at Bristol last year. His car had decent speed in his group in practice. Keselowski starts 17th in Sunday’s race, but he should be able to move through the field and finish in the top-10.
MICHAEL MCDOWELL (8): The practice and qualifying session was all screwed up. Ty Gibbs got into the wall so the jet dryers came out to clean the track. They blew dirt into the PJ1 (sticky stuff) and that ruined the track. This race may be crazy too, so I will save my top drivers for more predictable races. McDowell starts in the top-10, so he has the track position to finish in the top-10. He finished 6th last year and 11th in 2022 on the concrete at Bristol.
NOAH GRAGSON (9): Gragson has been on a hot streak early in the season. He also has had some success at Bristol. Gragson has two wins in the Xfinity Series at Bristol. I will play the hot hand and hope Gragson can finish in the top-15 again Sunday.
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