Eric Uribe
The next race in Bristol is the third of the postseason, but last in the Round of 16. At the end of this competition, four drivers will be eliminated from the Cup Series title hunt. Therefore, you can imagine there’s a lot at stake this weekend — for competitors and bettors alike. For the latter crowd, we’ve compiled our best bets to win the NASCAR Bristol race and we’re giving ’em to you for free!
Let’s begin with the up-to-date betting lines, however. The online bookies have released odds on various outcomes — race winner, top-three finish, top-five, etc. Below we’ve grouped up the top drivers to win the Bristol race outright:
| Driver |  |  |
| Kyle Busch | +400 | +400 |
| Kyle Larson | +450 | +450 |
| Denny Hamlin | +600 | +600 |
| Chase Elliott | +800 | +800 |
| Joey Logano | +1000 | +1000 |
| Kevin Harvick | +1100 | +1100 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1500 | +1500 |
| Kurt Busch | +1500 | +1500 |
NASCAR Playoffs Bristol Preview
Alex Bowman, William Byron, Michael McDowell, and Tyler Reddick are all facing elimination heading into the Night Race. The four drivers are in the bottom four of the Cup Series standings and need a big finish to stay in the hunt.
Officially dubbed the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, this is a favorite among NASCAR betting fans. As the name hints, it runs under the lights at the famed Bristol Motor Speedway. It’s the second event at the course, however, the first was a road race — not a normal one like this will be (minus the night-time setting).
This one is also a short track akin to last weekend’s event in Richmond. The Bristol track is all of .533 miles long. The 500 laps it’ll take to complete means the entire race is 266 miles long.
NASCAR Playoffs Bristol Betting Pick
We have two separate picks to win Bristol and both have one thing in common — a checkered past at the Bristol Motor Speedway. Allow us to explain:
Kyle Busch
For the first time this season, Busch is the favorite to win a race. Seriously, it’s the best odds he’s had all season long. Rather than “outsmart” the bookies, we are completely on board with their rationale here.
You see, Busch is the most accomplished driver at Bristol among the entire field — and it’s not even close. All-time, Busch has finished first at Bristol on eight different occasions. Much of that success is recent too. Accounting for paved surface races only, in his last seven times out at Bristol, Busch has won three times, placed runner-up one and top-five two other times. At the very least, you should hammer home a Busch top-three bet. At least!
Us, though, we’re picking him to win straight up. Busch is all the way in tenth place in the Cup Series standings currently. He needs a big win to move up the leaderboard and we think Bristol will be just that for the grizzled veteran of the sport!
Joey Logano
Logano actually won the first NASCAR event at Bristol in 2021, back in March. But as we said before, that was a dirt race, not a normal paved competition. Nonetheless, Logano is still a worthy bet, especially at his steep +1000 odds.
Why? Well, Logano has won the Night Race on more than one occasion himself. In fact, he went back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. To get a driver with that level of success before at his price? Yeah, that’s an opportunity we’re not passing up.
Plus, Logano is coming off a solid result at the Richmond short track. He finished fifth there and has another similar track ahead in Bristol. He’s almost a guarantee to finish top-10 at Bristol — as he’s done six of the past seven times — but we also like him as a low-risk, high-reward flyer to win.
How To Bet NASCAR Playoffs
If you want betting action on the NASCAR postseason — whether it’s this race or one of the other seven remaining — you’ll want to check out one of the betting sites listed below. Every single race, every single bet type (race winner, prop, parlays, etc.) are available for wagering at these bookmakers. Better yet, these lines are offered at very bettor-friendly prices, too!
Getting any and every NASCAR bet is only the tip of the iceberg when using one of these bookmakers. In fact, there’s a way to make money that doesn’t even involve winning NASCAR wagers. It’s called a sign-up bonus and with it, you could make hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play before the Bristol flag even goes down.
The free bonus money can be earned within minutes, too. All that’s required out of the bettor is three simple things. One, is to be a first-time bettor of the site (players with existing accounts aren’t eligible for the bonus). Two, create an account with the bookmaker. Three, fund this newly-created account with your own money. That deposit is what’s matched back by the bookmaker with free play.
The table below has extensive details about which sign-up bonuses are currently available for the taking. There you can compare and contrast each deal based on max bonus and match percentage. Once you know what offer is best for you, just hit the “play now” button next to it to begin the bonus process. That’s seriously all it takes to earn free money to bet with!
