NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Bristol elimination race

If the Truck Series and Xfinity Series Bristol races are any indication, this evening's Bass Pro Shops Night Race ought to be a memorable one as well as a heartbreaker for the four drivers who will be eliminated from the Playoffs.

This Week's Pick Strategy: Bristol racing isn't for the faint of heart and it can put a definite crimp in your fantasy roster. I'm going to stick with Bristol elite drivers who are also Playoff drivers.

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):
By Race
Kevin Harvick - 4

All with 3 - Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney

By Track
Kevin Harvick - 7 

All with 6 - Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, and Kyle Busch
All with 5 - Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson
All with 4 - Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, and Ryan Blaney

Last Year's Race Winner: Kevin Harvick

My No-Brainer Pick: Kyle Busch

My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, and Ryan Preece.

Points to Ponder:

• Six of the 42 NASCAR Cup Series Bristol winners are racing tonight: Kyle Busch with eight wins, Kurt Busch with six, Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick with three wins each, and Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano with two each.
• The race winner has started from the pole or first starting position 27 times (22.6%) - the most productive starting position in the field. 
• More than half of the NASCAR Cup Series winners at Bristol Motor Speedway have started in the top five.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Bristol with five. 
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in Top 5s at Bristol Motor Speedway with 14. Kyle also leads all active drivers in laps led at Bristol with 2,593 in 31 starts.
• Kurt Busch leads NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Top 10s at Bristol with 21.
• Chase Elliott leads the series among active drivers in average finishing position at Bristol with a 12.1 in 10 starts.
  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 7:30 p.m. ET this evening Sept. 18th. Enjoy the race!

Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 15 years. She launched NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat, or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.