With just three events on the schedule before the start of this season’s playoff to the 2018 racing title, NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup Series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway this week for the running of this year’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. Saturday night’s prime-time run on NBC Sports Network is slated to get underway at 7:30 p.m. (ET).
Kevin Harvick moved back into the lead for total point-race victories this season with last Sunday’s win at Michigan. Brad Keselowski took second in that race, and Kyle Busch finished third. I had Clint Bowyer at +1500 betting odds as my top-valued pick, but could only climb to 12th after starting that race from the No. 16 position.
The following is a look at a trio of the top favorites to win Saturday’s Night Race at Bristol along with my top-valued pick to win at longer odds as provided by 5Dimes.
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Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race Favorites
Kyle Busch +300
It is Busch’s turn to top the list as the favorite for this week’s race. With last Sunday’s third-place finish at Michigan, he has guided his No. 18 Toyota to 17 runs inside the top five, including six trips to Victory Lane. He continues to hold the top spot in the current Cup Series standings with a total of 986 points. With 22 laps in the lead of last week’s race, Busch’s total laps led this season now stands at 1,089 through 23 races. The main reason why he is the favorite to this race is back-to-back victories at Bristol in the last two Cup Series events at this track. Over the course of his career, he has posted seven wins at this racing venue.
Kyle Larson +375
Larson is still looking for his first Cup Series win this season after making his way to the Winner’s Circle four times in 2017. His No. 42 Chevrolet is holding down 10th place in the current standings with 681 points, but he knows that a victory on Saturday night would seal a spot in the upcoming 16-driver playoff. Larson has come close a few times this season with six trips around the track inside the top five. He was runner-up in three races this season including the first race at Bristol behind the No. 18 Toyota. He led 200 laps in that race as his top run at this track over his five seasons of Cup Series racing.
Kevin Harvick +500
With Sunday’s win at Michigan, Harvick has now exceeded his point-race victory total for the past two season’s combined. His previous best was five checkered flags in 2014, which also happened to be the year he won his first Cup Series racing title. The win also raised his total runs inside the top five to 17 out of the first 23 point races on the slate. The No. 4 Ford racing team is first in wins and second in total points with 934. The first trip to Bristol this season was one of those rare finishes outside the top five, but Harvick was still in contention at the end with a seventh-place run. He has won twice at this track with the last victory coming in this event in 2016.
