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Alex Bowman
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Look for Alex Bowman to have a strong showing at Bristol if he can avoid trouble. Bowman was one of the best this spring, he swept the top ten last year and I think there’s every reason to expect another strong showing from him if he can avoid trouble. Since 2023 minus this spring, Bowman has an 8.7 average finish, a 10.6 average running position and the 6th best Driver Rating. In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings over all the combined races, Bowman ranks 7th.
Bristol Track History – Alex Bowman has been solid at Bristol in recent races. This spring, Bowman was top five good, and you can easily disregard his 37th. In the race, Bowman won the pole, led the opening 39 laps, finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2 but then in the last Stage on lap 294 while running in 3rd, he radioed his team, “Blowing Up” and it all went south from there. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Bowman ranked 12th but take note his speed over the segments he competed were 4th, 2nd and then 38th. Last summer, Bowman started on the pole, had a 6.2 average running position, led 34 laps, earned the 7th best Driver Rating and then finished 9th. In terms of speeds stats, Bowman ranked 6th for Total Speed Rankings and then 7th for Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Bowman managed his tires like an ace and had a great race. In the race, Bowman started 29th, had a 14.5 average running position and then finished 4th overall. In terms of speed stats, Bowman ranked 7th for Speed Late In A Run and then 11th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2023, Bowman finished 13th, had an 11.2 average running position and ranked 13th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Bowman was fast but crashed (32nd). In the race, Bowman finished 6th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 but was then collected in the lap 277 “Big One” which marked the end of his race. I’ll note, Bowman lost power steering in Stage #2 and in a post-DNF interview he said his car was fast and capable of running in the top five. In 2021, Bowman finished 5th.

Joey Logano
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Joey Logano is a 2-time Bristol winner who’s flirted with victory lane on numerous occasions, but Bristol hasn’t been kind to him recently. In the Next Gen, Logano’s 5 for 5 at finishing 22nd or worse, has a 27th place average finish and his Next Gen Speed Ranking ranks 23rd. His track record has been quite bad in the Next Gen, but he looked solid last summer before having problems, so there’s some hope. To find Logano’s most recent Bristol top 10, you actually have to go way back to spring 2019! On Saturday night, I’m going to view Logano as a super risky top ten contender.
Bristol Track History – Joey Logano has been elite at Bristol, but his track record has been pretty bad recently. In the Next Gen, Logano has a 27th place average finish and ranks 23rd in terms of Total Speed Rankings. This spring, Logano was just a complete non-factor and finished 24th. In the race, Logano started in the back, finished around the mid 20’s in Stage #1, finished in the high 20’s in Stage #2, had a 27.6 average running position, ranked 25th in terms of Total Speed Rankings and then of course finished 24th. Last summer, Logano looked to be a top ten contender, but his evening was cut short, and he finished an asterisk mark 28th. In the race, Logano started 20th, finished about 14th in Stage #1, was up to 12th on lap 243 but then that lap he spun and hit the wall which wounded the #22. Over the first two segments which were incident free, Logano ranked 14th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last spring, the tire situation threw the #22 team for a loop, and Logano struggled en route to a 22nd. In 2023, Logano struggled and crashed. When the checkered flag waved, Logano finished 34th and ranked 30th in terms of speed. On lap 262, Corey LaJoie spun and then Logano who was way back in 27th crashed, which marked the end of his race and booted him from the Playoffs. In 2022, Logano had multiple problems, but “Performance Wise” he was a top five contender. On lap 398 while running in 6th, Logano had a flat tire and made an unexpected pit stop. Later, Logano had more problems, but you could stick a fork in him after that. With so many problems, basically all of Logano’s stats are skewed and he went on to finish 63 laps down in 27th. In the two races prior to that, Logano had back-to-back 11th’s, but he looked like a top five contender in both races prior to having problems.

Carson Hocevar
Bristol Fantasy Outlook – Carson Hocevar should be on your radar at Bristol. This spring, Hocevar finished 11th but take note, he was a legit top five performer and that result underrates him since his race wasn’t incident free. At Bristol, Hocevar’s 2 for 4 at finishing in exactly 11th and his Next Gen Speed Ranking ranks 15th. I’ll note, I’m a little nervous someone might be looking to exact late season revenge on him, but he’ll clearly have upside this weekend for the risktakers.
Bristol Track History – At Bristol over his four starts, Carson Hocevar has a pair of 11th’s, a 16.8 average finish and his Next Gen Speed ranking ranks 15th. This spring, the #77 was a rocket and Hocevar was one of the best. In the race, Hocevar started 9th, finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, had a 6.8 average running position, earned the 4th best Driver Rating, was running in 3rd on lap 393 but then that lap during his final green flag pit stop, the #77 team had major trouble servicing his car which dropped him off the lead lap. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hocevar ranked 3rd. Last summer, Hocevar started 7th, had a 15.7 average running position and then finished 18th overall. In terms of speed stats, Hocevar ranked 13th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 17th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Hocevar had a tough race and finished 27th. That said, Hocevar was involved in the first caution so I wouldn’t read too much into that afternoon. In 2023 in the #42 in a pre-rookie start, Hocevar ran a great race. In the race, Hocevar started 16th, finished 5th in Stage #2, had a 12.6 average running position, earned the 11th best Driver Rating and then finished 11th overall. In terms of speed stats, Hocevar ranked 8th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking.

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