Fantasy Sleepers and Value Picks – Bristol Motor Speedway (Food City 500)

Matt Kenseth has 4 wins, 13 Top-5's and 20 Top-10's.

Sleepers:

Matt Kenseth: There’s no denying that Matt Kenseth has had a rough start to 2017. He’s wrecked three times in seven races and his asking price has dropped considerably. But right now, is the perfect time to start Kenseth. He’s an absolute sleeping giant at Bristol. In 34 career starts at Bristol, Kenseth has four wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s and has led 1,572 laps – which is second-most among active drivers. Since 2005, Kenseth has a driver rating of 100.9 at Bristol and has run 77.7% of his laps in the top 15. He’s a must-start this week.

Jamie McMurray: Jamie McMurray remains a quality sleeper play as of late. In seven races this season, he has scored four top 10s and has led 13 laps this season. He sits 19th in fantasy points averaged over his last three races. In 10 of McMurray’s last 11 starts at Bristol, he has placed top-20 or better. He’s led 179 career laps at Bristol and owns an average finish of 16.5. Since 2015, McMurray has run 80.6% of his laps in the top 15 – which is good for third among active drivers.

Erik Jones: Erik Jones continues to reward the #FantasyNASCAR owners that are inserting him into their lineups. At Texas, Jones started 36th and finished 22nd – netting a +14 place differential. Jones has scored positive place differential in four of seven races, in cluding his last three. The Sunoco Rookie ranks 11th in fantasy points averaged over his last three races. His price remains equitable heading into Bristol. In four career NASCAR XFINITY Series races there, Jones has one win, three top fives, three top 10s and three poles.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey Kahne remains a consistent fantasy sleeper and is one worth high consideration at Bristol. In 26 career starts at Bristol, Kahne has one win, five top fives and 10 top 10s. He’s led 512 career laps there and owns an average finish of 18.2. Since 2015, Kahne has run 63.8% of his laps in the top 15 at Bristol and owns an average mid-race running position of 14.3. His price makes him worth a start here as Kahne has had a strong start to 2017. He’s placed 20th or better in six of the first seven races this season.

Value Plays:

Aric Almirola: It cannot be stressed enough how much of a steal Aric Almirola is right now in #FantasyNASCAR. Almirola has not had a race yet this season where he has had negative place differential. He’s currently averaging a finish of 16.7, with an average place differential of +7.3. He makes for an elite value play heading into Bristol, as he currently ranks 18th in fantasy points averaged over his last three races. Since 2015, Almirola has a +5.5 average place differential at Bristol, with an average finish of 19.5.

Ty Dillon: Since Ty Dillon finished 30th at Daytona, he has yet to finish outside the top-22 over his last six races. Dillon has scored positive place differential in four of his last five races and owns an average finish of 19.9 on the season. He remains a quality value play at this point as he consistently is navigating his way to the front from wherever he starts. He ranks 20th in fantas y points averaged over his last three races. Dillon has made one Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series start at Bristol and finished 25th after starting 34th (+9).

Chris Buescher: If you’ve had Chris Buescher in your #Fantas yNASCAR lineup the last two races, you’re reaping the benefits. If not, you may want to add him in this week at Bristol. In his last two races, Buescher has had positive place differential numbers of +17 (Texas) and + 22 (Martinsville). He currently sits 14th in fantasy points averaged over his last three races. In Buescher’s three career races at Bristol, he progressively has finished better each time. He finished 25th, 21st and fifth. In those three races, Buescher has averaged a place differential of +6.7.

Matt DiBenedetto: Matt DiBenedetto makes for a quality low salary value pick this week at Bristol. For his price, he should be considered across all leagues. In four career races at Bristol, DiBenedetto has finished top- 25 or better in three of them, including finishing sixth in this race a year ago. He holds an average place differential of +9.8 at Bristol and owns an average finish of 19.2. In his lone race at Bristol of finishing outside the top-25, DiBenedetto still salvaged the race and scored a +9.0 place differential. He is a steal at the value level this week.