2024 NASCAR Bristol odds, picks & long shot predictions for Bass Pro Shops Night Race

The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Bristol for a Saturday night race that will also serve as the first playoff elimination race of the 2024 postseason.

The field of 16 will be whittled down to 12 after Saturdays Bass Pro Shops Night Race, setting the stage for a mad dash to see who will make the Final Four.

And its only fitting that the Bristol half-mile short track, dubbed the Last Great Colosseum will be the place that it all goes down, under the lights.

A few drivers on the bubble are familiar names, including Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., who is retiring from full-time racing after this season.

So who will take the checkered flag and keep their Championship hopes alive? FrontPageBets takes a look at the drivers to watch in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday (7 p.m., USA Network).

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Hamlin, the driver of the No.

11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, won the seasons first race at Bristol back in March to give him four career wins at the half-mile track.

Thats still four behind Kyle Busch, who is the winningest active driver at the worlds fastest half mile.

Hamlin has won the last two Bristol races, dating back to last years playoffs.

Hamlin could be the first Cup driver to win three in a row at the half-mile track since Kurt Busch in 2003-2004.

Darrell Waltrip won seven consecutive Bristol races from 1981-1984.

And Hamlin will need to draw on all his success at the short track to make the playoffs.

Currently he sits in 13th place six points behind 12th-place Chase Briscoe and teammate Ty Gibbs.

A win would get Hamlin in for sure.

If not, hes going to need a lot of help after finishing 24th and 23rd in the first two postseason races.

For his career at Bristol, along with those four victories, Hamlin has 18 top-10 and 11 top-5 finishes in 34 career starts.

Larson, driver of the No.

5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, also needs a strong showing Saturday night to keep himself in the top 10 in points and advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Currently ninth in postseason standings, Larson has yet to score a top-10 finish in the first two playoff races (Atlanta and Watkins Glen).

But Bristol could be just what the doctor ordered.

Larson won at the half-miler back in the 2021 playoffs the year he won the Cup Championship which was also a night race.

He hasnt finished outside the top six in his last five races on the 0.533-mile concrete surface.

In 16 career starts, Larson has 11 top-10s, including six top-5s.

Elliott, the driver of the No.

9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, currently sits in seventh in the Cup playoff standings, 30 points behind leader Joey Logano, but safely inside the cutline for the next round.

And while hes never won at Bristol, Elliott has finished inside the top eight in his last three starts there, with a runner-up finish in the 2022 playoff race.

In 14 career starts at the half-mile track, Elliott has eight top-10s and four top-5s.

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Mike Szvetitz is the General Manager and Content Director for FrontPageBets.com .

Szvetitz is a 24-year veteran reporter and editor, including serving 17 years as a sports editor in Florida, Alabama and Virginia, covering everything from preps to pros.

His "View From The Lazy Boy" column won multiple state and national awards.

He can be reached at [email protected] .

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