NASCAR DFS Fantasy Picks 2025 Bristol Motor Speedway: Top Drivers, Sleepers and Strategy

Modified Apr 09, 2025 18:33 GMT

After 400 miles around The Track Too Tough to Tame in Darlington, South Carolina, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the short track scene on Sunday. The Bristol Motor Speedway is set to host the Food City 500 for the ninth race of the 2025 campaign.

When fans check on their favorite sportsbooks for their DFS (daily fantasy sports), be it DraftKings, FanDuel or another site, they shouldn't be surprised who's the favorite to win on Sunday. As of Wednesday afternoon EST, Denny Hamlin is listed as the favorite at +400 odds.

Not only has the driver of the #11 won the last two NASCAR Cup races, he has also won two of the last three Cup events at Bristol. With so much in his favor this weekend, Hamlin is no doubt one who fans should have on their bet slips as he aims for three straight Cup victories in 2025.

Kyle Larson is listed with the second-best odds, at +450, to win. The driver of the #5 put on a clinic in the last NASCAR Cup race at Bristol by leading 462 of 500 laps en route to victory. With a pair of victories at the 0.5-mile Tennessee track, the 2021 Cup champion aims to get back on track after a dismal race last Sunday at Darlington.

Another driver to watch out for this weekend is Chase Elliott, who enters with the fifth-best odds at +850 to win. The driver of the #9 placed runner-up in the last Bristol Cup race and has finished no worse than eighth in his last four starts at the track.

In 2025, Elliott has a superb short track record, as he won the season-opening exhibition race at Bowman Gray Stadium and finished fourth two weeks ago at Martinsville. Whether it's for the win or a top 10, it's a solid strategy to have Elliott on your bet slip.

At +2000 to win, Ty Gibbs could be the sleeper this weekend. The driver of the #54 won both stages, led 107 laps and finished ninth in last year's Food City 500. Gibbs is also riding the momentum of his first top-10 finish of the season last Sunday at Darlington.

With the high of a ninth-place run last Sunday and a track he has perfomed well at, Gibbs might be the sleeper fans want on their bet slip this Sunday.

When does the NASCAR Cup race at Bristol start?

The NASCAR Cup Series circuit returns to action on Sunday at the Bristol Motor Speedway. The green flag for the Food City 500 drops at 3 p.m. EST on Sunday at Bristol, Tennessee.

The race can be watched on FS1 or listened to on the Performance Racing Network. Stages are set to be 125 laps, 125 laps and 250 laps to make up the 500-lap event.

Denny Hamlin aims to win his third straight Cup race. Meanwhile, three-time and defending Cup champion Joey Logano seeks his first win of 2025. Kyle Larson enters as the defending winner at the 0.5-mile track.

About the author

John Breeden is a NASCAR content writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of sports journalism experience. His career began back in 2021, when he started writing for The Breeze - a student-run publication at James Madison University that covered a wide variety of collegiate sports. He graduated from JMU in May 2022 with a degree in media arts and design concentrating in journalism. He currently writes for his local publication, the Daily News-Record, in Harrisonburg, VA, where he covers a variety of sports at the high school and collegiate level.

John has been a lifelong NASCAR fan and has followed the sport closely since 2005. He stays informed on motorsports developments through social media, NASCAR.com, and NASCAR podcasts, which help him craft unique and engaging stories. Interviewing Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway was a career highlight for John, where he wrote about William Byron taking the famed No. 24 car back to the Championship 4.

Beyond motorsports, John enjoys writing about other sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. He believes that NASCAR could reach the global popularity of Formula 1 by expanding its audience with more international races and enhancing its mainstream appeal, just like F1 has done.

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Edited by Bhargav