The 2025 NASCAR Cup season has reached the playoff stage. This weekend’s race, the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, marks the third and final race of the Round of 16. With that in mind, the drivers below the cutoff line for the Round of 12 in the playoff points race: Austin Dillon, Shane van Gisbergen, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry, will look to pick up as many points as possible. Meanwhile, those just above the cutoff line: Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott will try to hold on to their spots to make the next round of the 2025 NASCAR Cup playoffs.
Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe are locked in for the Round of 12 with wins in the first two races in the Round of 16. Unsurprisingly, Hamlin and Briscoe are among the betting favorites to win the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Hamlin has won this race three times (2012, 2019, 2023), while Briscoe has yet to pick up a victory in this race. Kyle Larson, who is No. 3 in the playoff points race, won the Bass Pro Shops Night Race in 2024. He also has a 2021 victory.
We’ll take a look ahead to this week’s race and provide you with our best free NASCAR betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash, while you enjoy the action on the track.
Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion, is seeking his third victory in the night race at Bristol, having previously won in 2021 and 2024. In addition, Larson won the spring race in Bristol earlier this year. In his 2024 victory, Larson led 462 of 500 laps, while in his 2025 win, he also dominated with 411 of the 500 laps in the lead.
Larson, the driver of the No. 5 Chevy for Hendrick Motorsports, also has wins in Miami and Kansas this year. He has led more laps than any other driver with 939 on the season. Larson is third in playoff points heading into Bristol.
With how well he has performed in Bristol, it’s easy to see why Larson is the betting favorite heading into this week’s race.
Denny Hamlin has been racing in the NASCAR Cup Series since late 2005. Over that time, the 44-year-old has never claimed a NASCAR Cup championship, finishing second in 2010. Between 2019 and 2023, Hamlin finished no worse than fifth, but no higher than third. Last season, Hamlin wrapped up the year in eighth place. He heads into Bristol at the top of the playoff points standings.
Hamlin has performed well in Bristol over the past two years. During that time, he has two wins, a runner-up, and a fourth-place finish. Hamlin, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, heads into this race with a lot of momentum, having picked up a win in last week’s Enjoy Illinois 300.
Hamlin has hinted that retirement may not be far away for him, so look for him to do what he can to win a NASCAR Cup championship before he walks away from the sport.
Christopher Bell had his best year as a NASCAR driver in 2022 when he finished the season in third place. Since then, Bell slipped to fourth in 2023 and fifth in 2024. He heads into Bristol in eighth place in the playoff race.
Bell has run well in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race over the past few years, placing fourth in 2022, third in 2023, and fifth in 2024. He is coming off a seventh-place finish in last week’s race.
Bell, the driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing performed well early in the 2025 NASCAR season with three straight wins in Atlanta, Austin, and Phoenix, but he has struggled since then, finishing outside the top five 18 times.
With how dominant Kyle Larson has been in Bristol it almost feels like a disservice to bet against him to win this week’s NASCAR Cup Playoff Race.
The betting pick is for Kyle Larson to win the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Night Race in Bristol.
Once you are all up to speed on the latest NASCAR Cup Series news and information, make sure to check out the fantastic array of resources for you over at SBS. Of course, for even more analysis on the topic covered here, you should bookmark our NASCAR betting sites rundown. On this page you can find a variety of awesome information as it relates to the sport including the latest betting markets and beyond. Additionally, for those on the go, another fantastic page to familiarize yourself with is the best betting apps breakdown, which goes over all of the nuances of mobile betting sites and beyond. Finally, for those interested in maximizing their wagers, look no further than the best bonus betting sites guide, which contains a catalog of the latest and greatest welcome bonus offers.
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Trent's your man when it comes to all things sports. He covers a wide range of sports for Sports Betting Sites, and has been published in some pretty reputable outlets, such as USA Today Sports, Vice, Bloody Elbow, Fight! Magazine, UFC 360, and Narratively. Trent's got the inside track on all the happenings in the world of sports.
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