Kyle Busch leads all active drivers with eight NASCAR Cup Series victories at Bristol Motor Speedway. The two-time series champion attempts to add to that total and punch his ticket to the next round of the playoffs when he takes part in the 2023 Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race on Saturday. Busch, who is the co-leader this season with 15 top-10 finishes, has won this race three times. He is seventh in the NASCAR standings entering the final Round-of-16 event, 24 points above the elimination line. Busch is +1000, while Kyle Larson is the +500 favorite in the latest 2023 Bass Pro Shops Bristol Night Race odds.
Denny Hamlin is +750 and Brad Keselowski is +800, while Christopher Bell and William Byron round out the top five 2023 NASCAR at Bristol contenders at +850. The NASCAR at Bristol Round-of-16 playoff race is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. ET. You'll want to check out the NASCAR at Bristol predictions from Micah Roberts, the legendary Vegas bookmaker who pioneered wagering on racing, before locking in any 2023 Bass Pro Shops Night Race picks of your own.
Roberts was the first to offer expanded NASCAR betting and now hands out NASCAR winners to his followers on SportsLine. Roberts is the nation's premier NASCAR betting expert, and his top pick, Hamlin, won the HighPoint.com 400 on July 23 at +500. He also predicted Truex's victory at +650 in the Crayon 301 the previous week and Ross Chastain's triumph at +1000 in the Ally 400 in June. In addition, Roberts correctly called Larson's win at +650 in the NASCAR All-Star Race in May and nailed the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix winner in March by hitting Reddick's victory at +1000.
The expert also correctly predicted Chase Elliott to win the YellaWood 500 at +1200 last October and the Jockey Made in America 250 in 2021, nailed the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 winner by hitting Larson's victory at +550 and was on point by targeting Elliott as the winner of the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at +160 the previous week. Anyone who has followed his picks has cashed ticket after ticket.
Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's NASCAR at Bristol 2023 race. He's only sharing his winner and leaderboard right here.
2023 Bass Pro Shops Night Race expert predictions
One shocker: Roberts is fading Ryan Blaney, even though he is one of the favorites at +1000. In fact, Roberts says Blaney, who was fourth in this race in 2021 and recorded two victories and seven top-10 finishes in nine starts at Bristol across the Xfinity and Truck Series, barely even cracks the top 15.
"In 13 Cup Series starts at Bristol, he's averaged a 19th place finish," Roberts told SportsLine. "But he was 30th last season in the first race at Bristol with the NextGen car." See who else to fade here.
Another curveball: Roberts is high on Erik Jones, even though he's a +6000 longshot in the latest Bass Pro Shops Night Race odds. The first driver in history to win Rookie of the Year honors in all three of NASCAR's top series, Jones recorded his first top-five finish of the season last weekend at Kansas. The 27-year-old native of Michigan was third in this race in 2020 and runner-up three years earlier while winning Xfinity Series events at Bristol in 2016 and 2017.
"His 13.3 average finish at the track is fourth-best among active drivers," Roberts told SportsLine. "He's a strong wild card this week, so search for the best price." See who else to back here.
How to make 2023 Bass Pro Shops Night Race picks
Roberts is high on a longshot whose car "has a supreme setup that works perfectly for getting out front." This driver is being underestimated by oddsmakers, but anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can only see who it is here.
So who wins the 2023 Bass Pro Shops Night Race, and which longshot stuns NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected 2023 NASCAR at Bristol leaderboard from the nation's premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.
2023 Bass Pro Shops Night Race odds, field, starting grid
See full NASCAR at Bristol picks, best bets at SportsLine
Kyle Larson +500
Denny Hamlin +750
Brad Keselowski +800
Christopher Bell +850
William Byron +850
Ryan Blaney +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Chris Buescher +1200
Kevin Harvick +1200
Martin Truex Jr. +1400
Ross Chastain +1500
Joey Logano +1600
Tyler Reddick +1600
Bubba Wallace +3000
Ty Gibbs +4000
Alex Bowman +4500
Aric Almirola +6000
Erik Jones +6000
Daniel Suarez +8000
Chase Briscoe +10000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +10000
Michael McDowell +12500
A.J. Allmendinger +15000
Ryan Preece +20000
Austin Dillon +22500
Justin Haley +30000
Carson Hocevar +30000
Austin Cindric +40000
Harrison Burton +50000
Cole Custer +100000
Corey LaJoie +100000
Todd Gilliland +200000
Ty Dillon +300000
J.J. Yeley +300000
BJ McLeod +500000