NASCAR insider predicts winner, top-5 at Bristol, four drivers that will be eliminated from Playoffs tonight

Four drivers will be eliminated from the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Saturday night, as the Round of 16 will come to a close with the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Ahead of the all-important race, the predictions are rolling in for Bristol. FOX’s Bob Pockrass has locked his picks in, including the four drivers he believes will miss the cut-line after the dust settles on the Round of 16, and the Cup Series moves to 12 wheelmen remaining.

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“My pick for the Cup race tonight at Bristol: Alex Bowman,” Pockrass noted, choosing the No. 48 wheelman to get the win on Saturday evening. “Top-5: [Alex] Bowman, [Kyle] Larson, [Ryan] Blaney, [William] Byron, [Ty] Gibbs. Longshot: [Austin] Cindric. Drivers eliminated from playoffs: [Chase] Briscoe, [Brad] Keselowski, [Harrison] Burton, [Martin] Truex.”

While Alex Bowman might’ve seemed like a surprising pick to win before Friday’s qualifying event, where the No. 48 landed on the pole for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bowman has been extremely solid at Bristol since joining Hendrick Motorsports. Earlier this season, the sometimes forgotten Hendrick wheelman finished P4 at the track.

Elsewhere, Pockrass also believes two of Bowman’s Hendrick teammates will finish in the top five, in Kyle Larson and William Byron. This will be Larson’s 17th time trying to tame the track, and he’s always fared well in Tennessee. However, the former NASCAR Cup Series champion only has one win at Bristol.

On the other hand, Byron had a miserable start at Bristol earlier this season, as he finished P35 in Tennessee, but he’s performed well before that. He actually came in third twice over the his last four attempts to tame the track.

There will only be one winner at Bristol on Saturday, but there will be at least four losers, as the championship dreams for multiple drivers will come to an end when the checkered flag waves, with NASCAR moving from the Round of 16 to the Round of 12. Pockrass predicted Chase Briscoe, Brad Keselowski, Harrison Burton and Martin Truex Jr. will be the one disappointed in Tennessee.

Evidently, that means Pockrass believes a solid night is in store for Denny Hamlin, who currently sits six points below the cut-line for the Round of 12. He’s won the last two races at the track, and he has four wins at Bristol in total. He’s truly the driver to beat in Tennessee this weekend, and while Pockrass doesn’t think he’ll win, advancing is good enough for the No. 11 team.

Time will tell if Bob Pockrass is right when the checkered flag waves, but it should be a heck of a ride to get to the end of the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. The race is slated to begin at 7:00 p.m. ET, and you can catch it on the USA Network.