Martinsville Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson is a very good fantasy NASCAR pick for the Martinsville Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. At this historic half-mile track picking him is as close to money in the bank as you can get. He’s an 8 time champion and has a 5.2 average finish. Also at Martinsville he’s finished in the top five 72% percent of the time and in the top ten 88% percent of the time. Only three times in his career has he finished outside the top ten and two of them are asterisk mark 11th and 12th place finishes. If you’re a loop data fan you have to love picking him. In the 19 Martinsville races since loop data was first recorded (started in 2005) he has the best driver rating, best average finish (3.8), best average running position (5.6) and has led the most laps by a wide margin (2,576). This spring Johnson had a very solid showing and led 296 laps. In the race he started in 4th, finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position and earned the best driver rating. Late in the race his car wasn’t at its best and he was up against a super determined Kurt Busch. Last fall Johnson had a strong car. He started 2nd, earned the third best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position, finished 5th and led 123 laps. The strength of his car was being good thru the corners and having good drive off. In the race Johnson drove a little conservative because he had so much to lose. Also in the event he had some drivers rough him up a little (Biffle). In spring 2013 Johnson displayed outright dominance. He started 1st, finished 1st, had a 1st place average running position, led 346 laps and earned a near perfect 148.4 driver rating. In fall 2012 Johnson had a near parallel performance. In that event he also started 1st, finished 1st, led 193 laps and earned the best driver rating. In spring 2012 Johnson was going to finish either 1st or 2nd but he spun when Clint Bowyer made his “Hail Mary” at the end. In that event he finished 12th and led 112 laps. The only real downside about picking Jimmie Johnson is that everybody else will likely be picking him as well. The October Martinsville race has been an astounding event for Johnson. In the second Martinsville race of the year he has a 2.5 average result and has finished either 1st or 2nd in 8 of the last 12 races. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Martinsville, Martinsville Scouting Report

Jeff Gordon – If you’re not picking Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville Jeff Gordon is the next best alternative. In 43 races at Martinsville he has 9 poles, 8 wins, 27 top fives and 34 top tens. He’s also been a very safe pick and has finished in the top fifteen in 91% percent of his races. In this particular event Jeff Gordon is the defending champion. Last fall when he won his 8th race here he tied Jimmie Johnson for the most wins among active drivers. His win also marked the first time he’s been to victory lane here since 2005. His strength in the race was being good over long runs. Over the duration of a long green flag run nobody was better on the stop watch than him. In this race last year Gordon started 9th, had a 5th place average running position, led 78 laps and earned the 2nd best driver rating. At the end it came down to him versus Matt Kenseth but he had the edge because of his experience working with lapped traffic. He took the lead from the #20 car with 21 laps to go and never looked back. This spring he once again looked strong but finished 12th. That result deserves an asterisk mark because early in the race he used pit strategy which got him out of sequence with the field but that in turn also got his shuffled back in the pack. While he was back in traffic he “killed” his car when he ran into the back of slower car. In April 2013 at the end of the race Gordon was reeling in Johnson for the win but a late caution came out and it changed the complexion of the race. Gordon’s car was good over long runs and the late caution played to other drivers strengths who were good over short runs. In that race Gordon started 6th, had a 6th place average running position and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In October 2012 Gordon was impressive. He started in 11th and drove up to 2nd in the first 30 laps. In the event he led 92 laps and had a fifth place average running position. If it wasn’t for a late caution then it would’ve come down to him versus Jimmie Johnson at the end. When the checkered flag waved he finished 7th and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In April 2012 Gordon had the strongest car in the field. Evidence of that is his #1 position in the PROS Rankings. In that race he had the best car hands down over long runs and he reeled in Jimmie Johnson and passed him with a few laps remaining. Then David Reutimann brought out a late caution and Gordon was stuck out on the track with old tires. That’s what ultimately led to Clint Bowyer’s “Hail Mary” that took him out and as a result he finished 14th. In that race he earned the best driver rating, led 328 laps, and had a 2nd place average running position. This season on short tracks Gordon has scored the 2nd most points in the series. (Yahoo A Driver)

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