Martinsville Tums Fast Relief 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Mid Pack” Picks
Joey Logano – The 20 team has been using his teammates setups at Martinsville and it’s worked out pretty well for him. With the exception of his first race at Martinsville all of his finishes are in the top thirteen. In the last four Martinsville races his average finish is 8.3 and his driver rating ranks as the 12th best in the series. There’s some sleeper potential here and if he ran better recently I would’ve ranked him as a “Front Runner”. (Yahoo B Driver)
AJ Allmendinger – Allmendinger has the worst average finish of the drivers who I rank weekly (24th). Despite that I see some sleeper potential (not for the win but for a good finish). In four out of the last six Martinsville races Allmendinger has finished in the top fifteen. Earlier this year AJ finished 14th and led 6 laps. His poor average finish is skewed by the length of his tenure and four really bad finishes. (Yahoo B Driver)
Brian Vickers – Vickers has had a measured level of success in recent races but the risk level is just to high. Vickers has finished in the top eleven in three out of the last five Martinsville races. In the New Hampshire Chase race Vickers finished 5th so if your a believer that these two tracks are similar then that’s another plus. (Yahoo B Driver)
Kasey Kahne – It’s been nine races at Martinsville since Kahne last finished in the top ten. What I like about Kahne is his momentum. Throughout the Chase he’s been performing on par with some of the top Chasers. Kahne has two top tens here. (Yahoo B Driver)
Jeff Burton – Burton’s a good sleeper pick at Martinsville but don’t let his tough luck become your fantasy tough luck. Burton had a good run this spring but his hood popped up and blocked his wind shield (oops). Before that happened I would say the 31 team had a top fifteen day in the fold (Yahoo Race Chart). (Yahoo B Driver)
Matt Kenseth – Kenseth finished 6th earlier this year but I bet he won’t finish that good again. Kenseth is realistically about a 15th place driver at Martinsville. Roush Fenway cars have never really been that successful at Martinsville and more than enough times I’ve been burned by them overusing their breaks which leads to further problems. (Yahoo A Driver)
Carl Edwards – I wouldn’t feel comfortable having Carl Edwards on my team this week. He has four top tens at Martinsville and one top five finish to his name. I’m a firm believer that his 16.9 average finish is a reflection of what you should expect. Martinsville has historically been a tough track for Roush Fenway Fords. (Yahoo A Driver)
David Ragan – Ragan finished 8th earlier this year but like his teammates his success is extremely limited here. I think Ragan is about a 15th to 25th place driver at Martinsville. Seven of his eleven finishes fall within that range. (Yahoo C Driver)
Check out these other posts
- Martinsville Tums Fast Relief 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Top Tier Elite” Picks
- Martinsville Tums Fast Relief 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Front Runner” Picks
- Martinsville Tums Fast Relief 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Back Runner” Picks
