Martinsville Goody’s Fast Relief 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Front Runner” Rankings
Tony Stewart – Stewart won at Martinsville last fall but you really have to question just how good he really was. He won the grand father clock but I think it’s pretty clear the #14 team wasn’t the best team last fall (Yahoo! race chart). His next three most recent Martinsville finishes were 34th, 24th and 26th. Momentum matters in fantasy racing and Stewart clearly has it right now. My prediction for Stewart is that he’ll have a good day and finish outside the top five in the Goody’s Fast Relief 500.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.– Martinsville is the only short track that Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t won on, but currently I think it’s his best on the track type. Last spring Junior was close to snapping his long winless streak but in the closing laps Kevin Harvick passed him and went to victory lane. In the last eight Martinsville races Earnhardt Jr. has a 9.5 average finish (4th best) and a 101.4 driver rating (4th best). If you’re in an allocation league like Yahoo! then he’ll be a pretty good pick for a B driver.
Ryan Newman -Since 2005 Ryan Newman has the fifth best average finish in the series (12.9). His level of competitiveness isn’t “Top Tier Elite” but he’s a consistent “Front Runner”. In this fourteen race stretch he’s only finished 20th or worse three times. Last fall Newman finished 10th , led 41 laps and had a 12th place average running position.
Jamie McMurray – Last fall Jamie McMurray was an early victim of Brian Vickers. He didn’t go down without a fight though (video). In his next five most recent races he’s finished 11th or better four times. Whenever NASCAR visits Martinsville McMurray is always on my short list of sleeper picks. In eighteen races here McMurray has finished in the top ten in more than half of them. With his improved performances this year I think the odds are good that he’ll have a successful Goody’s Fast Relief 500 this Sunday.
Brad Keselowski – Keselowski has been a pretty impressive driver so far this year. In the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 I predict he’ll come home with a top ten finish. Last fall he came close to getting a good finish but Brian Vickers last caution put Brad Keselowski in position to get spun out on a late restart. His Yahoo! chart demonstrates just how well he performed. When fantasy racers evaluate Brad Keselowski this week they’ll most likely just see a 17th finish next to his name. If you’re into betting on NASCAR you might want to consider Brad Keselowski vs another driver in a match up.
Clint Bowyer – Bowyer is a great short track driver but I think the best case scenario for him this race is about a 10th place finish. Despite Truex’s 8th place finish last fall I think lots of teams have better cars at Martinsville then MWR. One stat of his that I think is pretty impressive is that he’s finished in the top eleven in five straight spring races at Martinsville.
Make sure you read the full spectrum of ifantasyrace.com Goody’s Fast Relief 500 fantasy NASCAR rankings
Top Tier Elite > Front Runners > Mid Pack Projections > Drivers To Avoid
