Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions: Martinsville – STP Gas Booster 500
Martinsville isn’t a throw away weekend for fantasy racers. This is a high attrition track but with the ifantasyrace advantage you can get the edge on your competition. The series has seen plenty of track time this weekend and we have you covered despite the fact it’s largely untelevised. To find out what happened on the track make sure you read our practice notes (Practice #1 Notes, Practice #2 Notes and Happy Hour Notes). Also make sure you check out the practice speeds to find out who’s fast (Practice #1 Speeds, Practice #2 Speeds and Happy Hour Speeds). If you’re looking for 10 lap averages make sure you check out our Martinsville 10 Lap Average Big Board fantasy NASCAR Tool.
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Final Top 15 Ranking For The Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500:Portions of this content are hidden. To view this ifantasyrace advantage content log in or join the site
11. Carl Edwards – Starts 9th – Yahoo! B Group
With all the hoopla going on in the Sprint Cup Series as of late, it’s easy to overlook the fact that Carl Edwards has three top 5s in the last four races, including his win at Phoenix. I don’t think he’ll finish that high in the STP Gas Booster 500 on Sunday (he only has one career top 5 here in seventeen starts) but a top 10 isn’t out of the question for Edward and this #99 team (they don’t call him Concrete Carl for nothing). Over his career at The Paperclip, Edwards has averaged a finish of right around 16th with a best effort of 3rd, which came back in 2008. He ended up 11th in this event one year ago and that was after a 9th-place finish in the fall 2011 race—although to be fair, that was during the Chase and nothing could stop Carl from good finishes at that time that year. Still, don’t be surprised to see the #99 have a solid run all day on Sunday and come out of Martinsville with another solid finish.
12. Joey Logano – Starts 4th – Yahoo! B Group
Assuming there’s no payback going on Sunday (just don’t block Stewart, JoLo), Logano should get a decent finish in the STP Gas Booster 500. There’s still a lot of risk there and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend picking him, but I wouldn’t blame you if you do because the #22 looks pretty good this weekend and Penske is decently good at this track. In eight career starts here, Joey has averaged a finish of 15.3 with a best finish of 2nd. I wouldn’t expect another great run like this team had in Fontana, but a top 15 isn’t out of the question. Logano has finished 16th or better in five of his last seven Martinsville races and hasn’t ended up worse than 23rd in that span of races.
13. Kevin Harvick – Starts 21st – Yahoo! A Group
The #29 team had a rough year at Martinsville Speedway last year, but in fantasy racing sometimes you have to overlook a couple races and focus on the big picture. I remember the spring event quite vividly last year, as Harvick was my sure-fire pick to win. He led 21 laps and faded early, ending up a disappointing 19th. Yes, I still hold a little bit of a grudge. In the fall race, Harvick finished 32nd, but he did have engine issues. As I said before, though, the big picture is what is important. Going into the 2012 season, Kevin had three straight top 5s at this track including a win in 2011. Additionally, in eight of last eleven Martinsville races, Harvick has finished 11th or better. And he should have a good shot at making is nine of the last twelve on Sunday in the STP Gas Booster 500.
14. Kurt Busch – Starts 19th – Yahoo! B Group
I’ve been hard on the elder Busch brother over the last couple years, but this #78 team has two top 5s in a row, and I’ve taken notice. Last fall, Kurt was in this car in the fall Martinsville race and finished a solid 15th after qualifying 19th. Additionally, Kurt has ended up 16th or better in four of his last five starts at this track. That isn’t very impressive for most drivers, but Kurt Busch isn’t very good here and that’s worth noting. The momentum from the recent top 5s could very well give a boost to this team on Sunday. Will they get another top 5 in the STP Gas Booster 500? I don’t think so, but then again I didn’t predict the two at Bristol or Fontana, either. Regan Smith ended up 16th in this event last season while driving the #78 car.
15. Aric Almirola – Starts 34th – Yahoo! B Group
I really like Almirola in the #43 as a nice sleeper option this weekend in Martinsville. First off, he has finished 16th or better in all but one race in 2013 thus far, and in his last two starts at The Paperclip (last season) he pulled off finishes of 8th and 4th. In fact, since joining Richard Petty Motorsports, Almirola hasn’t finished worse than 21st at this track, which makes his 27.0 average finish come to question. It’s worth noting that in most of his starts here with DEI and Phoenix Racing from 2007 to 2010, Aric ran into some sort of problem in most races, mostly mechanical. He still qualified 3rd in his second career starts at this track, which is a little impressive (to me anyway). I’m not sure Almirola can continue his little run of top 10s at Martinsville on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean a top 15 is out of the question at all.
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