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

Jimmie Johnson – You can’t go wrong if you pick Jimmie Johnson to win the Martinsville Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. The only downside about picking him is that everyone else will be picking him as well. He’s a living legend at Martinsville and one day there will be a grand stand named after him. Jimmie Johnson has a lot of good tracks on the schedule but this is perhaps his best. In 23 races he has 8 wins, 16 top fives and 20 top tens. Also at this venue he’s won four poles, led 2,328 laps and has an impressive 5.3 average finish. This spring at Martinsville Jimmie Johnson had the field covered. He started on the pole, had a 1st place average running position, finished 1st, led 346 laps and earned a near perfect 148.4 driver rating. His win this spring pushed him in front of Jeff Gordon for having the most wins among active drivers. Last fall Jimmie Johnson once again emerged victorious. In that race he started on the pole, led 193 laps and earned the best driver rating. His most recent non-top ten finish was last spring when he finished 12th. Let’s not forget where he was running at the time of the next to last restart (was in 2nd). His primary strength at Martinsville is how good he rolls through the center of the corner. One attribute that makes Johnson a super attractive fantasy option is the safety picking him affords. He’s only finished worse than 12th once and that was back in 2002 in his first start. My prediction is that Jimmie Johnson will win the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon shouldn’t be overlooked at Martinsville. He hasn’t won here since 2005 but lets not forget he’s a seven time winner. If Clint Bowyer didn’t dive bomb him in spring 2012 he would likely have 8 wins and be tied with Johnson. Jeff Gordon is also an excellent out of sync pick this week since many will likely be picking Jimmie Johnson by default. One notable strength about Jeff Gordon here recently is that his car has excelled on long runs. At the end of long runs he’s had perhaps the best car in the series. This spring he was reeling in Jimmie Johnson late in the race and likely would’ve caught him but a caution came out that changed the complexion of the race. The caution made it a short run race and that played to other drivers strengths. In the race this spring Jeff Gordon started in 6th, had a 6th place average running position, finished 3rd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. One notable aspect about his performance this spring is that he failed to lead a lap. That snapped a thirteen race streak where he led at least 36 laps per race. Last fall Jeff Gordon was very impressive at Martinsville. He started back in 11th and drove up to second in only 30 laps. In the race he led 92 laps and had a 5th place average running position. If there wasn’t a late caution then once again it would’ve come down to him versus Jimmie Johnson. When the checkered flag waved he finished 7th and earned the third best driver rating. In spring 2012 Jeff Gordon had the best car in the field. If it wasn’t for David Reutimann stopping on the track and Clint Bowyer dive bombing him he would have another grand father clock. In the race last spring he led 328 laps, had a second place average running position, earned the best driver rating but finished 14th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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