Martinsville STP 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick is a quality fantasy NASCAR option for the STP Gas Booster 500. If he had better luck recently I would have ranked him as Top Tier Elite. At Martinsville he’s a former winner who’s finished 13th or better in 75% percent of the races dating back through 2006. Last fall at Martinsville Kevin Harvick had a solid showing. He finished 6th and earned the 9th best driver rating. Prior to that race he had three straight results outside the top ten. In spring 2013 he started in 21st, had a 9th place average running position, earned the 9th best driver rating and finished 13th. That sums up his performance pretty well because nothing notable happened to him. In October 2012 at the start of the race Kevin Harvick struggled but after the first 150 laps he was pretty good. Between lap 150 and 400 he likely had an average running position of about tenth. Then in the last 100 laps engine problems surfaced which eventually led to his early exit. In spring 2012 he was a big disappointment. He started in 2nd, led 21 laps but struggled over long runs (finished 19th two laps down). In the three races prior to spring 2012 he had results of 4th, 1st and 3rd. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kasey Kahne – Hendrick equipment is only rivaled by Joe Gibbs Racing equipment at Martinsville. The combination of the chassis, brakes and horsepower of these organizations put them in a league of their own. Since Kahne has been a Hendrick driver he’s performed well in every race that he hasn’t had a problem. Last fall was one of those races that wasn’t incident free. On lap 182 while he was running in the teens he got collected in the “Big One”. The damage to his car wasn’t severe but he was stuck on the curb and lost a few laps. In spring 2013 his car was strong over long runs and worked good in traffic. The combination of those two attributes are what separate the contenders from the pretenders at Martinsville. Early in the race he gave up track position for an early pit stop to get out of sequence with the field and he was able to drive up through the pack in no time. In the race he started 5th, finished 4th and earned the 4th best driver rating. Also in the race he ran the third most fastest laps. In fall 2012 his performance was once again impressive. He led 12 laps, finished 3rd and earned the 4th best driver rating. In spring 2012 he started on the pole, ran in the top five for much of the race (Yahoo! Race Chart) but his day ended early in the garage with engine problems. If you want to get out of sync with the competition he’s a viable option but it’s important to note the risk. (Yahoo A Driver)

Recommended Reading: Martinsville Top Tier Elite, Martinsville Mid Pack Predictions, Martinsville Scouting Report (Fall 2013), Martinsville Scouting Report (Spring 2013), Who will win at Martinsville

Jamie McMurray – Fantasy sleeper alert! Martinsville ranks as arguably Jamie McMurray’s best track. At this venue he’s finished in the top ten 55% percent of the time. At no other track does he have a higher top ten finish percentage. If you pick him that’s essentially what you should expect. Don’t look for him to finish in the top five though. He’s only had a top five result once in his 22 races and that was a decade ago. Last season Jamie McMurray had a good year. In the 2013 combined races he was one of five drivers who swept the top ten and had a 8.5 average finish. Last fall he started in 7th, finished 10th, earned the 13th best driver rating and had a 14th place average running position. In spring 2013 he had one of his best performances of the year. He started in 13th, had an 8th place average running position, finished 7th and earned the 7th best driver rating. (Yahoo B Driver)

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