Martinsville STP 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Kurt Busch – My fantasy prediction is Kurt Busch will finish mid pack in the Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500. This is likely his least favorite track. It’s a venue that he’s just not able to get the handle on. I don’t expect his change of employer to make a big difference either. At Martinsville he hasn’t cracked the top ten in the last 16 races! That’s pretty startling when you consider he’s a former winner. That win in 2002 is also the most recent Martinsville race a Ford went to victory lane. The likely scenario for him in the Martinsville STP Gas Booster 500 is a mid to high teens finish. In the last 10 races he has 7 results between 14th and 18th. Last fall at Martinsville he performed slightly better than his 18th place finish. He had a 16th place average running position and on lap 203 he was running in 12th when he spun while trying to pass McMurray. In spring 2013 Kurt Busch had a race he would like for forget. He had multiple problems throughout the race. On lap #238 he had a tire go down and as a result he went two laps down. With about 150 laps to go he went behind the wall to fix some sort of issue and then with 14 laps to go his day ended in a blaze of glory, literally. In fall 2012 in the #78 car Kurt Busch had one of his better recent races here. He earned the 9th best driver rating and finished 15th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Tony Stewart – It should be interesting watching Tony Stewart at Martinsville. This track is physically demanding and makes for a long afternoon. Last fall at Martinsville Stewart missed the race due to injury. In his place Mark Martin stumbled around the track to a 36th place result. There was nothing special about Stewart’s Martinsville performance last spring. He finished 17th, had a 16th place average running position and earned the 15th best driver rating. At Martinsville Tony Stewart is a two-time winner but his risk level has been high recently. In five of his last seven races he’s had a result of 17th or worse. Stewart now has back to back top fives this season but I wouldn’t roll the dice with him this weekend, especially if your in an allocation league. (Yahoo B Driver)

Recommended Reading: Martinsville Top Tier Elite, Martinsville Front Runner Rankings, Martinsville Scouting Report (Fall 2013), Martinsville Scouting Report (Spring 2013), Who will win at Martinsville

Greg Biffle – From a career standpoint Martinsville belongs in the conversation of which track is Greg Biffle’s worst. He has zero top fives and has only finished in the top ten 23% percent of the time. Also at Martinsville he’s finished outside the top twenty 41% percent of the time. Recently at Martinsville he’s performed well. Over the last five races his 11.2 average finish ranks as the 5th best in the series. Over that stretch of races he also has a 15.8 average running position. In 2013 he had his best season at Martinsville hands down. In the fall he rallied to a 9th place finish despite some adversity. With 125 laps to go his rear bumper was flapping in the wind. He blamed Johnson for that and made contact with the 48. NASCAR forced him to fix it during his next pit stop and he went from 7th to 27th. In spring 2013 he also had a 9th place result. In that race though I wouldn’t say he was as good as his finish. He started in 22nd, had a 16th place average running position and only ran in the top fifteen in 38.4% percent of the laps completed. It’s also important to note that in one point during a long green flag run he went down a lap. (Yahoo B Driver)

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