Martinsville Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Newman – In spring 2012 when Top Tier Elite Pick Clint Bowyer went for the “Hail Mary” Ryan Newman was in position to take advantage of the situation and went to victory lane. Prior to the carnage from Bowyer’s failed move Ryan Newman was running in 5th. Since winning he’s had a few tough races and currently has three consecutive results of 20th or worse. This spring Newman performed well for the majority of the race. From the start to lap 350 he typically ran between 8th and 13th. Then over the final 150 laps for whatever reason he didn’t perform as well. In the race Newman started in 16th, had a 13th place average running position and finished 20th. Last year at Martinsville he had a tough year. In the fall he could’ve potentially had a good afternoon but it was cut short. After the mid-point he used pit strategy and climbed into the top ten. On lap 318 he was running in the top five but spun and backed his car into the wall hard with a little help from Kevin Harvick. In spring 2013 it also looked like he would have a good performance. For much of the mid-section of the event he ran between 8th and 12th. The race wasn’t problem free for him though. With about 140 laps to go he had a flat tire and parked his car on the track. NASCAR wasn’t too happy about that and they parked him in his pit stall for 3 laps. In 25 races at Martinsville Newman has 3 poles, 7 top fives, 11 top tens and 19 top twenties. This season on short tracks Newman has scored the 7th most points and has a 13.2 average finish. One advantage Newman has on much of the field is that he recently tested at Martinsville. (Yahoo B Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Top Tier Elite Picks, Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Martinsville, Martinsville Scouting Report

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch has recently been one of the strongest drivers at Martinsville. In five of the last ten races at the “Paper Clip” he’s come home with a top five result. This spring Kyle Busch was up and down in the running order all race long. The strength of his car was being fast over short runs. Long runs were an area of weakness. In the event he started on the pole, finished 14th, had a 15th place average running position, earned the 18th best driver rating and led 22 laps. Outside of the first 60 laps about the closest he got to the front was about 10th. In only 52.8% percent of the laps completed did he run in the top fifteen. Last fall Busch had a good race but faded back to 15th at the end. On TV it was speculated he had a tire going down. In that race he started 3rd, led 12 laps, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 6th best driver rating. His car was so strong that at one point during a green flag run he passed Jimmie Johnson for the lead. In spring 2013 he earned the 2nd best driver rating, finished 5th, had a 4th place average running position and led 56 laps. In fall 2012 he had his best result. He finished 2nd and earned the 6th best driver rating. (Yahoo A Driver)

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