Martinsville Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Martin Truex Jr. – During his tenure with MWR Martin Truex Jr. had some good performances at Martinsville but he should be considered a high risk fantasy prospect. His average finish is 22.2 and in less than a quarter of his starts (24%) he’s finished in the top fifteen. Currently he has a four race streak of finishing outside that mark. This spring he didn’t have a great race. In the event he started 31st, had a 24th place average running position and finished 21st. Also in the race he earned the 25th best driver rating and only ran in the top fifteen in 3.6% percent of the laps completed. In the race his afternoon wasn’t incident free. He was spun by Brad Keselowski with 90 laps to go while he was running in 17th. Last fall he finished 16th despite getting his car damaged during the “Big One”. Also in the race last fall he had a 16th place average running position and earned the 14th best driver rating. In spring 2013 Martin Truex Jr. had a good car but his day wasn’t problem free. On lap #181 he was involved in a huge multi-car accident and the damage his car sustained was near fatal. After spending time behind the wall he returned to the track only to slip in the fluid his car was dropping. Before he had problems I would estimate his average running position was around 9th. In fall 2012 Truex Jr. appeared to have a good car. He ran in the top ten for about the first 150 laps but got off sequence on pit stops and found himself back in traffic. Then later in the race he got a pass through penalty for jumping lanes too early on a restart which ended his chance of having a good finish. As a result he finished 23rd. In his next two most recent races here he had results of 5th and 8th. This season on short tracks he has a 22.4 average finish and is tied for scoring the 27th most points. (Yahoo B Driver)

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AJ Allmendinger – AJ Allmendinger showed some muscle at Martinsville this spring. In the race he started in 15th, had a 13th place average running position, earned the 12th best driver rating, finished 11th and led 1 lap. His best portion in the race was between about lap 125 and lap 240. In that segment of the race he looked like a top five driver. Unfortunately he didn’t close out the race as strong and from lap 325 to the end he typically ran between 10th and 15th. Him being able to match his level of performance on Sunday will be a tough task because I think he was artificially competitive because the ride height rule really throw some teams for a curve ball. His next most recent race at Martinsville was in fall 2012 and in that event he finished 28th. In spring 2012 at Martinsville he earned his all-time best result on an oval and finished 2nd. In that race he wasn’t quite that good and was a beneficiary of Clint Bowyer’s “Hail Mary”. Realistically in the race he had about a 10th place car. In that particular event he had a 14th place average running position and earned the 12th best driver rating. Between spring 2012 and fall 2010 Allmendinger had a 9.8 average finish, 9th best driver rating and a 12.3 average running position. (Yahoo B Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Top Tier Elite Picks, Front Runner Rankings, Who will win at Martinsville, Martinsville Scouting Report

Tony Stewart – Tony Stewart hasn’t had a lot of success at Martinsville recently. In six of his last eight races he’s finished 17th or worse. This spring Tony Stewart ran well for the first 75 laps and looked like a top five threat but after that he was no longer competitive. From about lap 100 to the conclusion of the race he typically ran between the mid-teens and the mid-twenties. When the checkered flag waved he finished 17th, had a 17th place average running position and earned the 20th best driver rating. Last fall Stewart missed the race due to injury. In spring 2013 Tony Stewart also finished 17th. In that race he performed a little better than his result and over the last 25 laps he slid from about 10th to his eventual 17th place result. In October 2012 Tony Stewart finished 27th. In spring 2012 he finished 7th. In October 2011 when Tony Stewart had a magical season he raced his way to victory lane. He certainly doesn’t have magic now so that intangible is out of play. In the three races prior to winning he had results of 34th, 24th and 26th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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