Martinsville 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions – Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

The Eliminator Round of the Chase kicks off this weekend with the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. Joey Logano, who swept the Contender Round, is on the pole for this week’s race at Martinsville, and the full starting lineup can be found here. There were two practices on Saturday–one in the very early morning (which probably wasn’t very beneficial for teams) and the second a little later. Those speeds can be found here: Practice #2 — Happy Hour. Don’t forget to check out our notes for each practice session as well: Practice #2 — Happy Hour.

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Final Top 15 Ranking For The Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500:

1. Joey Logano – Starts 1st – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 1st
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**

Joey Logano and the #22 team are going for their fourth Sprint Cup victory in a row and they got off to a good start here on Friday by winning the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500. When it comes to fantasy racing, two things I don’t like to go against at this point in the season are Chasers and drivers with momentum. Logano fits both criteria. Over the last month-and-a-half of racing (six races), Joey has an average finish of 3.7. He hasn’t finished worse than 10th since Pocono back in early August. We are all wondering when this team is going to make a mistake but they go out there week in and week out and perform flawlessly. It’s almost unbelievable. Looking at Martinsivlle specifically, Logano has had some rough patches of luck here throughout his young career, but he’s currently on a three-race streak of top 5s here at The Monster Mile, looking to make it four in a row on Sunday. I’d say there’s a pretty good shot at that happening. The #22 Ford didn’t look great in the first practice session on Saturday, but as I said before, those speeds were close to pointless in my eyes. In Happy Hour, Joey was 7th on the overall speed chart and ranked 2nd to Jimmie Johnson in ten-lap average. Logano should lead quite a few laps here on Sunday and be in contention for his first Sprint Cup win at Martinsville Speedway.

2. Kevin Harvick – Starts 12th – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 2nd
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

If I were Kevin Harvick, I’d be concerned about payback this week at Martinsville. Chances are that isn’t going to happen, but if I were some of the other races, I’d be pretty pissed off at Harvick’s antics at Talladega last week…and Martinsville is the perfect place for payback. With that being said, most drivers are scared to pay anyone back that quickly simply because NASCAR would be handing out some stiff penalties for actions like that (although doesn’t that fit into the whole “boys have at it”?). Anyway, it seems like it’s been a while since Kevin Harvick was considered the absolute favorite heading into a race, and that isn’t the case this weekend, either. Sure, the #4 Chevrolet is a solid top 5 car, but I think there are plenty of others with just as much speed as “Happy” this weekend. On Friday, Harvick made it to the final round of qualifying but didn’t do anything with it and will start Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 in 12th. He struggled a bit in the first practice on Saturday–although his crew chief, Rodney Childers, tweeted that it probably wasn’t even worth practicing that morning–but Harvick was 2nd-fastest to Jimmie Johnson in Happy Hour and had the 5th-best ten-lap average during that final session. Surprisingly, Harvick hasn’t had a top 5 here at Martinsville since the 2011 season, but that could easily change this weekend. He finished 8th here back in March after leading over 150 laps and has three top 10s in the last four Martinsville races.

3. Jimmie Johnson – Starts 21st – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 7th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

The #48 Chevrolet was in a league of its own on Saturday during Happy Hour, and if Jimmie Johnson was starting on the pole for Sunday’s Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, I would be inclined to say that he could possibly lead this thing from start to finish. Johnson had the best five-lap average, ten-lap average, and 15-lap average during that final session, as well as posting the fastest overall lap. During the colder Practice #2 on Saturday, Jimmie was 9th-fastest on the overall speed chart and 3rd in ten-lap average. Like his teammate Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson is an 8-time winner here at Martinsville Speedway with an equally impressive 7.3 average finish over 27 career starts. The last two races here, however, have ended with the #48 Chevrolet in 32nd and 35th, which should concern fantasy owners. Additionally, the fact that this team is already eliminated from championship contention means that the doors are wide open for them to test the rest of the year. This is always a difficult situation for fantasy owners to navigate through simply because a team that is testing is more apt to have a blown engine, blown tire, etc. during the race. I’m not going to try and predict mechanical failures, though–that’s not my job. On paper, this #48 Chevrolet has a bunch of speed and is a top 5 car. If Johnson would have qualified a little better, I would say he’s a lock for a top 5.