Martinsville STP 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Joey Logano – Joey Logano will be tough to beat at Martinsville. Over the last four races at the “paper clip” a strong case could be made that’s he’s been the strongest driver. In the last four events despite wrecking last fall he has the best driver rating, best average running position (5.5), best average starting position (1.8) and has led the most laps. Last fall Logano was the class of the field but was wrecked while leading. Before he wrecked he led 207 laps. In spring 2015 Logano had a great car and was a serious threat to win. He started on the pole, finished 3rd and led 108 laps. Also it should be noted his race wasn’t incident free and at one point he was spun. In fall 2014 he was very impressive. He qualified 2nd and was perhaps the most consistent front runner of the afternoon. In the event he earned the 4th best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position, finished 5th and led 60 laps. Through the first 300 laps of the race he looked like a serious contender to win. In the final 200 laps he ran well but looked like a 5th place driver at best which is where he finished. In spring 2014 he was very competitive. He started 3rd, finished 4th, had a 5th place average running position, led 39 laps and earned the 2nd best driver rating. In the race his car was strong and he didn’t appear to have any glaring weakness like many drivers displayed. It was a race of “comers and goers”, but his car appeared strong over both long runs and short runs. (Yahoo A Driver, DraftKings $10,200)

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Jimmie Johnson – Martinsville is a good track for Jimmie Johnson. Now that Jeff Gordon is gone, he once again has the most wins among active drivers. In 28 races at this venue Johnson has 8 wins, 18 top fives and 22 top tens. Only three times at Martinsville has he finished outside the top fifteen and unfortunately two of those three have come in the last three races. Recently at Martinsville Johnson has been down on his luck. Last fall Johnson had a good car but he was never a threat to win. In the race he started 21st, had a 10th place average running position and finished 12th. Last spring at Martinsville Johnson really struggled in the race. Performance wise he was a huge disappointment and his car wasn’t even close to being competitive. Also in the race he was involved in an accident but the damage wasn’t significant. I would like to think he used that race as a rest session because he was so bad. In fall 2014 Johnson had a good car that had top five potential but his race didn’t go smoothly. In the event he started in 7th and marched his way towards the front when the green flag waved. Then around lap 100 while he was running in 3rd he pitted under green because of a vibration and it dropped him two laps down. Then on lap 179 he ran into to back of Kasey Kahne and got heavy damage to the front of his car. Later around lap 220 he went to the garage area because he was leaking oil and that dropped him 38 more laps down. If he would’ve had an incident free afternoon I think a top five was definitely in the cards. In the four Martinsville races prior to that Johnson had two wins, a 4.8 average finish and led 774 laps. In spring 2014 he had a great car but came up short at the end. He finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position, earned the best driver rating and led 296 laps. Late in the race his car wasn’t at its best and an ultra-motivated Kurt Busch passed him with about 10 laps remaining for the win. In fall 2013 Johnson finished 5th and led 123 laps. In the two events prior to that he had back to back wins. (Yahoo A Driver, DraftKings #$10,400)

Further Recommended Reading : Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Martinsville Scouting Report, Martinsville PROS Rankings, Martinsville Asterisk Mark Report, DraftKings Points Fall 2015

Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin is a Martinsville “master” and he’ll be one of the drivers to beat on Sunday. At this historic short track he’s proven himself to be a super-elite performer. In twenty races he has 5 wins, 11 top fives and 16 top tens. As long as he avoids trouble he’s essentially a lock for a top 8 result. 2015 was a great season for him at Martinsville. He accumulated the most points and was the only driver who finished in the top five both races. Last fall he had a strong car and finished 3rd despite getting a speeding penalty in the first 100 laps, and a speeding penalty in the last 100 laps. In spring 2015 he had a fast car and raced his way to victory lane. In the race Hamlin earned the best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and led 91 laps. In fall 2014 he had a strong showing. He started 5th, had a 5th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating, finished 8th and led 68 laps. It’s important to note he ran better than he finished. Before the final caution came out he was running in 6th but he lost a few positions in the closing laps. In spring 2014 he was a huge disappointment and was never competitive. He started 2nd, had a 12th place average running position, earned the 16th best driver rating and finished 19th. Performance wise it was probably his worst race here. In that event I’ll speculate that the new ride height rule throw his team a curve ball. (Yahoo A Driver, DraftKings #$10,100)

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