Martinsville 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions

We get Round 3 of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs started this weekend at Martinsville Speedway, and the First Data 500 is setting up to be a very good race. “The Paperclip” always produces some great racing action, and this weekend has been very cut and dry; after the two practice sessions on Saturday, it was pretty clear that Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney all had cars that could lead a bunch of laps, and they took the first four spots in qualifying while Keselowski ended up 8th.

NASCAR went with the condensed schedule this weekend, as both practice sessions were held on Saturday as well as qualifying. Luckily the weather held off and they were able to get all three in. Kyle Busch won the pole for Sunday’s First Data 500 with Clint Bowyer starting 2nd, and the full starting lineup for Sunday’s race can be found by clicking here. As far as the two practice sessions, you can find those speeds here: Practice #1 Speeds – Happy Hour Speeds. I’d also recommend reading our in-depth notes for each session: Practice #1 Notes – Happy Hour Notes.

Please note: Inspection will be held on Sunday morning (starting at 7:30 am), and any car that fails once will have its time disallowed. That driver will have to start from the rear and will also be scored there for Fantasy NASCAR purposes. Please check back soon after inspection is complete for any updates in rankings.

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Final Top 25 Rankings for Martinsville 2

1. Kyle Busch – Starts 1st – DraftKings Price: $11,900 – FanDuel Price: $14,000
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**

It took a while for Kyle Busch to really get the hang of Martinsville Raceway, but he’s easily the best driver at this track right now. Currently, Rowdy is on a six-race streak of top 5 finishes at “The Paperclip” and he’s finished 1st or 2nd in each of the last three races here. He’s also led 837 total laps over the last five races here, which is by far the most in the series (2nd-most is Brad Keselowski with 225). As far as this weekend goes, the #18 Toyota was 3rd-fastest in Practice #1 with the 5th-best ten-lap average, and then in Happy Hour, it was 3rd-fastest overall with the best ten-lap average. So, yeah, Kyle Busch definitely has a car that’s capable of going to victory lane here on Sunday. As far as domination, though, we haven’t really seen that out of Kyle Busch since Charlotte back in May. You could count his 92 laps led and win at Richmond last month, but I’m not going. Still, even if Rowdy doesn’t dominate here on Sunday, he’s going to challenge for the win. His career average finish of 12.7 at Martinsville is 4th-best among active drivers.

2. Clint Bowyer – Starts 2nd – DraftKings Price: $9,800 – FanDuel Price: $11,200
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Clint Bowyer is looking for the season sweep at Martinsville on Sunday, which would also punch his ticket to Homestead early…and I think he can do it. Bowyer hasn’t finished worse than 7th at “The Paperclip” since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, and he finally got to victory lane here in the spring after leading 215 of the 500 laps. This weekend, Clint qualified 2nd for Sunday’s First Data 500, and if Kyle Busch has any sort of trouble during the race on Sunday, Bowyer has to be the next favorite to lead the most laps. Clint started off this weekend with the 7th-fastest lap in Practice #1 and the 3rd-best ten-lap average, then he went out in Happy Hour and wound up 6th and 3rd on those two charts (respectively). He also had the best overall average speed in that final session. The only knock I have on Bowyer this weekend is that this #14 team has been hit or miss for the last two months. Bowyer has had some great races on the shorter tracks this season, though, and it’s looking like he’s going to have another on Sunday.

3. Denny Hamlin – Starts 3rd – DraftKings Price: $8,500 – FanDuel Price: $12,200
**Risk Factor: Low-to-Medium Risk**

Denny Hamlin’s record at Martinsville Speedway speaks for itself. He has five career wins here through 25 starts, giving him a 20% win rate, and an overall average finish of 10.1, which is 2nd only to Jimmie Johnson’s 7.9. As far as Denny’s recent finishes here, though, he’s been kind of hit or miss. In the last three early season Martinsville races, Hamlin has finished 12th, 30th, and 39th, but in this fall race he’s finished 7th, 3rd, and 3rd. In the March race this season, Hamlin actually had one of the best cars–he led 111 laps, which is the first time he’s led 100+ laps here since 2010–but faded late and ended up finishing 12th. As far as this weekend goes, Denny was 8th-fastest in Practice #1 and then ended up 11th-fastest in Happy Hour. He wound up 4th and 4th when it came to ten-lap average in those sessions, respectively. Momentum-wise, Hamlin is hit or miss over the last two months, with three top 5 finishes along with four finishes outside of the top 10 entirely. I’m expecting a very strong run from the #11 team this weekend, I just hope they don’t lose the car like in the spring race.