Martinsville Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Denny Hamlin (Starting – 1st)
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is one of the premiere performers at Martinsville and on Sunday he’ll be tough to beat. He’s thrived here and over his career he has 5 wins, he’s finished in the top five 52% percent of the time and in the top ten 74% percent of the time. In fall Martinsville races, he’s been especially strong and over the last 4 he’s tied with Kyle Busch for having a series best 3.8 average finish. One attribute I really like about Hamlin is his short track racing prowess. In 2019 on this track type he’s finished in the top five every race and has a 3.8 average finish. In Happy Hour, Hamlin was fast and his 25 lap average ranked as the 4th best. On Sunday, look for Hamlin to finish in the top five and compete for the win.
Martinsville Track History – Martinsville has been a phenomenal track for Denny Hamlin. Over the last four combined Martinsville races, Hamlin has a 6.5 average finish and a 6.8 average running position. This spring at Martinsville, Hamlin had a strong showing. He finished 5th, had a 7th place average running position, finished 4th in Stage #1 and 3rd in Stage #2. I’ll note his result is a little more impressive when you take into account he was caught speeding during the Stage #2 caution which forced him to drive up through the field late. Last fall, Hamlin finished 2nd. In the race he won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, earned the 2nd best driver rating and had a 3rd place average running position. In spring 2018 he had a strong car, but finished a misleading 12th. “Performance Wise”, I thought he was a top five contender but during a caution with about 115 laps to go he pitted twice to repair damage to his nose which dropped him from 5th to 16th. In the race he earned the 4th best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position, led 111 laps, won Stage #1 and finished 5th in Stage #2. In fall 2017, Hamlin nearly won, but finished 7th after a wild final restart.
DraftKings $11,000 / FanDuel $14,500

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2) Martin Truex Jr. (Starting – 3rd)
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Martin Truex Jr. should be near the top of your fantasy NASCAR radar at Martinsville. It’s been a great track for him and he nearly raced his way to victory lane last fall. At Martinsville, Truex Jr. has consistently performed at a high-level and in 7 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 8. In Happy Hour, Truex Jr. was fast and his 20 lap average ranked as the 3rd best. On Sunday, look for Martin Truex Jr. to compete for a top five and be a factor to win.
Martinsville Track History – Martin Truex Jr. has performed at a high-level at Martinsville. Over the last four races at “The Paper Clip” he has a 4.3 average finish and a 6.8 average running position. This spring at Martinsville, Truex Jr. had a strong showing. He finished 8th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 7th place average running position. Last fall, Truex Jr. had a great performance and nearly raced his way to victory lane after starting near the back (33rd). In the race he finished 7th in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2 and then finished 3rd when the checkered flag waved. I’ll note he led lap 499, but then on the final straight away Logano had contact with him which cost him the win and led to his 3rd place finish. In spring 2018, Truex Jr. finished 4th, had a 7th place average running position, earned the 7th best driver rating and led 4 laps. In fall 2017, Truex Jr. finished 2nd.
DraftKings $11,400 / FanDuel $14,000

NOTE: This post will be updated as needed following inspection which will start on Sunday around 9AM! If a driver fails inspection their qualifying time will be disallowed and they’ll start in the rear of the field. They’ll also be scored from their new starting position.

3) Kyle Busch (Starting – 13th)
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Kyle Busch is a super-elite performer at Martinsville who should be at the top of your fantasy NASCAR radar. He’s mastered Martinsville and over the last 8 races he’s finished in the top 5 every race, has 2 wins, a 2.9 average finish, a 4.3 average running position, the best driver rating and he’s averaged leading 117 laps per race. Over the course of a race at Martinsville, Busch seems to find his rhythm and he gets better and better as the race progresses. One attribute I like about Busch is his prowess at short track racing. He’s arguably the best driver on this track type, and in 2019 over the combined races he has a series best 3.6 average finish. In practice, Busch was fast in both sessions. In practice #1 he had the 2nd best 15 lap average and in Happy Hour he ranked as the 9th best. On Sunday, look for Busch to finish in the top five and be a serious threat to win.
Martinsville Track History – Kyle Busch is one of the premiere performers at Martinsville and he currently has eight straight top 5 finishes. That streak also registers for being the longest consecutive top ten streak at Martinsville. This spring at Martinsville, Busch had a solid showing. He finished 3rd, earned the 4th best driver rating and had a 7th place average running position. In fall 2018, Busch had a great car and was a contender. He finished 4th, had a 3rd place average running position, led 100 laps and finished 3rd in both Stage #1 and #2. In spring 2018, he ran extremely well and was in the mix for the win. In that race he finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 4th in Stage #1 and 3rd in Stage #2. In fall 2017, Busch had a phenomenal performance and raced his way to victory lane. In the race he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps (184), had a 3rd place average running position and finished 2nd in both Stage #1 and #2. In spring 2017 he had a great car. He earned the best driver rating, finished 2nd, had a 3rd place average running position and led 274 laps. In the three races prior to that he had results of 5th, 1st and 5th.
DraftKings $11,800 / FanDuel $15,000