The Super Low Tier – Martinsville
Justin Haley – The #77 is the most competitive super low tier car, but that doesn’t really mean much at Martinsville. This spring in his lone Cup start at “The Paper Clip”, Haley was swept up in the “Big One” and finished 35th. On lap 376 which was shortly before his demise, Haley was running in 27th. I’ll note, Haley has been finishing very poorly recently on a weekly basis and in 5 of the last 6 races he’s finished 32nd or worse. Over the last three he’s been especially bad and has finished 37th or worse. On Sunday, I’m going to view Haley as a risky high-twenties driver.
BJ McLeod – At Martinsville, look for BJ McLeod to be about a 30th place driver who’ll likely get a little bit of a bump up thanks to attrition. This spring, McLeod finished 29th. In fall 2019 in his one other start, McLeod finished 27th. In 12 of McLeod’s last fifteen races heading into the weekend he’s finished within a deviation of 3 from 30th.
Cody Ware – Cody Ware was a caution machine this spring at Martinsville, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case again. He was involved in at least three of them, but he managed to eek out a 28th. Heading into the weekend, Ware has managed to finish within a deviation of 3 from 30th in 10 of his last 13 races. On Sunday, I’m going to view Ware as a high-twenties to low-thirties driver.
Josh Bilicki – This spring at Martinsville, Josh Bilicki was the highest finisher among the super low tier drivers and he finished 23rd (highest super low tier driver among those racing on Sunday). That said, he benefitted from attrition and crossed the finish line 7 laps down. Last fall in his one other start, Bilicki finished 32nd. On Sunday, I’m going to view Bilicki as a low-thirties driver who might be able to finish marginally better due to attrition.
Quin Houff – This spring at Martinsville, Quin Houff benefitted from the attrition and finished 24th. Last year, Houff had results of 33rd and 34th. On Sunday, look for Houff to perform like he did in 2020 and be a low to mid-thirties driver.
Joey Gase – Joey Gase has been pretty bad at Martinsville as you can imagine and he’s 4 for 4 at finishing between 34th to 36th. Gase didn’t race here this spring, but in 2020 his results were 34th and 35th. Look for Gase to be one of the least competitive super low tier drivers on Sunday.
Garrett Smithley – Garrett Smithley has finished worse in each new start of his at Martinsville, so let’s hope that trend doesn’t continue. Technically, its impossible for that to happen since there won’t be a 40 car field. Last fall when Smithley most recently raced here he finished 39th. In his two starts prior to that he had results of 36th and 32nd.
Timmy Hill – Without David Starr in the field and Timmy Hill present, it’s obvious who’ll field the least competitive car on Sunday. This spring at Martinsville thanks to attrition, Hill finished 29th. In his six other starts here he has results of 39th, 34th, 38th, 33rd, 36th and 42nd.
