Martinsville Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
Austin Dillon
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Don’t overlook Austin Dillon at Martinsville. Dillon was great this spring, and over the last three races here his 10.0 average finish ranks as the 7th best. Overall, in 53% of his starts at “The Paper Clip”, he’s finished in the top 15. On Sunday, look for Dillon to be a top ten contender.
Martinsville Track History – Austin Dillon has been a solid performer at Martinsville. This spring, Dillon had a hot rod and really liked his car. In the race, Dillon started 23rd, but he had no trouble driving up thru the pack. In the race he finished 6th in Stage #2, had an 8.4 average running position and then finished 3rd when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed stats, Dillon was the fastest driver late in a run and had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the segments his speed rankings were 11th, 5th, 3rd and then 2nd. In 2021, Austin Dillon was a low double-digit driver in both races. Last fall, Dillon brought out multiple cautions, but when the checkered flag waved, he finished 13th. In the race, Dillon had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking and the 11th best Green Flag Speed. In spring 2021, Dillon finished 14th. Additionally, Dillon had a 14.3 average running position and the 14th best Total Speed Ranking.
Brad Keselowski
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Brad Keselowski is without question one of the best at “The Paper Clip”, but he wasn’t so great this spring in the #6. That said, they’ve made strides as the season has progressed and on Sunday, I’m going to view Keselowski as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who might just compete for a top ten. Since Bristol minus Talladega where he got his late speeding penalty, Keselowski has an 11.4 average finish. New Hampshire is arguably the most similar track and in the summer at that venue, Keselowski finished 7th (14.3 average running position).
Martinsville Track History – Martinsville ranks among Brad Keselowski’s best tracks. He’s a two-time winner and since 2016 (13 races), Keselowski has 10 top fives and only two results outside the top ten. I’ll note, in fall races he’s been especially good here recently and over the last five fall races his 3.8 average finish ranks as the best in the series. This spring in his new ride, Keselowski finished just outside the top ten in Stage #1, but then he got penalized which dropped him to the back. After that, he simply never bounced back. In the race, Keselowski finished 17th, had a 17.3 average running position and had the 17th best Total Speed Ranking. Last fall in his old ride, Keselowski drove in ultra-aggressive mode since his playoff hopes were on the line and when the checkered flag waved, he finished 3rd. Additionally, Keselowski finished 5th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, had a 6.9 average running position and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2021, Keselowski had a tough race and finished 33rd. That said, he didn’t run bad. In the race he finished 8th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 and had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking. In the race, Keselowski had intermittent power steering issues (first reported on lap 321), then he spun on lap 340, then on lap 385 he was collected in the “Big One” which marked the end of his race. In the five Martinsville races prior to that, Keselowski had results of 4th, 3rd, 3rd, 1st and 5th.
Erik Jones
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Don’t overlook Erik Jones. The “Every Other Good Week” intangible is in play this weekend, and Martinsville has been a solid venue for him in recent races. On Sunday, I think Erik Jones has a good chance to be a top ten contender.
Martinsville Track History – Erik Jones has run well at Martinsville and over the last four races minus spring 2021 which wasn’t incident free for him, he’s finished between 8th to 13th every race and has an 11.0 average finish. This spring, Jones came home 13th. His average running position was 21.1 and his Total Speed Ranking was 23rd, but he legitimately ran well closing out the final 100 laps. Last fall, Jones finished 8th, had a 17.7 average running position, had the 20th best Green Flag Speed and the 21st best Total Speed Ranking. Jones only really closed out the race strong, other than that he wasn’t really all that great. In spring 2021, Jones wasn’t going to have a good afternoon, but he wasn’t 30th place bad. In the race, Jones was running in 17th on lap 354, but then shortly after that on lap 371 he spun which brought out the caution. That caution was shortly followed by him getting collected in the “Big One” which led to his 30th place result. In fall 2020 in the #20, Jones finished 12th, had a 14.7 average running position, was the 13th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking.
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