Martinsville Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Chase Elliott
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Chase Elliott is one of the premiere performers at Martinsville, and on Sunday, don’t be surprised if the road to victory lane goes thru him. Martinsville has been a phenomenal track for him and over the last five races minus a misleading result last fall, Elliott has a 4.5 average finish, a 4.5 average running position and he’s averaged leading 105.5 laps per race! On Sunday, look for Elliott to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Martinsville Track History – Chase Elliott has been stout at Martinsville and there’s no question he’s been one of the best. This spring, Elliott had a hot rod. In the race he started on the pole, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 185 laps but finished an asterisk mark 10th. During the Stage #1 caution he was beat off pit road, and then the #9 wasn’t as strong in traffic. Additionally, Elliott had a 3.9 average running position, the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking but ranked 12th for speed late in a run. Last fall, Elliott had a stellar showing, but finished an asterisk mark 16th after getting spun out while running in 3rd by a desperate Brad Keselowski in the closing laps. In the race, Elliott won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 289 laps, had a 3.3 average running position, had the best Green Flag Speed and the best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2021, Elliott had a great car. In the race he finished 4th in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had a 6.3 average running position, the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. In 2020 with a new rules package, Elliott was one of four drivers who swept the top five. In fall 2020, Elliott put on a clinic and dominated. In the race, Elliott finished 4th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 2.6 average running position, led 236 laps and had a race high 110 fastest laps. In terms of speed analytics, Elliott had the best Total Speed Ranking and his speed over the segments were 2,1,1 and 2. In spring 2020, Elliott finished 6th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, 5th overall and had a 5th place average running position.
Denny Hamlin
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is always tough to beat at Martinsville, and on Sunday he’ll be a factor. Martinsville ranks among his best tracks, and the #11 team is hot, so I don’t think he’ll be a letdown, despite his abysmal performance this spring. Night racing here for whatever reason has just been extra brutal for him, so that’s why I’m not overreacting to this spring’s race. At “The Paper Clip”, Hamlin’s a 5-time winner who’s finished in the top five 48% of the time. Hamlin’s currently below the cutline, so there’s no doubt he’ll be on “Offense” this weekend. On Sunday, look for Hamlin to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Martinsville Track History – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Martinsville. Hamlin’s had quite a few recent misleading results, but outside of “Night Races” you could argue he’s been the best, despite a couple asterisk mark results. Over the last five races, Hamlin only has 1 top ten and in three of them he’s finished 24th or worse (two of those were night races). This spring in the Next Gen’s Martinsville debut night race, the #11 team missed the setup and Hamlin finished a clunker 28th. In the race, Hamlin got lapped in Stage #1, had a 25.2 average running position and his Total Speed Ranking was the 24th best. I’ll note, Hamlin’s race wasn’t incident free. On lap 312 while he was running around 25th, his car was stalled on pit road and that brought out a caution. Last fall, Hamlin started in the rear of the field and nearly raced his way to victory lane until he got spun out at the end while leading which led to his 24th. Also in the race, Hamlin led 103 laps and finished 5th in Stage #2. In terms of speed analytics, Hamlin had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking but take note over the last three segments he had speed rankings of 5th, 3rd and 1st. In spring 2021, Hamlin had a great car, but was outraced right at the very end. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, had the best driver rating, the best Total Speed Ranking, led 276 laps and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed by segment, Hamlin ranked 1,2,1 and then 2. In fall 2020, Hamlin had a great car and was a top five contender but finished a misleading 11th. In the race, Hamlin won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 42 laps and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. During the Stage #2 caution after he just finished 3rd, Hamlin made a second pit stop to tighten lug nuts which dropped him back to 29th. With 36 laps to go he was back up to 8th, but then he started to struggle and faded back a few positions. In the spring 2020 night race, Hamlin finished 24th. In the three races prior to that, Hamlin’s results were 4th, 5th and 2nd.
William Byron
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – William Byron, the spring Martinsville winner has entered “Super Elite” territory at “The Paper Clip”, and on Sunday, he’ll be tough to beat. His win this spring wasn’t an isolated event. In 5 of the last 6 races here he’s finished in the top 8 and over that stretch minus fall 2020 where he had a misleading result, he sports a 4.0 average finish and a 5.8 average running position. On Sunday, look for Byron to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Martinsville Track History – William Byron has been elite at Martinsville. Byron raced his way to victory lane in convincing fashion this spring, and over the last three races, Byron has the best average finish (3.3), the best average running position (4.6), the 2nd best driver rating and he’s the only driver who’s 3 for 3 at finishing in the top 5. This spring, Byron was the class of the field. In the race he started 5th, finished 2nd in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, led 212 laps, had a 1.7 average running position and then raced his way to victory lane. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked #1 and fielded the fastest car in segments 3 and 4. In 2021, Byron had a great season and was one of just two drivers who swept the top five. Last fall, Byron finished 4th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2, had a 5.3 average running position and finished 5th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed analytics, Byron had the 4th best Green Flag Speed and the 4th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2021, Byron was competitive. In the race he finished 6th in Stage #1, 7th in Stage #2, had a 6.8 average running position, had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 4th when the checkered flag waved.
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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runner Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier
