On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Martinsville in the Xfinity 500 to battle it out to set the “Final Four!” Desperate drivers do desperate things, so the intensity will be turned up a dial. Martinsville is NASCAR’s oldest, shortest and slowest track, but the action can be second to none. NASCAR is a contact sport, and I think there will be a ton of action.

On Saturday, practice was held for Martinsville. Teams had 45 minutes to fine tune their car and adapt to the new tire (Option right sides, new softer left sides). Make sure you check out our Martinsville Practice Notes, Martinsville Practice Speeds and 10 Lap Averages, and Martinsville 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet.

Here’s Martinsville Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup.

Martinsville Full Field Rankings

1) Ryan Blaney
Start 14th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Ryan Blaney, the defending fall Martinsville winner will be tough to beat and for him to defend his Cup Title at Phoenix, he’ll need to come up clutch. Blaney was one of the best this spring, he smoked the field last fall and over the last eleven Martinsville races, Blaney has the best average finish (5.0), the best average running position and the best Driver Rating. In the Next Gen specifically at “The Paper Clip”, Blaney’s arguably been the best. In practice, Blaney was happy with his car and had the 2nd best 30-lap average.
Martinsville Track Record Breakdown – Ryan Blaney is one of the premiere Martinsville performers. Blaney’s been great over an extended period of time and in the Next Gen, he’s been a standout, having the best average finish (4.0), the 2nd best Speed Ranking and the 2nd best Driver Rating. This spring, Blaney was stout and finished 5th. That result is especially impressive when you take into account after just finishing 12th in Stage #1, Blaney pitted twice because of a loose lugnut. Passing was near impossible, but Blaney legitimately raced his way back to the front. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Blaney ranked 9th but take note over the final quarter of the race, the #12 was the fastest car on the track. Last fall, Blaney was the class of the field. In the race, Blaney finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 4.4 average running position, earned the best Driver Rating, led 145 laps and of course raced his way to victory lane. In terms of speed analytics, Blaney had the best Total Speed Ranking, ranking #1 in segments 2, 3 and 4. Last Spring, Blaney started 31st but finished 7th. The #12 was solid and Blaney was legitimately able to make passes unlike most. In 2022, Blaney swept the top five with finishes of 3rd (fall) and 4th (spring).
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $13,000

Further Recommended Reading = Martinsville Quick Rankings, Martinsville Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Martinsville Scoring Projections, FanDuel Martinsville Scoring Projections

2) Chase Elliott
Start 2nd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Chase Elliott is a former Martinsville winner who’s facing a “Must Win.” The good news is that Elliott was a standout this spring, he’s been one of the premiere performers and over the last nine races minus misleading results in fall 2023 and fall 2021, Elliott has a 5.8 finish, and he’s averaged leading 77.1 laps per race. In the Next Gen over the combined races, Elliott is tied for having the 4th best Next Gen Speed Ranking. In practice, Elliott was fast and viewed to be one of the best. On Sunday, look for Elliott to dial up the intensity and go all out for the win.
Martinsville Track Record Breakdown – At Martinsville, Chase Elliott is one of the best. This spring, Elliott was a standout performer. In the race, Elliott finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, had a race best 3.2 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of speed stats, Elliott had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked # 1 for Speed Late In A Run. I’ll also note, before the late caution came out, Elliott was running in 2nd. Last fall, Elliott finished an asterisk mark 17th. In the race, Elliott used pit strategy and got the lead in the final Stage that allowed him to pace the field for 83 laps, but then with 10 to go he ducked down pit road for fuel. I’ll note, prior to his pit strategy play, Elliott looked like a teen’s performer. In the race, Elliott had a 9.3 average running position (pit strategy gamble helped him), had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 10th for Speed Late In A Run. In spring 2022 in his “injury return race”, Elliott snuck in a 10th. Elliott didn’t look good having a 22.0 average running position and the 24th best Total Speed Ranking, but the #9 team played the game right at the end and snuck in a solid finish with pit strategy. On lap 282 before things started to get wild over the last 100 laps, Elliott was back in 20th. In 2022, Elliott was a contender to win both races but had a pair of asterisk mark 10th place finishes for the season.
DraftKings $10,500/ FanDuel $12,500

3) Kyle Larson
Start 9th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Martinsville Fantasy Spin – Kyle Larson is a super-elite performer at Martinsville who’ll need to come up big if he’s going to battle it out for the championship in the desert. Larson raced his way to victory lane in spring 2023 and over the last four races, Larson has a series best 2.8 average finish, the 2nd best Driver Rating and the 2nd best average running position. In the Next Gen over all the combined races, Larson has the best Total Speed Ranking. In practice, Larson had good long run speed and ranked 4th in terms of 30-lap averages.
Martinsville Track Record Breakdown – Kyle Larson has performed at a super-elite level at Martinsville. In the #5 over his incident free races, Larson’s finished in the top 6 every race and has a 2.8 average finish. This spring, Larson was a standout performer. In the race, Larson won the pole, won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, earned the best driver rating, had the 2nd best average running position, led 86 laps and then finished runner-up. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked 2nd for Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. Last fall, Larson finished 6th, earned the 7th best Driver Rating, had a 10th place average running position and had the 9th best Speed Ranking. Overall, it was just a solid showing. Last spring en route to victory lane, Larson finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2, had a 7.0 average running position and led 30 laps. In terms of speed stats, Larson ranked 5th for Green Flag Speed and Total Speed Rankings. In fall 2022, Larson finished 2nd, had a 3.5 average running position, had the 4th best Total Speed Ranking and led 68 laps.
DraftKings $11,500/ FanDuel $13,500