Martinsville Cook Out 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Preece
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – If you’re looking for a dark horse at Martinsville, don’t overlook Ryan Preece. Martinsville ranks as one of Preece’s best tracks and over the last four races, Preece has the 9th best Driver Rating, an 11.9 average running position and his average finish is 14.5. In the Next Gen era in terms of speed, Preece ranks 8th. With Preece already having back-to-back top tens heading into the weekend, I think he has a great chance to notch another on Sunday.
Martinsville Track History – Ryan Preece has been pretty sporty at Martinsville in recent races and over the last four, Preece has two top 10’s and a 14.5 average finish. Last fall, Preece had a quiet solid showing. In the race, Preece finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2, had a 7.8 average running position and then finished 14th. To close out the race, he just didn’t seem to be at his best and with 20 to go he was running in 6th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Preece ranked 6th. Last spring, Preece started 22nd, had a 15.3 average running position and then finished 9th. In terms of speed stats, Preece ranked 13th for Speed Late In A Run and 16th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In fall 2023, Preece was fast but for whatever reason, he simply wasn’t at his best down the final stretch and finished 20th. In the race, Preece started 9th, finished 8th in Stage #1, finished 7th in Stage #2, had an 11.1 average running position and had the 14th best Total Speed Ranking. His speed over the segments tells the story with him going 8th, 8th, 14th and then 27th over the final segment. In spring 2023, Preece was impressive but finished an asterisk mark 15th. In the race, Preece started on the pole, won Stage #1, led 135 laps (the first 135) but then in Stage #2 while leading he was caught speeding on pit road which dropped him back to the high-twenties, in which he never fully bounced back. When the checkered flag waved, Preece finished 15th. In terms of speed stats, Preece ranked 10th for Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed.

Chris Buescher
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – At Martinsville, don’t overlook Chris Buescher. Buscher had an ugly showing last fall, but he’s been pretty solid here and in 7 of the last 11 races he’s finished in the top 15 with his average finish being 13.7 minus last fall and fall 2020. Over his three Martinsville races prior to last fall, Buescher had a 12.3 average finish. Heading into the weekend, I would view Buescher as a top ten contender, but as about a 10th place driver at best.
Martinsville Track History – At Martinsville, Chris Buescher has been solid and in 6 of the last 8 he’s finished between 8th to 15th, which is respectable. Last fall, Buescher had a race to forget and finished 30th. I’ll note, Buescher never ran well and was in 31st on lap 60 but then shortly after that during a round of green flag pit stops, he pitted and was then burned by a caution during the pit cycle in which he never recovered. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Buescher ranked 33rd. Last spring, Buescher started 30th, had a 21.4 average running position, had the 19th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 15th. In the race, Buescher’s strength was being fast late in a run and in that speed stat he ranked 7th. In fall 2023, Buescher had his all-time best Martinsville showing and finished 8th. To close out the race, the #17 looked very solid. Additionally, Buescher had a 13.1 average running position. In spring 2023, Buescher finished 14th. Over the four races prior to that, Buescher had results of 24th, 15th, 9th and then 13th.

Austin Cindric
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – Austin Cindric is a driver down the depth chart who could come up big at Martinsville. Cindric legit finished 4th last fall and over the Next Gen era, he’s finished in the top 11 50% of the time, but in the other 50%, he’s finished 23rd or worse, so he’s essentially been a “hero or zero.” He was good last fall and that’s ultimately the most important race to go off of, so he’ll have upside for those looking to roll the dice.
Martinsville Track History – Austin Cindric is capable of running well at Martinsville and in 3 of his 6 starts he’s finished in the top 11. In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings, Cindric ranks 15th. Last fall, Cindric was stout and finished 4th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Cindric ranked 12th and his speed over the segments were 23rd, 14th, 14th and then 5th, with him being at his best when it counted. Last spring, Cindric was mediocre and finished one lap down in 23rd. In the race, Cindric started 14th, had a 15.6 average running position, led 6 laps via pit strategy and ranked 17th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. I’ll also note, Cindric was in 17th on lap 396, which was one lap before the overtime caution came out, so he was marginally better than his result. In fall 2023, Cindric had a 14.3 average running position, had the 11th best Speed Ranking and then finished 9th. In spring 2023, Cindric was junk and finished 33rd. In 2022, Cindric finished 26th in the fall and then 11th in the spring.

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