Martinsville Xfinity 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Brad Keselowski
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – Brad Keselowski is a 2-time winner at Martinsville who’s capable of coming up big, but I can’t say I would pick him with a lot of confidence since he’s finished 24th or worse in 4 of the last 5 Martinsville races. That said, he’s frequently run better than his results and in 4 of the last 6 you could argue he’s been a top five contender when it comes to performance. Due to his recent ugly track record, he’ll be a quality dark horse option for those looking to roll the dice.
Martinsville History – Martinsville ranks among Brad Keselowski’s best tracks. He’s a two-time winner and since 2016 (19 races), Keselowski has 10 top fives, 13 top tens and only six results outside the top ten. In the Next Gen in terms of Total Speed Rankings, Keselowski ranks 12th. This spring when the #6 team was struggling everywhere, Keselowski just wasn’t good. In the race, Keselowski finished 27th, had a 23.7 average running position and ranked 25th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last fall, Keselowski was one of the best. In the race, Keselowski won Stage #2, led the most laps (170), had a 7.5 average running position, earned the 5th best Driver Rating and then finished 9th overall. In terms of speed stats, Keselowski ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Keselowski was simply uncompetitive. In the race, Keselowski finished 24th, had a 20.5 average running position and ranked 23rd in terms of Speed Rankings. In fall 2023, Keselowski was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 33rd. In the race, Keselowski finished 5th in Stage #1, 5th in Stage #2 but then early in the final Stage pit strategy had him back in the teens, and he was then collected in a crash which led to his DNF 33rd. In spring 2023, Keselowski finished 24th, but “Performance Wise” he was a top five contender. In the race, Keselowski finished 5th in Stage #2, led 7 laps and was running in 5th on lap 282 before he was burned by a caution on lap 301 which dropped him back to about 20th. In fall 2022, Keselowski “Crossed” the finish line in 4th but was DQ’ed post-race, leading to a 36th.

Ross Chastain
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – At Martinsville, Mr. Hail Melon himself, Ross Chastain is likely flying a little under the radar. Chastain’s been about as solid as they come and in the Next Gen, he ranks 7th for average finish (9.1), he’s finished in the top 14 every race and his Next Gen Speed Ranking ranks 10th. Heading into the weekend, I would view Chastain as a top ten contender but not get overly bullish.
Martinsville History – Ross Chastain has run well at Martinsville and in the Next Gen, Chastain has a 9.1 average finish, the 10th best Speed Ranking and the 11th best driver Rating. Over the last two, Chastain has back-to-back top 8’s. This spring Chastain was strong. In the race, Chastain started 17th, finished 7th in Stage #2, had a 9.9 average running position, earned the 6th best Driver Rating and then finished 6th overall. In terms of speed analytics, Chastain ranked 9th for Total Speed Rankings and then 11th for Speed Late In A Run. Last fall, Chastain was solid, finishing 8th, having the 12th best Speed Ranking and a 13.2 average running position. Last spring, Chastain finished 14th, had a 12.7 average running position and had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Chastain had respectable finishes of 13th and 14th. In 2022, Chastain swept the top five with finishes of 4th and 5th.

Josh Berry
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – Josh Berry will be a quality dark horse pick at Martinsville. Berry’s yet to have a good finish here on the Cup level (24.3 average finish) but he’s shown potential despite what you see in the results column. In the Xfinity series, Berry is a former winner here. If Berry can avoid trouble, I would view him as a dark horse top ten contender.
Martinsville History – At Martinsville, Josh Berry has looked pretty good despite him ranking 29th in terms of Next Gen Average Finishes (24.3). In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings, he ranks 14th, and I’ll note that underrates him. This spring, Berry looked good but finished an asterisk mark 32nd. In the race, Berry started 14th, was up to 13th on lap 30 and then during a caution just after that, he elected not to pit and got the lead. Berry then led the next 40 laps but then on lap 71 during the next caution, Bubba Wallace had contact with him on pit road and somehow after that, Berry had major electrical problems, and you could stick a fork in him. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Berry ranked 16th but take note in the first quarter of the race which was mostly incident free for him, he ranked 6th in terms of speed. Last fall, Berry finished 16th, had a 16.1 average running position and had the 16th best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring in his first Martinsville Cup start, Berry started 7th, finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage # 2, had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking but then finished 25th. Over the course of the race, the #4 just seemed to get worse, and Berry was at his worst in closing time. Over the segments, Berry had Speed Rankings of 11th, 12th, 16th and then 17th. I’ll also note, Berry’s race wasn’t incident free. On lap 310 during green flag pit stops while running around 18th, Berry had an uncontrolled tire and had to serve a pass thru penalty.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Martinsville Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier