On Sunday, NASCAR will be returning to Martinsville for the Xfinity 500! Martinsville is NASCAR’s oldest, shortest and slowest track, but the action can be second to none. I think it’s best to view Martinsville as a unique track. This weekend will be the final stand for many teams if they hope to have championship aspirations at Homestead, so look for the intensity to get dialed up.

On Saturday, practice was held for Martinsville. Teams had 50 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agendas. Make sure you check out our Martinsville Practice Notes, Martinsville 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet and Martinsville Practice Speeds and 10 Lap Averages. 

Here’s the Martinsville Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup.

Martinsville Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Denny Hamlin
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – 6-time Martinsville winner, Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at the Paper Clip and on Sunday, there’s no doubt he’ll be a factor from the pole in a fast #11. In the Next Gen, Hamlin ranks #1 for Speed, has the 4th best Driver Rating and minus spring 2022 and last fall, Hamlin has a 4.4 average finish, and he’s averaged leading 146.7 laps per race. This spring, Hamlin was the class of the field but finished 2nd. In the race, Hamlin started on the pole, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 292 laps, had a 1.3 average running position, earned the best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked #1 for both Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. Last fall, Hamlin finished an asterisk mark 35th and that poor result can be attributed to his engine blowing up on lap 335 while running in 2nd. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 5th with his speed over the segments being 6th, 8th, and then 3rd. Last spring, Hamlin smoked the field. In the race, Hamlin finished 1st, had a 2.4 average running position, earned a near-perfect Driver Rating, and led 274 laps. In terms of speed analytics, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In practice, Hamlin said his car was pretty solid, and he was fast late in a run (ranked 5th for 30-lap averages). 
DraftKings $12,000 / FanDuel $14,000

Further Recommended Reading = Martinsville Finish Projections, DraftKings Martinsville Scoring Projections, FanDuel Martinsville Scoring Projections, Martinsville Quick Rankings, Martinsville Next Gen Average Finishes, Martinsville Next Gen Speed Rankings

2) Ryan Blaney
Start 13th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney is a super-elite performer at Martinsville and in the Xfinity 500, I have no doubt the #12 will be dialed in and be a factor. In the Next Gen over the combined races, Blaney has the best average finish (4.4), the best Driver Rating and ranks 2nd for Speed. In fall Martinsville races, Blaney takes his game to the next level and in the Next Gen over the four, Blaney has 2-wins, a 2.0 average finish and a 2.5 average Speed Ranking. This spring, Blaney looked great and finished 6th but I’ll also note that result underrates him a little. “Performance Wise”, I have Blaney ranked as being the 2nd best. Late in the race on lap 334 while battling for 3rd, Hamlin had contact with him and it sent the #12 into the wall hard, quickly dropping him back to 7th. Additionally, Blaney had the 4th best average running position (5.7) and earned the 5th best Driver Rating. In terms of Speed Analytics, Blaney ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking. Last fall, Blaney started 31st, finished 7th in Stage #1, would’ve finished 2nd in Stage #2 if there hadn’t been a late caution, led 177 laps, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, and then finished 2nd overall, after getting outdueled by Byron for the win late. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 2nd for both Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Blaney started 32nd, finished about 18th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2 and then finished 11th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Blaney ranked 11th. In fall 2024, Blaney came up clutch and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Blaney earned the best Driver Rating, had a 4.7 average running position, and led 32 laps. Over the five races prior to that, Blaney had results of 5th, 1st, 7th, 3rd, and 4th. In practice, the #12 was able to hug the curb and Jeff Burton viewed him as one of the best. 
DraftKings $11,700 / FanDuel $13,500

3) Joey Logano
Start 5th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Martinsville Fantasy Outlook – Joey Logano is always a factor at Martinsville, and on Sunday look for Logano to race aggressively and be a factor to win. In the Next Gen over the combined Martinsville races, Logano has the 2nd best average finish (5.6), ranks 5th for Speed, 5th for Driver Rating and he’s also the only driver who’s a perfect 9 for 9 at finishing in the top ten. Going further back, Logano won here in 2018, currently has 14-straight top tens and since fall 2019, his average finish is 5.9. This spring, Logano was a consistent front runner. In the race, Logano started 9th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had a 5.1 average running position (3rd best) and then finished 3rd overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Logano ranked 4th. Last fall, the #22 was stout. In the race, Logano had the 4th best average running position (6.1), earned the 5th best Driver Rating, had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking, and then finished 8th overall. Last spring, Logano didn’t have an incident free race but still came home with a top ten. In the race, Logano started 7th, won Stage #1, finished just outside the top ten in Stage #2, was in 6th on lap 316, but then the following lap he was spun, which dropped him back to the mid-20’s with only about 75 laps remaining. When the checkered flag waved, Logano finished 8th. In terms of speed stats, Logano ranked 5th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking.
DraftKings $10,700 / FanDuel $13,000