Martinsville Speedway may be the same size as Bristol, but the two tracks – and the drivers that run well at each – are completely different. Not many Sprint Cup drivers have been able to master the paperclip-shaped half-mile oval, so if you want to score the maximum number of points in your fantasy NASCAR league, make sure these drivers are in your Martinsville lineup:
Favorites at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson: When it comes to favorites at Martinsville, they do not get much bigger than Johnson. Not only has he won three of the four races run here since the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, but in 14 Martinsville races Johnson has only finished outside the top-10 once. With five career wins, and an average finish of 5.6 at one of the toughest tracks in the sport, Johnson is in the perfect position to win his first race of the season, and there is no better track to have him in your fantasy NASCAR lineup.
Jeff Gordon: For as good as Johnson is at Martinsville, Gordon is even better: the four-time champion has seven career wins at the half-mile short track, and the last time the No. 24 car finished outside the top-10 here was all the way back in 2002. Add to that the fact that Gordon has gotten off to an incredible start this season, and this could finally be the weekend that Gordon breaks out of his year-long losing streak.
Denny Hamlin: Martinsville usually favors veteran drivers, but Hamlin is a rare exception. Aside from getting caught up in a wreck in the 2006 spring race, Hamlin has never finished lower than eighth at the Virginia track, and is the only driver other than Johnson to win here in NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow. Coming off a strong second place run at Bristol, Hamlin will be looking to challenge for another win this weekend.
Safe Picks for a Solid Martinsville Finish
Tony Stewart: Stewart may be in his first year with a new team, but that has not slowed him down. Smoke has been near the front of the field in every race this season, and there is no reason for that to change at Martinsville, a place where Stewart has two wins and an average finish of 12th over the course of his career. The No. 14 team may still be a few weeks away from their first win with their new driver-owner, but Stewart is a good bet for a top-10 finish.
Clint Bowyer: Bowyer has been extraordinarily tough his past few times out at Martinsville, with top-10 finishes in his last three races here. Like Hamlin, Bowyer seems to have gotten a handle pretty quickly on how to race the long straights and tight turns at the half-mile track, and he is not afraid to race door-to-door with the best in the sport. Bowyer is off to a great start this season, and while he may not get the same recognition as drivers like Hamlin and Stewart, Bowyer is just as consistent a performer.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Most people think of Junior solely as a great restrictor-plate racer, but he actually has a better career average finish at short tracks than he does at superspeedways. Earnhardt, Jr. has never won at Martinsville, but he has top-10’s in three of the last four races here, including a second-place finish last fall. Junior struggled last week at Bristol and still managed to finish 14th, so look for a better result this weekend.
Martinsville Underdogs
Bobby Labonte: It has been awhile since Bobby Labonte has had a solid finish at Martinsville, but he knows how to race this track; Labonte has one win and 13 career top-10’s here, the most recent being a third place finish in 2006. Labonte has looked better than he has in years after his move to the No.96 car, so he could be a surprise pick this weekend for a top-15 finish.
Juan Montoya: Coming from the ranks of Formula-1, Montoya is the last person one would expect to be good at Martinsville, but the former open-wheel star is rapidly developing into a solid short track racer. Montoya has finished 16th or better in all four of the races he has run here, including an eighth place finish in 2007. After a strong top-10 run last week at Bristol, Montoya will be looking to make a repeat performance Sunday.
Casey Mears: Mears does not have a great track record at Martinsville, but he has two things going for him – his last two races here, and the car he is driving. Mears scored top-10 finishes in both Martinsville races last season, and with his move to Childress Racing, he is driving for a No.07 team that has three straight top-10 finishes of their own here. That may not be a winning combination, but it is a decent bet to help you fantasy team.
Winning your fantasy league is about more than picking the race winner each week; with the right combination of drivers, you can maximize the number of points you score. While Gordon, Johnson and Hamlin battle for the win, do not forget about your other driver categories – making the right picks can get you the extra points you need to get an edge in your fantasy NASCAR league.
Here are NASCAR Fantasy Picks for Texas Motor Speedway, and a recap of the Goody's 500 at Martinsville.
Todd Butts - Coming from the world of newspaper and radio, I have been covering NASCAR and other motorsports for over 8 years. I started as the host ...
