3 weeks agoJosh Williams begins Martinsville on Sunday from the 33rd position. The Kaulig Racing driver is driving the No. 16 Chevy. Williams drove the car in Atlanta and lasted a mere two laps before a crash ended his day. He began that race 30th as the Chevy was nearly a full half second slower than the top cars in practice (36th). Next to David Starr, Williams was running lap intervals were 20.8 seconds or worse at 10 and 15 laps. It is that continued fade in speed that will make any upward place differential difficult for Williams on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoJohn Hunter Nemechek never seemed to get going on Saturday at Martinsville. As a result, the Legacy Motor Club driver will begin 29th from Martinsville Speedway. Teammate Erik Jones managed to finish 17th in qualifying. However, practice proved to be even worse for Nemechek who was 32nd. Yes, 0.375 seconds is an eternity at Richmond where 19-20 second laps are commonplace. Nemecheck has results of seventh and sixth but five times he has finished 21st or worse. Sunday might be six if the pits cannot find that extra speed.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoBrad Keselowski has not had an easy time as a driver for RFK Racing at Martinsville. He has finished 17th or worse four times in four races. However, the last two times around the "paper clip" have seen the No. 6 Ford fifth after Stage 2. He even led seven laps in the April of 2023 race. Keselowski starts 13th on Sunday afternoon and did win the early race in 2017 and 2019. He does have two results of fifth or better in 2024 so it is hard to count the driver out on a track where Keselowski can excel at.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoAustin Dillon has shown the ability to run well at Martinsville. The Richard Childress Racing driver finished third just two years ago. Last year, Dillon flirted in and out of the Top 10 before settling for 12th. Dillon has not led a single lap in 2024 and has an average finish of 25.7. That is the worst of Dillon's career since he became a full time driver in 2014. The 0.526-mile track may be an opportunity for the #3 Chevy to get back on track before it's too late. Dillon starts 28th but could again be one of those nice place differential possibilities on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoChris Buescher and RFK Racing did not have the best of Saturdays. Buescher and his No. 17 Ford will start Sunday's Cook Out 400 from the 30th spot. He finally finished better than 11th last October (eighth). The last time Buescher started this far back was 2017 (33rd in that April race). He was eighth overall in practice (20.475 seconds) but could not find the speed in better qualifying conditions. Buescher could be a decent bet in place differential for DFS purposes but his cost may mitigate any potential gains on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoAlex Bowman had problems in the final group of qualifying on Saturday. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver still will start tenth on Sunday afternoon from Martinsville. Bowman is one who typically gets looked at on short tracks. He was middle of the pack in practice with an overall of 20.508 seconds. Bowman picked up his speed in the early rounds of qualifying. The track was faster with some sun and times went under 20 seconds with ease. Bowman did win the Fall race in 2021 but the Spring has seen him flirt with the Top 10.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
3 weeks agoOne of the bigger surprises during qualifying for this weekend's Cook Out 400 was Kyle Busch nearly making the second round. He will start Sunday's race at Martinsville from the sixth row, in the 11th position. This was particularly surprising because Busch struggled to find speed during practice just an hour before qualifying, ranking 29th-fastest out of the 37 cars in the field. While Busch is a two-time Cup Series winner at this race track, he has struggled quite a bit in this NextGen car, and is currently on a three-race streak of finishes outside of the top 20 entirely. While Busch's qualifying effort is a bit encouraging for improvement this weekend, it is still not recommended that you pick him in daily fantasy contests.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
3 weeks agoThis weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race is at Martinsville Speedway, which means you have to put Ryan Blaney on your radar. Blaney is the most recent race winner at "The Paperclip" and has finished seventh or better in each of the four races ran here in the NextGen era. On Saturday, Blaney ended up qualifying ninth for this Sunday's Cook Out 400, and while he didn't quite show race-winning speed in practice, the No. 12 Ford was close enough to be in consideration. For DFS contests, Blaney makes an excellent off-sequence pick, as most DraftKings players will be targeting the higher-priced drivers like Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin. Statistically, Martinsville is Blaney's best track on the schedule, with a career average finish of 9.0 over 16 starts. That average finish is also best among active drivers.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
3 weeks agoJoey Logano has been one of the most reliable finishers at Martinsville Speedway over the last ten years, and that shouldn't change in this weekend in the Cook Out 400. Looking at the last 20 Martinsville races, Logano has posted a top-10 result in 16 of those races along with an 11th-place finish in the spring 2016 race. This weekend, Logano hasn't had race-winning speed for the Cook Out 400, but he should still be a strong top-10 threat. The No. 22 Ford will roll off the grid from sixth when this weekend's race goes green. In the NextGen car, Logano has posted a finish of sixth or better in all four races and ranks seventh-best in average running position. It wouldn't be surprising at all if he made it five-for-five this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
3 weeks agoAt many race tracks on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Tyler Reddick is often considered a driver that could be a sleeper to contend for the win. Not your outright favorite to win, but potential contender that could be surprising. That's not the case at Martinsville Speedway, though. Over eight career starts at "The Paperclip," Reddick has just one top-10 finish and an overall average result of 20.9. For whatever reason, Reddick just can't quite figure this track out. This weekend, the No. 45 Toyota will roll off the grid from the 19th starting spot. While he may be able to improve on that a little bit during the race, don't look for Reddick to contend for his second-ever top-10 finish in this weekend's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
4 weeks agoMartin Truex Jr. was the favorite to win the Toyota Owners 400 on Sunday night, according to sportsbooks, and the Joe Gibbs Racing driver showed up with the best car. He didn't get the win, though. Despite leading 228 of the 407 laps, Truex ended up with a
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4 weeks agoDenny Hamlin got the victory on Sunday night in the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway, but it wasn't a clean finish. His teammate, Martin Truex, Jr., had a dominant performance in the race, but a caution with just a couple of laps remaining caused one final pit
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4 weeks agoBubba Wallace had a very strong run at Richmond this past weekend with an average running position of sixth, his best on a short track since the previous Richmond race last summer. He ranked fifth in driver rating at 102.6 and seventh in average speed. Wallace was running fifth before spinning out Kyle Larson in the closing laps, which resulted in an overtime finish that culminated in Bubba's boss, Denny Hamlin, winning the race. Wallace insisted the contact was not intentional despite his history of several previous incidents with Larson. However, Larson ended up getting the last laugh as he still finished third while Wallace was relegated to 13th after a slow pit stop on the resulting caution. Wallace did outrun his teammate, Tyler Reddick, all day, but Reddick got the better finish. Bubba's pace as well as Toyotas pace is still promising for the rest of the season.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 weeks agoChase Elliott showed his fastest recent pace at times in this past weekend's Richmond race, where his second-place qualifying run was his best since the 2022 fall Martinsville race. He was very fast in the wet portion of the Toyota Owners 400, taking the lead from teammate Kyle Larson on the opening lap before Larson retook it on lap six. However, Elliott faded in the middle portions of the race and fell outside the top ten before he quietly sneaked back into contention with a fifth-place finish after benefiting when some faster cars faced misfortune. Although Elliott had his best driver rating of the season at 98.6 in addition to his best finish, he didn't run as well as that implied as he only ranked tenth in speed despite his early race pace. However, his solid run was a positive step forward for a team that has had little to celebrate lately.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
4 weeks agoChristopher Bell attempted a similar strategy to his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, the eventual winner of Sunday night's Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond, but it fell short largely because Bell sped in the pits on his penultimate pit stop. Although Bell did not have the speed of his other teammate, Martin Truex, Jr., he did rank fifth in speed (one spot higher than Hamlin and one spot behind Kyle Larson) and they were the two drivers who stayed out the longest on their last two pit stops, which ensured them fresher tires at the end. Despite speeding so late in the race, Bell made a furious charge at the end and still rallied back to sixth, but he has to be kicking himself over missing out on a race that was so very winnable.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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