October 26, 2025
RFK Racing driver Ryan Preece acquired a starting position of 18th for Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway, the Xfinity 500. This will be the sixth time in his Cup career that Preece will start inside the top 20 at the site. In 12 prior races at Martinsville, Preece has eight top-20 finishes with two inside the top 10. Through 34 races in the 2025 season, Preece has 12 top-10 finishes, including a seventh-place finish earlier at Martinsville in March. In practice for this week's race, Preece ranked 27th in overall lap averages, but displayed top-20 speeds in the 10-30 consecutive lap average categories. The No. 60 Ford driver has excelled in the past at Martinsville, with three top-15s in his last three races. Based on his equipment and overall track history, expect another favorable result from Preece this week at Martinsville.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
October 26, 2025
Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing qualified 30th for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. It will be the third time in Suarez's Cup career that he will start 30th or worse in a Martinsville race. In 17 Cup races at the Virginia short track, Suarez has six top-20 finishes, with only two of them being scored since 2022. After 34 Cup races this season, Suarez has 17 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 20.9. In practice, Suarez ranked 22nd in overall lap averages while displaying top-10 speeds in all other categories outside of single and five lap consecutive averages. Martinsville has never been one of Suarez's best tracks, but his favorable practice speeds, high upside, and low salary on both DFS sites make him worth consideration this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
October 26, 2025
Richard Childress Racing's Austin Dillon will start in the 20th position after qualifying for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This marks the third consecutive race at the site where Dillon will start inside the top 10. In 23 starts at Martinsville, the driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet has 14 top-20 finishes with an average finish of 18.9. Since 2022, Dillon's results at Martinsville were mixed with four finishes of 18th or better and three instances of placing outside of the top 20. In 34 races this season, Dillon has 16 top-20 finishes with an average finish of 21.0. In practice for Sunday's race, Dillon ranked 11th in overall lap averages and as high as 22nd in 15 consecutive lap averages. For DFS lineups this week, Dillon is best suited as a value tournament play, with the equipment to remain in the top 20, but also displayed varying results throughout his Cup career at Martinsville.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
October 26, 2025
Kyle Larson sits 36 points above his teammate William Byron for the final transfer spot entering Sunday's penultimate Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. If any driver other than Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, or his other teammate, Chase Elliott, wins at Martinsville, then Larson should be pretty safe to advance, but otherwise, he will need to outscore Christopher Bell, who is a point ahead of him. Larson outqualified Bell, as he starts third to Bell's 12th, which means Larson will probably overtake him in points in Stage 1. Larson has gotten a lot better at Martinsville lately, as he won his first race and led 332 of his 367 laps here in the last four years. Despite his 2022 win, Bell's record has not been nearly as consistent, so Larson should advance. However, there are probably better choices for DFS play since he starts third and costs $10,500.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Joey Logano is 38 points behind Kyle Larson for the final transfer spot in the Championship 4 entering Sunday's race at Martinsville, but it's pretty hard to see him having much of a shot at advancing to Phoenix. Logano starts fourth, which is admittedly his best qualifying result on speed here since 2019, and he has impressively posted 12 consecutive top-10 finishes there. However, he tends to run consistently without factoring in the lead much, and almost all his laps led have come in the spring, while he has hardly led the fall Martinsville race at all since his win in 2018. You can expect him to finish well, but it's hard to envision him outrunning any of the other drivers left standing, who have all been faster this season. The road likely ends here, and he's probably starting a little too well to start him for DFS when considering he's not very likely to lead.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
William Byron did what he needed to do to stay alive in the playoff race, even though he is currently 36 points behind his teammate Kyle Larson for the final transfer spot to get into the Championship Round after winning the pole for Sunday's Xfinity 500. Since all the drivers he is chasing in the championship qualified pretty well and should also score points, it is unlikely he will advance to the Championship 4 unless he wins or either Larson or Christopher Bell have bad luck in Stage 1 and fail to score any stage points. Byron will naturally be entirely focused on winning at a track where he won both the 2022 and 2024 spring races. Considering how difficult it is to pass here and also considering that he should have a major advantage with the first pit stall, he'll likely lead a lot of laps, even if he doesn't win, and in a 500-lap race, he can accrue many DFS bonus points. You probably need to start him, especially since he only costs $9,700.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Although Ross Chastain delivered what will forever remain his lifetime highlight reel in the fall 2022 race at Martinsville with his storied last lap wall ride to advance to the Championship Round of the playoffs, he actually hasn't been very good at Martinsville overall. That improbable fourth-place finish was his best ever at the track and he's never finished better than sixth since. He also only led 31 laps here at the spring race in 2023. He typically runs between 6th-15th here for the most part, which is again where he qualified (13th). Unlike a lot of weeks when he's a favorite for a lot of Place Differential points, he probably isn't this time. He'll probably get a sneaky and rather invisible top ten finish but won't likely contend. You should probably stay away from Chastain for DFS play.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Josh Berry remains hard to predict because he remains one of the most inconsistent and mistake-prone drivers on the circuit, particularly among drivers who occasionally have winning speed. Berry starts 27th at Martinsville today, and while he finished second at the geometrically similar but much larger Loudon earlier this season and has typically been fast on short tracks in general, he's finished worse than he started in all three of his previous Martinsville starts. However, he did lead an entire stint of 40 laps in this year's spring race from caution to caution when he stayed out of the pits before Bubba Wallace accidentally made contact with him in the pits, which resulted in Berry's car stopping and him finishing several laps down. It's hard to predict him and any Berry predictions can easily backfire, but the fact that he's starting 27th makes him a great possibility for Place Differential points.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Brad Keselowski isn't as much of a factor on most tracks as he used to be, but short tracks seem to be one of the main exceptions. In his last three short track starts at Iowa, Richmond, and Bristol, he has finished in the top ten all three times with a third at Iowa, a second at Bristol, and a combined 103 laps led between the tracks. Keselowski used to be a master at Martinsville as well in the Gen 6 era, but not so much with the Next Gen chassis. However, last year he led 170 laps in the race after qualifying 18th, one position better than he qualified yesterday. All signs point to him being a better DFS contender than he looks. Since he only costs $7,600 after months of underachieving expectations, you should strongly consider starting him today now that he's had a bit of an uptick in his recent short track performance.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Perhaps it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that Shane van Gisbergen no longer looks like a fish out of water like he did earlier in the season. He remains after all one of the world's greatest racing drivers and his car control, strategy, and racecraft can still often carry him even on unfamiliar tracks. It's now no longer surprising when he has top twenty runs on ovals as it seems more likely than not lately. However, it also seems like his qualifying results have often been improving faster than his race finishes. Even if SVG finishes better than his starting position of 22nd today, it's hard to see him finishing much better and he could still easily finish worse since he was 34th six laps down in the spring. If you're even thinking about starting him, start Zane Smith instead because he costs less money in DFS, is starting worse, and is a better oval driver.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
After months of basically looking washed up, Kyle Busch pulled out a relative surprise by qualifying seventh at Martinsville on Saturday, his first top-10 qualifying run on an unrestricted oval since Michigan 20 races ago. That's actually his best starting position since his pole seven years ago in 2018 as well. However, in the 13 races since, he has led a grand total of five laps. About all anyone remembers in all that time is Kevin Harvick attempting to wreck him to advance in the 2020 playoffs and failing. Particularly for Richard Childress Racing, he just hasn't had any speed, as he finished worse than he started in five of six races, never finished better than 16th, or even had an average running position better than 16th. He isn't back. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Do not start Kyle Busch for DFS play.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
It's hard to know what to make of Carson Hocevar's chances at Martinsville on Sunday. He has finished better than he started in all four of his previous Cup Series races, but he has never finished better than 17th. However, on Sunday, he will be starting 15th. Obviously, it's a lot harder to gain positions from that spot, so one could easily see him being unable to replicate that feat. He's been consistently very fast at Bristol, but that is a track that rewards guts and bravado, which he has, unlike Martinsville, which rewards finesse, where he might be lacking. His car control can be so strong that he gets away with things that many of his peers do not, but it seems he has gotten away with less this year than last. It's pretty much a coin flip whether he's worth starting or not, but it would probably be better to pick a similarly-priced driver who is starting worse.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 26, 2025
Short tracks are definitely Michael McDowell's worst track type, and Martinsville is certainly no exception, as McDowell has never finished better than 12th here, although it is noteworthy that he did so in this year's spring race, his debut for Spire Motorsports. The fact that he now drives for a Hendrick Motorsports satellite probably somewhat helps, considering how much Hendrick has dominated here over the years, but he's still never posted a top-10 finish or even led a lap in 29 previous starts, and it's hard to imagine either of those changing, even though his 11th-place qualifying run is his best in six years. His past record suggests he will almost certainly finish worse than he starts, and therefore, it is not a good idea to start him.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 19, 2025
Chase Elliott became a long shot to advance to the Championship 4 after a disappointing day at Las Vegas, where he suffered a penalty for a runaway tire, then was minorly involved in the late race 11-car pileup, which resulted in an 18th-place finish. Since he's now 23 points behind his fellow Chase (Briscoe) for the final playoff transfer spot, Elliott might need to win, and he only starts 25th. But Elliott has already won at Talladega twice, and he might be the best driver here. At a track where raw speed doesn't matter as much as passing, Elliott's top-notch passing ability makes him a contender nearly every time out here. He seemed more dominant with the Gen 6 car than the Next Gen, but he has actually not crashed out in a Next Gen race yet, making him one of the few. There are no sure things at Talladega, but Elliott is certainly the best DFS option probabilistically.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
October 19, 2025
After months of complacency, William Byron now may be approaching a must-win scenario as his crash at Las Vegas coupled with Denny Hamlin's win will make it a lot more difficult to make the Championship 4. He might not need to win if he doesn't crash at Talladega and one of the other playoff contenders does. Although Byron has not yet won at Talladega (unlike Daytona or Atlanta), he's probably been more consistent here as he has finished seventh or better in 7 of his last 10 starts including his last five. Although often he doesn't lead much, he's pretty consistently been one of the drivers in the hunt for the lead. He's been consistent enough that he's actually a pretty solid option for DFS play, especially since he only starts 13th. However his teammate Chase Elliott is just as consistent, starting even worse, and cheaper so you should start him instead.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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