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Goody’s Fast Relief 500
Martinsville Speedway
Last Sunday, at Talladega, was devoid of the big one that traditionally takes down a large part of the field. Instead it was individual incidents and engine trouble that did in half the cars in the Chase and wound up taking out Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliot, and Austin Dillon out of contention for the Championship. Brian Scott wound up with his best career finish at second just behind winner Joey Logano as he couldn’t get a final run on him through the tri-oval on the final lap.
This Sunday, the action heads to The Paperclip in the mountains of Virginia for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This will be a tricky week for the teams who will have to get the cars ready for the shortest track, at just .526 miles per lap, on the schedule after racing at the longest, 2.66 miles per one trip around, and there are certainly some teams that can do it better than others. Martinsville represents the first race in the Round of 8, meaning a win here locks a driver into a trip to Miami-Homestead for the Championship. The pressure is really on teams now to get things right with just Texas, and Phoenix left in this round.
Typically, 87% of eventual winners start P5 or better in the grid here, due to the configuration of the track and the challenge of passing. In terms of comparison tracks, Richmond and Bristol are both considered short track, given they are both under 1-mile per lap. However, Loudon also works since it is a flat track much like Martinsville is with just its 12 degree banking in the concrete turns. Hard braking and perfect acceleration and shifting are musts around this narrow track but that makes completing the pass hard to do. With very few drivers having a positive positional differential here, that is less in play this week but laps led are important as a front of pack driver can rack them up in quick succession as the laps take such a short time to complete. Consistency is also hard to come by here, so making sure lineups have some form of it should be a top goal this week.
PLAYBOOK
| Driver | Draft Kings | Description |
| Kyle Busch | $10,700 | Kyle is the highest salaried driver this week based on what he did in April. He led 325 laps and won the race. He has run in the front of the pack this week and is a good GPP play |
| Jimmie Johnson | $10,500 | Johnson has the third most laps led in the field at 296 with a top-five and two top-10s but does on average go backwards a bit in placing. This is his best short track. Either works |
| Kevin Harvick | $10,300 | Harvick has three top-10s to his credit and the fourth most laps led (296) in the field. His proven ability to move through the pack makes him a solid play in either format |
| Denny Hamlin | $10,000 | Hamlin has a win here with two top-fives and three top-10s in the last five. He has been able to carry speed well this week as well which makes him intriguing at $10,000 |
| Joey Logano | $9,800 | Logano has the best starting position in the field on average at 1.6 and leads the group in laps led at 435. He starts P2 again this time and if he can stay up front, a win is possible |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $9,400 | Truex is on the pole for Sunday and continues to be on a tear this season. Being on the pole makes a good GPP play and cash game play with it being a short track. |
| Matt Kenseth | $9,200 | Kenseth has a top-five and three top-10s to his credit at the Paperclip. The only thing bringing down his average finish is a DNF over the last three years. Cash works well here |
| Kurt Busch | $9,000 | The older Busch brother has been pretty consistent over the last three years. He has a win and 87 laps led but doesn't move through the field much on average. Either is fine |
| Jeff Gordon | $8,800 | Gordon is the most consistent driver here in the last three years. He has the best average finish along with a win and three top-10s with placing better than 12th each time |
| Kyle Larson | $8,400 | Larson is in a mid-tier salary this week and should be a GPP play given a short history at the track but a lot of upside with his speed this week. He has a top-five to his credit |
| Austin Dillon | $8,100 | Dillon has a +8.8 positional differential which is tied for best in the field on Sunday. He also has a top-five and a top-10 in the last five races. Dillon has been solid In the Chase |
| Tony Stewart | $7,600 | Smoke is racing here for the final time on Sunday and would like to have one more great finish. He has finished in the top-20 in 7-out-of-8 races with four top-10s. GPP works |
| A.J. Allmendinger | $7,300 | Allmendinger has a top-five and two top-10s here with a runner-up finish being his best. If he can find a way to translate his speed to the short track, big point totals will follow |
| Danica Patrick | $6,600 | Patrick has looked good this week and has a top-10 and two top-20s to her credit here. She is still a risk with two DNFs as well so keep her only to GPP consideration |
| David Ragan | $5,800 | Ragan is my sleeper pick this week at Martinsville. He has a +6.8 positional differential which is one of the best in the field along with a top-fvie and two top-10s here. Both work |
OPTIMAL LINEUPS
| Draft Kings Cash | |
| Kevin Harvick | $10,300 |
| Denny Hamlin | $10,000 |
| Joey Logano | $9,800 |
| Jeff Gordon | $8,800 |
| David Ragan | $5,800 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | $4,800 |
| Total | $49,500 |
The cash lineup leads off with three drivers in order in salaries in Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano at $10,300, $10,000, and $9,800 respectively. Harvick has shown his ability to move through a field here as well as leading the fourth most laps in the last five races. Hamlin has a long history of strong performances at the track in his home state with several wins and an average finish of better than 10th over 21 races. Logano is fresh off a win at ‘Dega and now comes to a track that he has performed well at in the last several years with the most laps led in the field. He just needs to stick up front to maximize his value. Jeff Gordon ($8,800) is next on the roster as not only the most consistent driver at the short track in the last five races, with the best average finish of 6.0 and a win, but his average finish of 6.76 over the course of 46 races here speaks to his prolonged ability to run up front. David Ragan ($5,800) and Matt DiBenedetto ($4,800) round out the roster of six with a sleeper and a positional play. Ragan is a top-15 driver here with a top-five and two top-10s to his credit in the last five years and DiBenedetto has a +8.0 positional differential, which is good for third in the field.
| Draft Kings GPP | |
| Kyle Busch | $10,700 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $9,400 |
| Jeff Gordon | $8,800 |
| Kyle Larson | $8,400 |
| Danica Patrick | $6,600 |
| David Ragan | $5,800 |
| Total | $49,700 |
This week’s GPP squad starts with two of the most dominant drivers this season in Kyle Busch ($10,700) and Martin Truex Jr. ($9,400). Busch absolutely ran roughshod over the field in April while leading 325 laps on the way to the win and is again showing good speed in practice and qualifying. Truex is on the pole for the first time here this week and has a checkered history here, but his performances all season suggest that he has turned a page in his career. Jeff Gordon ($8,800) and Kyle Larson ($8,400) are the middle two in the lineup. Gordon’s bona fides are stated above and is too cheap to ignore this week. Larson has shown very good speed this week and does have a top-five finish to his credit in the last five races. The final two driver spots are taken by Danica Patrick ($6,600) and David Ragan ($5,800) to round out the squad. Patrick can be good if played the right weeks and this is one of those weeks. A top-10 and two top-20s plus good showings in practice have her on the right track. Ragan is my sleeper this week and is in both lineups given his upside and price point making a great combination.