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Week number six of the NASCAR schedule brings with it yet another track distance as this Sunday’s race is being held at Martinsville Speedway. The “Paperclip” as it’s affectionately known, is the shortest track on the NASCAR slate at just 0.526 miles per lap. With this being the first short track of the season, it’s important to remember that laps led will be distorted in these types of races given passing for the lead is very tough to do. The key to scoring well in DFS for short track races is paying attention to positional differential, though having a laps led dominator certainly doesn’t hurt.
Track Data
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Avg. | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Kyle Busch | 7.3 | 3.67 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 355 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 124.5 | 3.63 | 88.75 | 29.58 |
| Denny Hamlin | 10.3 | 11.5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 142 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 99.7 | -1.2 | 35.5 | 8.88 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 13.3 | 14.25 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 92 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 93.8 | -0.95 | 23 | 5.75 |
| Brad Keselowski | 13.3 | 10.25 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 161 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 0 | 109.5 | 3.05 | 40.25 | 10.06 |
| Matt Kenseth | 13 | 15.25 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 232 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 1 | 108.8 | -2.25 | 58 | 14.50 |
| Jamie McMurray | 13 | 10.75 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 91.6 | 2.25 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Joey Logano | 1.3 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 357 | 3 | 3 | 37 | 0 | 104.7 | -13.7 | 89.25 | 22.31 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 5.8 | 16.5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 1 | 91.9 | -10.7 | 6 | 1.50 |
| Kyle Larson | 12.3 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 91.9 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 0.50 |
| Austin Dillon | 28.3 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 1 | 70.6 | 8.3 | 1.5 | 0.38 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 19 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 36 | 0 | 81.5 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| David Ragan | 20.5 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 37 | 0 | 67.8 | -1.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 5.5 | 9.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 197 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 99.3 | -3.75 | 49.25 | 12.31 |
| Kevin Harvick | 17 | 13.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 264 | 0 | 8 | 20 | 0 | 108.4 | 3.75 | 66 | 16.50 |
| Ryan Newman | 6.8 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 27 | 0 | 81.1 | -8.2 | 0.5 | 0.13 |
| Kasey Kahne | 14.3 | 13.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 9 | 22 | 0 | 80.8 | 1.05 | 7.25 | 1.81 |
| Paul Menard | 15.3 | 17.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 8 | 25 | 0 | 72 | -2.45 | 2.5 | 0.63 |
| Danica Patrick | 21 | 21.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 40 | 1 | 64.8 | -0.75 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kurt Busch | 21.8 | 20.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 0 | 13 | 34 | 0 | 82.3 | 1.05 | 10.75 | 2.69 |
| Aric Almirola | 15.5 | 20.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 40 | 1 | 67.4 | -5.25 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ryan Blaney | 13.5 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 66.1 | -5.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chase Elliott | 14 | 23.33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 38 | 0 | 63.4 | -9.33 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Michael McDowell | 28.5 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 24 | 0 | 56 | 7.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Cole Whitt | 33 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 50.1 | 9 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Trevor Bayne | 32.8 | 24.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 31 | 0 | 51.6 | 8.05 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Clint Bowyer | 26.3 | 27.25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 43 | 1 | 60.6 | -0.95 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Landon Cassill | 31.8 | 24.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 29 | 0 | 50.6 | 7.05 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Chris Buescher | 33.3 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 33 | 0 | 42.7 | 5.3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 35.3 | 30.5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 32 | 0 | 38.6 | 4.8 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 38 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 28.5 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Timmy Hill | 42 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 27.9 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Reed Sorenson | 37 | 37.5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 38 | 0 | 29.3 | -0.5 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 26 | 37.75 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 40 | 1 | 37.4 | -11.75 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Gray Gaulding | 36 | 39 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 1 | 27.8 | -3 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Erik Jones | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Daniel Suarez | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Corey LaJoie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Ty Dillon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Top-15 at Martinsville Speedway Historically
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | ||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 10.9 | 7.3 | 30 | 9 | 19 | 24 | 27 | 2,839 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 1 | 124.5 | 709.75 | 23.66 |
| Denny Hamlin | 9.6 | 9.23 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 1,363 | 3 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 99.7 | 340.75 | 15.49 |
| Kurt Busch | 19.8 | 21.24 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 464 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 64.8 | 116 | 3.52 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 14.9 | 12.94 | 33 | 1 | 13 | 18 | 23 | 972 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 2 | 93.8 | 243 | 7.36 |
| Kyle Busch | 11.6 | 14.09 | 23 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 842 | 1 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 108.8 | 210.5 | 9.15 |
| Ryan Newman | 9.3 | 15.03 | 30 | 1 | 8 | 14 | 23 | 196 | 3 | 1 | 41 | 2 | 91.9 | 49 | 1.63 |
| Kevin Harvick | 14.7 | 16.03 | 31 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 23 | 628 | 0 | 1 | 41 | 1 | 70.6 | 157 | 5.06 |
| Matt Kenseth | 18.7 | 14.76 | 34 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 25 | 641 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 3 | 104.7 | 160.25 | 4.71 |
| Clint Bowyer | 17.2 | 14.82 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 356 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 2 | 91.9 | 89 | 4.05 |
| Brad Keselowski | 15 | 13.79 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 171 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 109.5 | 42.75 | 3.05 |
| Joey Logano | 9.4 | 14.25 | 16 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 12 | 456 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 91.6 | 114 | 7.13 |
| Kasey Kahne | 18.6 | 19.92 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 60 | 1 | 2 | 40 | 5 | 80.8 | 15 | 0.58 |
| Jamie McMurray | 13.9 | 16.32 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 20 | 201 | 2 | 2 | 42 | 2 | 81.5 | 50.25 | 1.79 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 15.8 | 20.59 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 11 | 198 | 1 | 5 | 40 | 2 | 72 | 49.5 | 2.25 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 17.6 | 18.94 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 | 50 | 0 | 2 | 43 | 2 | 99.3 | 12.5 | 0.74 |
Key Drivers on Short Tracks
| Avg. | Avg. | Laps | High | Low | Difference | Laps Led | Laps Led | |||||||||
| Driver | Start | Finish | Races | Wins | Top 5's | Top 10's | Top 20's | Led | Poles | Finish | Finish | DNF | Rating | Pts. | Pts. | Pts./race |
| Jimmie Johnson | 14.3 | 9.92 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 10 | 136 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 94.6 | 4.38 | 34 | 2.83 |
| Denny Hamlin | 7.2 | 11.08 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 419 | 2 | 1 | 39 | 1 | 98.9 | -3.88 | 104.75 | 8.73 |
| Matt Kenseth | 8.3 | 19.17 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 778 | 1 | 1 | 42 | 4 | 103.3 | -10.87 | 194.5 | 16.21 |
| Kevin Harvick | 11.8 | 10.58 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 654 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 110.9 | 1.22 | 163.5 | 13.63 |
| Kyle Busch | 6 | 12.11 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 890 | 0 | 1 | 39 | 2 | 115.5 | -6.11 | 222.5 | 24.72 |
| Joey Logano | 3.8 | 12.25 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 10 | 694 | 5 | 1 | 40 | 0 | 100.6 | -8.45 | 173.5 | 14.46 |
| Kurt Busch | 14 | 15.58 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 531 | 0 | 1 | 38 | 1 | 98.4 | -1.58 | 132.75 | 11.06 |
| Brad Keselowski | 9.6 | 14.42 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 180 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 0 | 95.4 | -4.82 | 45 | 3.75 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 20.1 | 12.56 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 0 | 86.3 | 7.54 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Jamie McMurray | 16.3 | 10.75 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 0 | 90.5 | 5.55 | 1 | 0.08 |
| Kyle Larson | 13.7 | 16.73 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 111 | 0 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 89.2 | -3.03 | 27.75 | 2.52 |
| Austin Dillon | 18.3 | 18.33 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 41 | 1 | 73.3 | -0.03 | 1.5 | 0.13 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 22.6 | 23.5 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 1 | 60.1 | -0.9 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 10.5 | 15.42 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 390 | 1 | 3 | 32 | 0 | 94.7 | -4.92 | 97.5 | 8.13 |
| Ryan Newman | 13.3 | 15.75 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 0 | 79.2 | -2.45 | 2.75 | 0.23 |
Drivers to watch this week:
Kyle Busch: Kyle has the best average finish in the field over the last two year’s worth of races at the ‘Clip at 3.67. He has a win and three top-fives in that span with 355 laps led, good 
for second in the field (only two behind Joey Logano) and because he is also only a handful of drivers with a positive positional differential, he is among my top picks for the week.
Denny Hamlin: We are back in Denny’s home state as Martinsville and Richmond are his home tracks. He has represented well here in recent history with a win and three top-five finishes. If we were to take out the one race in which he crashed out and finished 39th, he’d have a positive positional differential as well. The 142 laps led place him seventh in the field in that category this week, but at less than $10,000 on Draft Kings, he is quite affordable.
Jimmie Johnson: J.J. is the third driver on this list with a win here in the last two years but unsurprisingly, he is also the best driver in the field here historically and on short tracks. Sporting 19 top-five finishes in 30 career runs on the track is spectacular as are his 2,839 laps led, nearly 1,500 more than the next guy, Denny Hamlin. J.J, has yet to find the magic this season with the 48-car failing to get a top-10 finish in all but one race this year. So he still poses a bit of a risk unless he shows otherwise at practice.
Kyle Larson: Larson is inarguably the hottest driver on the track at the moment with three straight second-place finishes being capped off last week with a win at California. He is one of only five drivers to have an average finish better than 20th at Martinsville over the last four races and owns a best of a third place finish in that time. His price is a bit inflated this week coming off his hot streak, but there is no reason for that hot streak to stop in southern Virginia.
Austin Dillon: Dillon has three top-20 finishes under his fire suit at Martinsville in the last two seasons, including a top-five finish. His +8.3 positional differential mark is second in the field, only behind Cole Whitt who has moved up an average of nine spots per race. He is bordering on a bargain price this week at $7,000 on Draft Kings. That could come in handy to get good value and fit another top driver in the lineup.