NASCAR is headed to Martinsville Speedway for the Goody’s Fast Relief 500. This is the first race of the Round of 8 of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. With championship hopes hitting the “reset” button at the last short track race of the year, anything can happen.
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are good places to start
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch both rank in the top-five of average finish at Martinsville Speedway over the last four races. Hamlin won the spring race at Martinsville in 2015, while Busch picked up the win in the spring race earlier this year.
Hamlin has three top-tens in his last four starts at Martinsville and needs a strong run to begin his charge at solidifying his spot in the Championship Round. Hamlin has led 162 laps in his last four starts, ranking him fifth among all drivers during that span.
Busch is the most recent winner at Martinsville and has led a total of 352 laps in his last three races at the paperclip shaped track. Even though all 352 of those laps came in one race, Busch is still a great choice with his worse finish being 11th in the fall 2014 race.
Take a chance on Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart
We all know how Gordon’s season went in 2015. An improbable win at Martinsville to seal his fate in the Championship Round in Homestead. No one should be expecting a win from Gordon or even Tony Stewart for that matter. But you should expect a good run and here’s why.
Gordon’s worse finish in his last three races as ninth. Gordon led at least 20 laps in all three of those races, totaling 186. He also is the defending race winner and has the best average finish of active drivers in the last four races with an even 4.0
Stewart on the other hand has a top-five, top-ten and a finish of 20th in his last three races at Martinsville. So why the gamble? It’s Stewart’s last time at Martinsville and many NASCAR fans and drivers know Stewart’s tendencies on short tracks. If the day goes well, a finish inside the top-ten wouldn’t be a surprise.
Also, it’s the last time you can have them both in your lineup.
Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth and one more non-Chase driver
Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth have history at Martinsville, see above. If you take out last year’s fall race for both drivers you are looking at finishes for Logano, who is coming off a win at Talladega, of 5th, 3rd, and 11th and finishes of 6th, 4th and 15th for Kenseth. Those aren’t bad numbers at track where it takes experience to run well.
Two non-Chase drivers are worth additional looks. Ryan Newman has an average finish of 11.8 in his last four races at Martinsville. A.J. Allmendinger has three finishes of 11th or better in his last four races at Martinsville.
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