The second round of the playoffs are history and we are now down to eight drivers with a chance to win this year’s championship. Those eliminated this week were Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, and Alex Bowman. All four of the Stewart-Haas drivers advance while Chase Elliott picked up his third win of the season and added another 5 playoff points to his stats.
FIRST DATA 500
This week the series heads back to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the First Data 500. Martinsville is the shortest track on the circuit at .526 miles and has very minimal banking. Passing is tough to do here and the chrome horn often comes into play. There are two short tracks on the schedule for the third round of the playoffs which will make it tough on any driver who struggles on this type of track.
Once again the points will be reset for this round which will put Kyle Busch in first place one point ahead of Kevin Harvick and they will be followed by Martin Truex Jr. Then comes Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and Aric Almirola. Of these drivers I think Aric might be the one with the highest hill to climb as he only has six playoff points and hasn’t been the most consistent on the short tracks during his career.
Kyle Busch: I think Kyle is going to be the winner this week and qualify himself for the championship race. He has two wins, two runner-up finishes and six top five finishes in his last six starts at this track. A win here takes all of the pressure off of him until the final race of the season as he looks for his second championship. He will also be able to focus more on that final race without having to worry about what happens in the two races that lead up to the championship race.
Clint Bowyer: Clint won the race here this spring and hasn’t finished outside of the top ten here since joining Stewart-Haas last year. He had a worrisome day at Kansas last week as he was close to the cutoff line for most of the race, but prevailed in the end. He knows that he has a lot of points to make up on those ahead of him, but a win moves him into the championship race.
Brad Keselowski: I know Brad is disappointed that he didn’t qualify for this round of the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean he is giving up on the season. Brad has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts at Martinsville and could throw a wrench into the playoff hopes of other drivers by stealing a win away from one of them this weekend.
Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has two straight top five finishes here and doesn’t want to get in a situation where he is trying to make the final race on points even though he has a nice lead over five of the other drivers. Anyone below him who wins a race makes those points mean a little less and he would love to make it to the championship race in the last year for Furniture Row Racing.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin finished fifth in his last two starts at this track, but hasn’t been real consistent at this track throughout his career. He would love to win a race early in this round or at least finish in the top five once again so he doesn’t have the pressure of trying to win at Phoenix to make the championship race. I think there are better options for your fantasy team this week.
Joey Logano: Joey has started in the top six here in his last eleven races. He has four top five and six top ten finishes in his last nine starts here, but is still looking for his first win here. He might be someone to put on your roster for qualifying points and could be a surprise winner this week. If you are looking to have someone on your team that could possibly help you make a move in your league, Joey is that driver.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won nine times at this track and this is the type of track where speed isn’t a big factor. You need a car that handles more than you need speed here and that might just be the ticket to him breaking into the win column. I think he is going to finish in the top five and he could possibly pick up his first win of the season this weekend.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has five wins here himself and could be another surprise driver. The last few times he has been here he hasn’t had the setup he needs and is always wheel hopping going into the corners which takes him right out of contention. He is another driver you might consider if you are trying to make up ground in your league. He has led laps here in seven of his last eight starts which means he does run up front for a while.
Chase Elliott: Let’s not forget about the hottest driver on the track right now. Chase’s best finish here was a third last spring. He returned here last fall and led 123 laps before having some trouble and finishing a lap down in twenty-seventh place. Then he came back this spring and finished ninth in that race, so I think he is getting better and better here each time out.
Kurt Busch: Kurt has two wins at Martinsville in his career, but the last of those came nine races ago and he hasn’t finished in the top ten since. As a matter of fact, his win in 2014 was his last top ten finish here in his last twenty-five starts. He is my stay away from driver this weekend. If he pushes too hard this week he might find himself in a must win situation.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
Driver Group Game Group A
- Kyle Busch
- Brad Keselowski
Driver Group Game Group B
- Clint Bowyer
- Chase Elliott
- Ryan Newman
- Jamie McMurray
Driver Group Game Group C
- William Byron
- Chris Buescher
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch
- Brad Keselowski
- Clint Bowyer
- Denny Hamlin
- Jimmie Johnson
Dark Horse: Joey Logano
Stay Away From: Kurt Busch
Big 18: Clint Bowyer
32 replies on “2018 Martinsville Speedway, First Data 500”
Your thoughts on the 78 this week?
Started in the top three in six of his last seven here and finished in the top ten five times. Worth taking a shot on if you don’t have any starts left for Kyle Busch.
Who do you like better here Byron or Bowman?
Thanks for all your great advice this year, you have been so helpful.
Tough call. Bowman finished 7th here this spring, but before that he was terrible at this track. Byron only ran here once and finished 20th. I think it depends on how many starts you have left with each.
I have a Newman, Bowman and McMurray left. I’m thinking of saving Bowman for Phoenix so is Ryan Newman a viable choice this week?
Newman and McMurray are your two short track guys. I would probably use McMurray this week and then Newman at Phoenix.
11 or 48 Jeff? Thanks!
An FYI here.
This site (Fantasy Racing League Cheat Sheet) has a NASCAR Driver Head to Head Page. This sometimes helps me, instead of doing my own looking up. The link…..
https://fantasyracingcheatsheet.com/fantasy-nascar/driver-head-to-head
Or click on the FANTASY STATISTICS tab at the top of the page, then scroll down till you see the HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON tab.
Best of luck.
I like the 48 better this week.
18-4-78-14 are gone who would be your next pick and then the pick after that,need this one bad
The 2 and the 22
who do you like more 2 or 22? Logano qualifys well here
The 2
My B group guys are 9, 12, 14, 47. All week I had the 9 and 14 starting for me but now Im not sure. Do you think the 12 should replace the 9 after practice and qualifying?
That really depends on how many starts you have left for Elliott. If you have 3 or more then you can use him. If less use Newman.
I have 4 starts left for Elliott.
I have 3 starts left for Blaney.
Who would you start with practice and qualifying done?
I would run Elliott in all of the remaining races and run Blaney in three of them.
I have to pick between the 18 and 48. Given the history of the 48 here, do you think he’ll have a good run or should I pick the 18 to win?
You have to take the 18 as fast as he has been all weekend and with him sitting on the pole. He has also been much better here recently with 6 straight top five finishes with 2 of those being wins and 2 of them being 2nd’s.
👍🏼
Who do you like for C drivers? 24(4) or 37(2)? Thanks in advance
I would stick with the 24 just because this is one of the better funded teams, so less of a chance being knocked out early on.
Jeff, within 25 points of lead. Pick one harvick, kes,bowyer or logano. Should I use Elliott or Hamlin and lastly, Should I use Johnson or bowman. Thanks. You have been a big help.
I like Keselowski, Hamlin, and Johnson
Johnson failed inspection, but he still might be better than Bowman.
Truex, Bowyer, Jones and Byron
Bench:
Kez , Elliott, Blaney and Buescher
Your thoughts?
Keselowski seeing Truex is starting at the rear, Bowyer and Elliott, then a toss up between Buescher and Byron.
Oops. I have Elliott starting and Jones on bench. Figured he has the momentum.
And Truex failed inspection.
Thoughts on Blaney this week? One use with Kyle Busch left so which race would you use him?
Blaney looked pretty good so far this weekend. My question is, does he have the patience to get back to the front if his car isn’t handling as well as it was earlier this weekend and he falls back some.
As for Busch, I think he wins this week. He might pick you up some qualifying points the rest of the season if you have him on your roster with starts left. I would use him today.
Kez and Truex both to the rear.
Who do u start
Keselowski has been a bit better all weekend and Paul Wolfe knows how to make calls to gain track position.