Martinsville Speedway
Race Recap
W. T. F! That’s really all I can say at this point. With 2 laps to go, Bubba Wallace turns Kyle Larson to bring out a late caution and send the race into Overtime. All lead lap cars pit under caution, MTJs pit was a little slow and ends up losing track position to Hamlin by the end of pit road. Then the controversy, did Denny leave early? He appeared to get an early jump in the restart box, Clint and Kevin called it out on the broadcast, its all over twitter. We’ve seen penalties for less and yet, nothing for Denny. MTJ did his best to keep Denny at bay but ultimately got shuffled out before taking out his frustration by rubbing doors with Larson after the flag and then riding Denny’s bumper back to pit road. I get it man, I get it.
Kyle Laron took the early lead from the pole, lead 144 laps, and took Stage 1. Our guy Martin Truex took the lead in Stage 2, won stage 2 and held the lead until late in the race. He ultimately lost the lead after 228 laps out front, finishing 4th.
This Week’s Race Preview
It’s time for The Paperclip! We are at Martinsville Speedway in Martinsville, VA for the 2024 Cook Out 400. 2nd consecutive Virginia short track. Home of the Grandfather Clock trophy and Ross Chastain’s (now illegal) Hail Melon.
Track
0.53 mile, Paved, Oval, Short Track
Betting Intro & Stats
Similar track, similar strategy to what we broke down last week for Richmond. Another short, flat track. The biggest difference here is how difficult it can be to pass. Given how short the track is, gaining enough time and space to make a move to pass can prove tricky. We will expect lots of lapped traffic again as multiple cars will end up off the lead lap.
Kyle Larson is your defending Spring Race champion. Ryan Blaney won the fall playoff race here on his way to the cup championship. Comps for Martinsville include, Phoenix, Richmond, and New Hampshire. Comps can sort-of extend to World Wide Technology Raceway (aka Gateway) and Nashville wince they are mostly flat. Looking at comp tracks, your winningest active drivers are Kyle Busch and Joey Logano (3) at Phoenix, Kyle Busch (6) at Richmond, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch (3) at New Hampshire. Then there is Busch and Logano (1) at WWT/Gateway, and Larson, Chastain, Elliott (1) at Nashville. Kyle Busch’s name is up there a lot, but he is STRUGGLING this season. I’m off him until he shows me something. Having said that, lets see if the Martinsville stats can help us target a solid candidate.
Let’s take a look at some recent stats from www.driveraverages.com.
Picks
Last Week’s Recap: – 3.1U
Season Results: – 19.55U
Another week, another top 5, another kick in the shins. Literally can’t even buy a W at this point. The chips are down bad, but there plenty of season left to recover.
Chalk: Martin Truex Jr 7-1 3U
It’s between Larson and Truex for me. I don’t think Denny goes back to back and wins 3 of the last 4 races. If he does, egg on my face, but I’m not here for it. I think MTJ is seeing red after Richmond and has something to prove. He has not gotten the results he’s accustomed to lately and I think he wants that chip off of his shoulder more than ever. This is one of his best opportunities to get that done.
Mid-Range: N/A xx-1 0.0U
Skipping again this week. Not convinced anyone outside of 15-1 has a chance to take down this race.
Tingle du Jour: Daniel Suarez 100-1 0.2U
Not much here other than a gut feel. If there is someone who has a chance this week it might be Suarez. I want to take Gilliland at 200 but he just hasn’t looked good enough to hold position. P21 in a strong car for a guy who has a win this season, I’ll roll them dice at 100-1.
DFS Strategy
Same story as last week. Dominator points aplenty, likely a 2-3 Dominator build. Passing is difficult so PD can be hard to find and lapped traffic will become an issue. Likely Dominators are going to be Larson P1 $11.2k, Truex P4 $10.8k, and Denny P8 $11.5k. I’m going to opt to just fade Denny for the whole weekend. I really want to feel it when he burns me again. A few possible PD plays I like, Willy B P18 $9.8k, Daniel Suarez P21 $6.9k (nice!), Corey LaJoie P32 $5.8k.
Raise Hell Praise Dale
The Weekend Heater 
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