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First Data 500 Betting News and Notes

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Martinsville Speedway Track Facts

Martinsville Speedway Data

Season Race #: 06 of 36 (04-02-17)
Track Size: 0.526-mile
Banking/Turn 1 & 2: 12 degrees
Banking/Turn 3 & 4: 12 degrees
Banking/Frontstretch: 0 degrees
Banking/Backstretch: 0 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 800 feet
Backstretch Length: 800 feet
Race Length: 500 laps / 263 miles
Stage 1 & 2 Length: 130 laps (each)
Final Stage Length: 240 laps

Top 10 Driver Ratings at Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson 116.9
Denny Hamlin 106.6
Kyle Busch 101.3
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 97.8
Brad Keselowski 93.7
Kevin Harvick 93.4
Joey Logano 91.3
Matt Kenseth 89.0
Clint Bowyer 88.7
Ryan Newman 86.2

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2017 races (25 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway.

Qualifying/Race Data

2016 pole winner:
Martin Truex Jr., Toyota
98.206 mph, 19.282 secs. 10-29-16

2016 race winner:
Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet
78.540 mph, (03:20:55), 10-30-16

Track qualifying record:
Joey Logano, Ford
100.201 mph, 18.898 secs. 03-28-14

Track race record:
Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet
82.223 mph, (3:11:55), 09-22-96

 
Posted : October 26, 2017 9:14 am
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Martinsville - Driver Tale of the Tape

1 - Martin Truex Jr (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 75.1
2017 Rundown
· Seven wins, 15 top fives, 22 top 10s,
· Led 2068 laps
· Average Finish of 10.3

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· Two top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 20.391, 18th-best
· Average Running Position of 19.257, 19th-best
· Driver Rating of 75.1, 17th-best
· 158 Fastest Laps Run
· 5369 Laps in the Top 15 (46.5), 16th-most
· 476 Quality Passes, 14th-most

2 - Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 101.3
2017 Rundown
· Four wins, 12 top fives, 19 top 10s,
· Led 1789 laps
· Average Finish of 12.1

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· One win, 12 top fives, 13 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.583, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 11.622, third-best
· Driver Rating of 101.3, third-best
· 624 Fastest Laps Run
· 9033 Laps in the Top 15 (75.1), third-most
· 789 Quality Passes, fourth-most

3 - Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Team Penske Ford)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.7
2017 Rundown
· Three wins, 13 top fives, 18 top 10s,
· Led 669 laps
· Average Finish of 13

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· One win, five top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 12.933, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.216, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 93.7, fifth-best
· 343 Fastest Laps Run
· 4973 Laps in the Top 15 (66.1), fifth-most
· 561 Quality Passes, 11th-most

4 - Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 93.4
2017 Rundown
· One win, ten top fives, 19 top 10s,
· Led 812 laps
· Average Finish of 12

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· One win, three top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.200, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 13.444, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 93.4, sixth-best
· 462 Fastest Laps Run
· 8222 Laps in the Top 15 (65.6), sixth-most
· 755 Quality Passes, fifth-most

5 - Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 116.9
2017 Rundown
· Three wins, four top fives, 11 top 10s,
· Led 193 laps
· Average Finish of 15.7

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· Nine wins, 19 top fives, 24 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 7.080, series-best
· Average Running Position of 8.009, series-best
· Driver Rating of 116.9, series-best
· 1118 Fastest Laps Run
· 10743 Laps in the Top 15 (85.7), series-most
· 870 Quality Passes, series-most

6 - Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 106.6
2017 Rundown
· Two wins, 14 top fives, 19 top 10s,
· Led 445 laps
· Average Finish of 11.4

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· Five wins, 12 top fives, 17 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 10.130, second-best
· Average Running Position of 9.800, second-best
· Driver Rating of 106.6, second-best
· 760 Fastest Laps Run
· 9224 Laps in the Top 15 (80.0), second-most
· 846 Quality Passes, third-most

7 - Ryan Blaney (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 73.8
2017 Rundown
· One win, four top fives, 12 top 10s,
· Led 290 laps
· Average Finish of 17.5

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· Average finish of 21.000, 19th-best
· Average Running Position of 16.093, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 73.8, 19th-best
· 5 Fastest Laps Run
· 573 Laps in the Top 15 (38.2), 19th-most
· 58 Quality Passes, 26th-most

8 - Chase Elliott (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

· Season-to-Date Driver Rating: 78.1
2017 Rundown
· Ten top fives, 18 top 10s,
· Led 402 laps
· Average Finish of 12.2

Martinsville Speedway Outlook:
· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 18.250, 15th-best
· Average Running Position of 19.098, 18th-best
· Driver Rating of 78.1, 13th-best
· 56 Fastest Laps Run
· 940 Laps in the Top 15 (47.0), 15th-most
· 65 Quality Passes, 25th-most

 
Posted : October 26, 2017 9:16 am
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First Data 500 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The goal for the eight drivers still alive in NASCAR's Playoffs is the get out the gate fast in the Round of 8 with a win at Martinsville Speedway and earn that automatic berth into the Championship 4 at Homestead next month. The three races in this round instantly make a couple drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch favored to be advancing to the Championship Race.

“I look forward to the next round – we’ve got Martinsville, we’ve got Texas and we’ve got Phoenix,' said Kyle Busch who sits second in points behind Truex. "Those are all three really strong tracks for us. Texas is a bit of a wild card with the repave, but there’s no reason why we can’t run well there.

"Honestly, I don’t know that there are tracks on the schedule that are weak points for us unless, obviously, there are crapshoot-type races like Talladega or Daytona. We lived through Kansas last weekend, so we get to move on.”

Any playoff driver that wins any of the next three races gets an automatic berth into the Championship Race at Homestead. And of the eight drivers, a couple of them are really good at Martinville's flat half-mile layout such as Jimmie Johnson, and a couple aren't so accomplished there such as Truex.

Seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has won on the flat half-mile layout nine times to lead all active drivers, In 31 career starts he's averaged a 7.5 finish and led an incredible 2,839 laps. This is probably Johnson's best chance to advance to the Championship because his car has been kind of junky on 1.5-mile tracks or at least light years behind in performance compared to the likes of Truex and Busch.

“It’s not back to zero with all those stage points," said Joshnon who sits fifth in points. "For us to advance moving forward, we’ve got to win. Martinsville is not a bad track for us. So, hopefully we can repeat last year’s performance there. It’s pretty simple from here on out, we’ve got to get some speed in our cars and we’ve got to win a race.”

Next on the Martinsville win list among active drivers is Virginia native Denny Hamlin. In 23 starts he's got five wins, a 10th-place average and led 1,387 laps. He loves this track more than any other and considers it like a home field edge for him and his No. 11 team. He last won there in 2015 and he finished third last season. In the first race there this season he got involved in a wreck late and finished 30th. He should be considered the favorite to win this week just because his special set of skills on his home track.

Brad Keselowski captured his first career Martinsville win in April leading 116 laps. Kyle Busch finished second and led a race high 274 laps. The two rivals battled back and forth in the final 150 laps. It was good short track racing. I like them to both be good again here, especially Busch who has top-five finishes there in his last four starts, including his first win there last spring.

“We’ve run well the last couple of times at Martinsville and we’re definitely pumped about getting back there," said Busch. "I’m hoping we can have a really good car there again this time around like we did last time. We led a lot of laps and we were really fast and came home second there in the spring. We tested there a few weeks ago and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and the guys had a really fast racecar there, and we feel really good about what we have for this weekend. Hoping that we can finish one spot better there than the spring this time around with our M&M’s Halloween Camry.”

Truex leads the series with seven wins and he's a huge favorite every week, but not this week. This isn't a 1.5-mile track and he just never has warmed up to the track in his career. In 23 career starts he has a 20th-place average finish and only two top-five finishes. He's not a good bet here despite having the first pit stop, but look for him to win at Texas next week.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #11 Denny Hamlin (6/1)
2) #18 Kyle Busch (5/1)
3) #2 Brad Keselowski (6/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (7/1)
5) #24 Chase Elliott (18/1)

 
Posted : October 26, 2017 9:17 am
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First Data 500 Betting Predictions
By Adam Burke
Bangthebook.com

The Round of 8 begins in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs with this Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The drivers will run around the 0.526-mile “Paperclip” for the second time this season and this race is a big one for the eight drivers that are still eligible for the championship. Only four races are left in the 2017 NASCAR season, as things will wrap up on November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

That makes this the 33rd race of the 36-race regular season. We have seen a lot of interesting things this year with the new scoring format and some of the other rules and regulations that have been implemented. The first stop at Martinsville came all the way back on April 2 with the STP 500. We’ve come a long way since then, to say the least. Only eight drivers can still win the title, but a full field will be on hand in these remaining races.

Seven of the eight drivers left in the mix aren’t going to surprise anybody. Martin Truex Jr. is the points leader with 4,069. The points reset to 4,000 for the Round of 8 and then the bonus points collected during the season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs were added to the total. Kyle Busch is second with 4,042 points. Brad Keselowski is third with 4,026 points. Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick are tied for fourth with 4,017 points. Denny Hamlin is next with 4,014 points. Ryan Blaney is seventh with 4,009 points. Chase Elliott snuck into the Round of 8 and has 4,006 points. He is the only driver without a win in a feature-length race left standing at this point, but he has four top-five finishes in the playoffs.

The biggest surprise is that Kyle Larson was axed from contention last week. Larson, who was around the top spot all year long, failed to finish better than 10th in the Round of 12 and finished 39th at Kansas to seal his fate.

Racing started at Martinsville all the way back in 1949, when Red Byron won the inaugural 200-lap feature in his Oldsmobile. This track has been a twice-a-year venue for NASCAR dating back to 1950, so there is a lot of history at the track, which seats 55,000 spectators right near the Virginia/North Carolina border in the middle of the state.

The clear race favorite this week is Kyle Busch at +225 at 5Dimes Sportsbook. Busch being such a significant favorite is a bit of a surprise, considering the fact that he only has one career win on this track. Busch won last year’s STP 500 to pick up his first victory at Martinsville. He’s had plenty of close calls and good finishes, but it took him that long to break through. He has finished fifth each of the last two years and finished second back in 2012 for his best career finish in this race. He led the most laps and finished second in his quest to repeat in the spring. In total, Busch only has one win, but has 12 career top-five finishes at this race track.

Brad Keselowski might be a bit of a surprising second favorite at +425, but he won the spring race. He was the runner-up in this race last year and also had top-five finishes in the spring race in 2015 and 2016. In nine Martinsville starts with a Ford, Keselowski has five top-five finishes and that win earlier this season. He survived at Talladega in the last round and that is probably the reason why he was able to advance, so playing with a little bit of house money might be an attractive angle.

Martin Truex Jr. is one of the co-third favorites at +650, even though it seems like he has won just about every race this season. Truex generally excels on the 1.5-mile tracks, but he did win the first stage at Martinsville earlier this season. He has three wins in the playoffs, but they have all come on 1.5-mile tracks. He had the pole and finished seventh here last season. Truex hasn’t had a top-five at Martinsville since 2012. If you’re going to try and fade Truex in matchups, this just might be the week. In fact, Truex hasn’t fared very well at Texas or Phoenix, so this could be a tricky round for him. Fortunately, with his point total, he’s all but a guarantee to advance to the Final 4 at Homestead-Miami.

Denny Hamlin is an interesting bet among the lower prices at +650. Hamlin has five career wins at Martinsville, with the most recent coming back in 2015. He’s won this race twice, but hasn’t won it since 2010. Hamlin tends to be a good driver on short tracks and in restrictor plate races, so he likes the feeling of being in traffic, which is a key element of this race on the 0.526-mile track. Since his fourth-place in the first race at Michigan, Hamlin has 12 top-five finishes out of 18 races, including wins at New Hampshire and Darlington.

Richard Petty’s record of 15 career wins at Martinsville will never be touched, but Jimmie Johnson is the only guy that has a shot. Johnson is the active leader in wins at Martinsville with nine. In fact, he won this race last year, so he is certainly a contender at +750. Short tracks do eliminate some of the equipment advantage that other teams seem to have over Hendrick Motorsports at this point. Johnson is a smart, calculated racer with a win on the Bristol short track this season. He also has wins at Texas and Dover. Given his history here, and the recent dominance of Chevrolet in this race, with five straight winners, all from the Hendrick Motorsports team, he has to be a consideration.

Speaking of which, if you’re looking for a little bit of a long shot, Chase Elliott looks very good at +1650. Elliott has finished second in three of the playoff races and fourth in another. He was third at Martinsville in the spring and won the second stage. He’s been pretty good on smaller tracks and the 21-year-old is part of the Hendrick team. He’s been knocking on the door of that win and it would make things very interesting if he could grab it here. Overall, Hendrick Motorsports has 16 wins in this race and eight more in the spring race.

If you really want a beer money long shot bet, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going off at +8000. He only has four races left in his illustrious career. He runs for Hendrick Motorsports and won this race back in 2014. He likes running in close quarters, as evidenced by his successes in plate races, so there are worse long shots you could wind up with than Junior.

Coverage of the First Data 500 will be on NBC Sports Network on Sunday with a 3:00 p.m. ET start time.

 
Posted : October 26, 2017 9:18 am
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Martinsville Fantasy Racing Preview
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday's First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Who's HOT at Martinsville

• Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in his last four starts and has one win and 629 laps led in that span.
• Brad Keselowski won in the spring for his third consecutive top five.
• Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers with nine wins and 2,838 laps led.
• Five-time winner Denny Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in four of the last six races, including a win in the 2015 spring race.
• Joey Logano has three poles and three top 10s in the last five races and has led 358 laps in that span.
• Matt Kenseth led 176 laps in this event last year and has finished in the top 10 in three of the last five races.

Keep an Eye On at Martinsville

• Martin Truex Jr., who won the pole and led 147 laps last fall, has the third-best average finish (10.6) in the last five races at Martinsville. He will also have the No. 1 pit stall pick after winning the pole at Kansas Speedway.
• Kevin Harvick (99.9), AJ Allmendinger (90.1) and Kyle Larson (90.1) each have a top 10 driver rating in the last five races at Martinsville.
• Chase Elliott won the Truck race and finished third in the Cup race in the spring at Martinsville.
• Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Austin Dillon (finished fifth in the spring), Ty Dillon, Elliott, Harvick, Keselowski, Larson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (finished 10th in the spring) participated in the organizational test at Martinsville earlier this month.
• Allmendinger, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman are among the drivers that have each finished in the top 10 in three of the last five Martinsville races. Allmendinger and Newman both finished in the top 10 in the spring.
• Clint Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr. each have top 10 overall driver ratings at Martinsville. Bowyer finished eighth in the spring and Earnhardt won this event in 2014.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Denny Hamlin
Pete Pistone: Brad Keselowski
Robbie Mays: Brad Keselowski
Tyler Burnett: Kyle Busch
John Singler: Jimmie Johnson

Driver Notes - Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last Five Races at Martinsville

Kyle Busch is the only driver that has finished in the top five in the last four races at Martinsville. He's combined to lead the most laps (626) in the last two spring races, including a win in 2016. This past April, Busch led a race-high 274 laps en route to a second-place finish, a race that will feature the same tire combination as this weekend. Busch did participate in the organizational test at Martinsville earlier this month.

Brad Keselowski has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts at Martinsville, including a win in the spring race. In the one finish outside the top five (32nd) Keselowski led 143 laps before being involved in a late-race multi-car crash on lap 434 while running second. Keselowski participated in the organizational test at Martinsville earlier this month.

Martin Truex Jr. has finished seventh or better in three of the last five races at Martinsville. He finished seventh last fall after leading 147 laps from the pole. Truex will have No. 1 pit stall selection this weekend as a result of winning the pole last weekend at Kansas because qualifying is scheduled for Sunday morning at Martinsville.

Erik Jones finished 12th in the spring at Martinsville in his first Monster Energy Cup Series start at the track. Jones has also made five starts in the Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville, posting an 8.8 average finish.

Joey Logano has combined to lead 358 laps in the last five races at Martinsville, which ranks second among all drivers. During that span, Logano recorded three poles and three top-10 finishes. He led 207 laps in the 2015 fall race before being taken out by Matt Kenseth. In this year's spring race, Logano finished fourth with the same tire combination that will be used again this weekend. Logano leads all drivers with a 5.0 average finish in the five short-track races this season.

Kyle Larson has posted a 13.2 average finish in four starts at Martinsville. His only top 10 came in the 2016 spring race, a third-place finish. He started from the pole this past April after weather canceled qualifying and led 23 laps en route to a 17th-place finish. Larson participated in the organizational test at Martinsville earlier this month. Larson ranks fourth in average finish (9.4) in the five short-track races this season.

Kasey Kahne has finished 14th or better in four of the last five Martinsville races, including one top 10 - ninth in this event in 2015.

Ryan Newman finished eighth in the spring for his fourth top 10 in his seven starts at Martinsville with Richard Childress Racing. Newman does have one win at the track, coming in the 2012 spring race with Stewart-Haas Racing. Newman ranks second in average finish (7.6) in the five short-track races this season.

Matt Kenseth has finished ninth or better in six of his last eight starts at Martinsville. His only finish (38th) outside the top 15 in that span came when he was parked for intentionally wrecking Joey Logano. Since joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2013, Kenseth has led 568 laps, which ranks third among all drivers in that nine-race span. Last fall, Kenseth led 176 laps and finished fourth.

Jimmie Johnson scored his ninth Martinsville win last fall after leading 92 laps. The fall race marked the first time Johnson had led a lap since the spring 2014 race. Johnson is the active leader in laps led at Martinsville with 2,838. He failed to lead a lap in the spring and finished 15th. Johnson ranks third in average finish (9.2) in the five short-track races this season.

AJ Allmendinger has finished 11th or better in his last four Martinsville starts, including a second and a sixth in the last two respective spring races. Allmendinger led five laps in this event last year en route to a 10th-place finish.

Kevin Harvick has posted a 16.1 average finish in his seven starts with Stewart-Haas Racing at Martinsville. He's combined to lead 265 laps and his best finish in that span came in the 2014 spring race in seventh. Harvick did test at Martinsville earlier this month and will be looking to turn around his last two finishes of 20th at the track. Harvick is tied for fifth in average finish (10.2) in the five short-track races this season.

Denny Hamlin scored his fifth Martinsville win in the 2015 spring race. Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in the last four fall races, including third-place finishes in the last two. Last year he led 48 laps in this event. In the spring, Hamlin led 24 laps but finished 30th after sustaining damage to his Toyota during a multi-car incident on lap 418. Hamlin is tied for fifth in average finish (10.2) in the five short-track races this season.

Jamie McMurray has finished in the top 10 in three of the last five Martinsville races, including the last two fall races. He is a two-time pole winner and led 84 laps in the 2014 fall race.

Austin Dillon finished fifth in the spring for his second top five in the last three Martinsville races. Dillon participated in the organizational test at Martinsville earlier this month.

 
Posted : October 27, 2017 11:37 am
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