NASCAR Cup Series Martinsville DFS Picks
- RoundersKyle
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Martinsville this weekend for one of the most dramatic races of the year — the final race in the Round of 8. Only four drivers will advance to the Championship 4 at Phoenix, so the intensity will be sky-high on the tight, half-mile paperclip. This race is 500 laps, giving us a massive opportunity for dominator points in DFS, so building around lap leaders is critical. Track position, long run speed, and restart ability will be everything, as it’s tough to pass cleanly at Martinsville without using the bumper. Expect track position to matter most with frequent cautions, and look for drivers who consistently run well at flat, low-speed tracks.
Potential Dominators
Chase Elliott
Kyle Larson
William Byron
The 3 Hendrick cars of Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, and William Byron seemed to be 3 of the best cars in the practice session, especially on the long run as they were all towards the top on lap averages through the run in practice. Elliott looked the best with the fastest 25 and 30 lap averages and he has a great track record at Martinsville. He starts up in 8th and should be one of the best options to lead laps this week. Larson was right with Elliott on the speed charts and starts in 3rd. He has a buffer on points and is mostly racing Christopher Bell this week to advance so he doesn't necessarily need to be one of the best cars and lead laps this week. I still expect him to run towards the front and if the speed he had in practice translates he could be one of the guys leading laps this week. Byron was pretty happy with his car in the session and felt his falloff was pretty good as well. He went out and got the pole and they should be good throughout the race and be a good option lead laps at the start and contend throughout the day. One thing to take into account this week is the points as Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe are the only ones locked into the championship 4 and guys like Elliott and Byron basically need a win to be able to fight for the championship next week.
Place Differential Plays
Ryan Blaney
Bubba Wallace
Josh Berry
Blaney has won this race the last two years but the Penske cars did not look great in practice. He starts way back in 31st so he has a ton of place differential potential so the hope would be they improve overnight for the race and should still make his way towards the front by the end of the race. Wallace had really good speed in practice this week and he starts back in 21st. He should move forward and have top 10 potential this weekend as he usually runs well on flat tracks especially when he shows speed in practice. Berry was the best car in the first session of practice and had good lap times on the long run. He starts back in 27th so he has a lot of room to move forward and is a great option this week.
Cheap Options
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Justin Haley
Riley Herbst
McDowell had really good long speed in practice and should be a solid option for this weekend. He starts in 11th so he should be low owned as he wont have as many place differential points to gain, but it will help him avoid getting lapped early if there is a long green run that others will have to worry about. I think he could still be a solid cheap option even with the limited place differential points he has. Suarez had really good lap averages in practice and starts way back in 30th. He has a ton of place differential and should be a really good option this week. Haley is another that has a ton of place differential potential starting back in 34th but had solid speed in practice. If he can get track position and avoid going laps down he could be a solid choice this week as well. Another driver I really like this week is Riley Herbst. I think he will be lower owned starting 25th which is higher than usual for him but he had really good speed in practice and is better than his average at Martinsville. He could have top 20 upside and he is one of the cheapest drivers on the slate.
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