NASCAR DFS Pit Stop: Cup Series from Martinsville 4/9

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Blue Emu Pain Relief 400 from Martinsville Speedway! The Paper Clip as it is otherwise known is a 1/2 mile short track and is the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit. Last season in both races at Martinsville we saw similar outcomes. In both races, we saw two drivers lead over 300 laps but neither driver won the race. Instead, someone who led 9 (Alex Bowman) and 20 (Martin Truex Jr.) won the races.

Denny Hamlin is the one constant in both of the Martinsville races last season leading 379 laps combined. Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney also lead a lot of laps in those races in 2021. Another thing to expect in Saturday’s race is a lot of drivers being a lap down when it finishes. In 2021 only 25 drivers and 18 drivers finished the races on the lead lap.

Roster construction

Based on what we’ve seen at this track previously, rostering two dominators will be key. After deciding on the dominators, finding the right place differential plays will be key. Looking at pricing, a balanced build with 2 drivers from each pricing category is the best path to cashing I believe.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators) ($9K +)

Denny Hamlin ($10,300)

Starting Position: 25th

As you read in the open, Hamlin was dominant here at Martinsville in 2021 and Saturday should be no different. After winning at Richmond last week, Hamlin’s confidence has to be back at a high level. Hamlin starts 25th, so he is a best of both worlds play, I think Hamlin will get to the lead at some point in this 400 lap race and will finish top 5.

Martin Truex Jr. ($11,500)

Starting Position: 20th

Martinsville has to be Truex’s favorite track looking at his recent history here. In his last ten races here, Truex has three wins and seven top 5 finishes. The Joe Gibbs Toyota’s were not really fast in practice, except for Kyle Busch, but I am confident that Truex (and Hamlin) will get to the front and be in contention for the win.

Chase Elliott ($11,200)

Starting Position: 1st

Elliott starts on the pole and should dominate the early part of this race. Over the past three Martinsville races, Elliott has led 525 laps and it’s not out of the question for him to lead 200 laps again on Saturday. In eight races since 2018, Elliott has a win (2020 – Fall), four top 5’s, and six top 10’s. After Hamlin got his first victory last week, I think this week could be Elliott’s time to do the same.

Joey Logano ($9,700)

Starting Position: 14th

Logano was another driver who didn’t show much speed in practice but has a great track history at Martinsville. In his last ten races here, Logano has a win, four top 5’s, and eight top 10’s. Logano has also averaged 64.2 laps led and 27.5 fastest laps during this 10 race stretch as well. Logano has run well in 2022 and should be in contention for the win, or at worst a top 5 on Saturday night.

Other Options: Ryan Blaney ($10,900 – P12), Kyle Larson ($10,600 – P8), Kyle Busch ($10,000 – P11), William Byron ($9,500 – P5), Alex Bowman ($9,300 – P15)

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K – $8.9K)

Brad Keselowski ($7,900)

Starting Position: 9th

Keselowski has ruined many of our good days this season, but the RFK Ford’s have shown speed recently and ran well at Richmond last week. In the last ten Martinsville races, Keselowski has the second most average DKFP per race. Keselowski also has three wins, eight top 5’s, and nine top 10’s while averaging 40.1 fastest laps per race.

Chase Briscoe ($8,200)

Starting Position: 19th

Briscoe has only run two Cup Series races at Martinsville and neither of his finishes was great but this season Briscoe has been one of the series’ top drivers. In 2022, Briscoe has four top 15 finishes this season in seven races, including his win at Phoenix. There is another driver who will garner more ownership so I think Briscoe could be a lower owned pivot with top 5 potential, but more likely a top 10 car.

Ross Chastain ($8,800)

Starting Position: 27th

Chastain is the driver I mentioned above who will be the more popular driver in this tier. This is the first time Chastain has come to Martinsville in a competitive car so his past races don’t really hold weight. After a slow start to the season, Chastain has come back strong. In the last five races, Chastain has a win and four top 3 finishes but he did have a rough go at Richmond last week finishing 19th and breaking his top 3 streak, but with his place differential upside this week, Chastain can make value with a top 15.

Other Options: Tyler Reddick ($8,600 – P22), Kevin Harvick ($8,400 – P6), Kurt Busch ($8,000 – P18), Austin Dillon ($7,700 – P23), Erik Jones ($7,100 – P24)

Value Tier (Under $7K)

1. Ty Dillon ($5,500) – P34: In lesser equipment, Dillon has done well at Martinsville with an average finish of 20.5 in eight career races. This season Dillon has an average finish of 19.2 minus Daytona. I view Dillon as a top 20 upside play for SE or cash.
2. AJ Allmendinger ($6,600) – P36: Allmendinger had a good run here on Friday night in the Xfinity Series. In tech on Friday, AJ’s cup car failed three times so he wasn’t able to make a qualifying lap and will have to do a pass-through penalty putting him a lap down. Dinger will get back on the lead lap, similar to Haley last week, and be a contender for a top 20.
3. Daniel Suarez ($6,800) – P30: Suarez is having a resurgence in 2022 with teammate Ross Chastain at Trackhouse racing. In the past, Suarez has not run well here, but this season Suarez has three top 10s and had a 16th place finish last week. I view Suarez as a mid-teens driver on Saturday.
4. Bubba Wallace ($6,400) – P21: Last fall here, Wallace was running just outside the top 10 but had a tire go down and finished 25th. In that race, Bubba had the 14th best speed ranking and had an average running position of 16.1.
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($6,300) – P28: Martinsville is one of Stenhouse’s better tracks and he has an 18th place average finish here over the last 5 races.
6. Harrison Burton ($5,600) – P29: Burton has top 20 potential in this race on Saturday. In the last five Cup races, Burton has three finishes of 18th or better.

Make sure to check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial to make sure you are ready and understand how I break down the races and build lineups (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-pit-stop-2021-introduction-to-nascar-dfs/).

There were a lot of changes in the cars and what driver is in what car/truck in 2022, check out my What’s new in 2022 article (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-whats-new-in-2022/)