Final Martinsville Practice Notes & Driver Ratings: 2015 Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. looks like a good candidate to win Martinsville Chase race for second straight year.

Micah Roberts' Top-10 Rated NASCAR Drivers
Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500
Martinsville Speedway         
Sunday, November 1, 2015 - 10:28 am (PT)      
 
Rating     Driver       Odds                 Practice 1              Qualified         Practice 2          Practice 3  
 1. Jimmie Johnson 6/1            25th                21st              9th              1st
Eight-time winner, including seven of last 18; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 3.
 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12/1       24th               22nd             1st               5th
Won for first time last fall after 30 starts; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 2.
 3. Denny Hamlin 6/1                12th                10th              5th              9th   
Five-time winner, including March race. 10 top-five finishes in 19 starts; native Virginian.
 4. Kyle Busch 12/1                       8th                  6th              6th             26th  
2012 runner-up with eight top-five finishes in 20 starts; should be very fast on long runs.
 5. Jeff Gordon 6/1                       2nd                  5th            16th            12th
Eight-time winner; 28 top-fives in 45 starts -- track best 6.8 average finish. Final start on track.
 6. Joey Logano 6/1                       1st                   1st              4th              7th
Looking to win fourth straight race on schedule; led 108 laps in March -- third straight top-five.  
 7. Kevin Harvick 6/1                    4th                12th            13th             2nd  
2011 winner with 16th-place average finish; best 10-consecutive lap average in Practice 1.
 8. Martin Truex Jr. 20/1            13th                 2nd             2nd             8th
Only two top-five finishes in 19 starts (22.2 average), but looked outstanding in all practices.
 9. Ryan Newman 100/1            18th                 7th              3rd             13th
2012 winner, third-place last fall, 15,4 average in 27 starts; looked strong in practices.
10. Brad Keselowski 12/1           3rd                11th            18th             3rd
Career-best runner-up in March race -- led 18 laps, 14th-place place average in 11 starts.

This is first race of three races in the Eliminator Round of Chase. Eight drivers currently eligible to win the Sprint Cup.

Note: 95 of the 133 (71,4%) Martinsville Sprint Cup races have been won from a top-10 starting position.

Odds courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas Super Book.

Micah Roberts, a former Las Vegas sports book director, has been setting NASCAR odds since 1994. Follow him on twitter @MicahRoberts7

Martinsville Odds to win & Video of Roberts talking about who should win

Denny Hamlin hopes for some more home cooking at Martinsville

Hamlin is 6-to-1 co-favorite to win Sunday.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Ground Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500
Date/Time: Nov. 1/1:15 p.m. ET
Distance: 500 laps/263 miles
Track Length: 0.526-mile
Track Shape: Oval
Banking: 12 degrees
2014 Winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Express Notes:
Talladega Recap: Denny Hamlin finished 37th in Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway and was eliminated from the 2015 Chase for the Sprint Cup championship playoffs, unable to overcome a mid-race roof flap failure that required multiple trips to pit road to repair and ultimately costing the #11 FedEx Freight Toyota three laps on the race track. Hamlin started eighth and was running near the front of the pack throughout the early portion of the final Contender Round event at the high-banked, 2.66-milespeedway. However, following a round of green flag stops, Hamlin noticed the roof hatch – used as a safety mechanism for drivers in restrictor-plate events – was loose and flapping. The team brought him to pit road multiple times for repairs, but with the race still green and Hamlin lacking drafting help, he wound up three laps down as a result. Making matters worse, Hamlin was involved in a multi-car incident on the race’s final restart attempt, relegating the team to a 37th-place finish and dropping Hamlin to ninth in the standings to miss the Eliminator Round. Joey Logano was the race winner.

Martinsville Preview: The Series heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Sunday’s 500-lap race on the flat, half-mile ‘paper clip.’ Arguably Hamlin’s best track, the 34-year-old Virginia-native owns five Cup victories at Martinsville, including taking the checkered flag earlier this year. In that race, he led 91 laps en route to victory lane. In 19 career races at the track, Hamlin has won five times and recorded 15 top-10 finishes with animpressive 8.3 average finishing position. He has led 1,312 laps at Martinsville in his career and seeks a sixth win Sunday in the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota.

Giving Back: Hamlin hosted the 4th Annual “Denny and Mark’s Pro-Am Jam” celebrity concert and golf tournament with Mark Bryan from Hootie and the Blowfish on Monday and Tuesday in Charleston, S.C. The event benefitted the Student Transportation of America Education Foundation, Carolina Studios and the Denny Hamlin Foundation, which provides resources for cystic fibrosis research.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Races: 19
Wins: 5
Top-5: 10
Top-10: 15
Average Start: 9.8
Average Finish: 8.3
Laps Led: 1,312

Hamlin Conversation — MARTINSVILLE:

What is the team’s mindset heading into Martinsville this weekend?
“It’s obviously disappointing to have circumstances at Talladega take us out of the Chase when I felt like we had a good shot at moving on and battling for the championship. It was a pretty self-inflicted day for us, and ultimately, cost us a few laps on the track and put the nail in the coffin on our Chase hopes. Martinsville has been a great track for us throughout my career, so it will be important to go there and try to lead every lap and win the race with our FedEx team. There are still trophies to get this season and we plan on doing our best to end the year on a high note.”

SmartPost Along for the Ride in Martinsville: The letters “FXSP” on the b-post of the #11 FedEx Ground Toyota this weekend recognize a quality action team that improved processes for capturing data for FedEx SmartPost packages.

FedEx Office – Closest to Martinsville Speedway: 3731 Battleground Ave., Greensboro, NC 27410, (336) 282-5650

2015 FEDEX RACING TEAM – SEASON RESULTS
DATE	EVENT	LOCATION	START	FINISH	LAPS	STATUS	WINNINGS	LED	PTS	TREND
Feb. 22	Daytona 500	Daytona	42	4	203/203	Running	$680,483	4	4th	▬
March 1	Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500	Atlanta	4	38	284/325	Running	$111,105	14	19th	▼
March 8	Kobalt 400	Las Vegas	19	5	267/267	Running	$162,380		8th	▲
March 15	Camping World 500	Phoenix	25	23	312/312	Running	$92,855		13th	▼
March 22	Auto Club 400	Fontana	6	28	209/209	Running	$106.485	56	14th	▼
March 29	STP 500	Martinsville	15	1	500/500	Running	$172,260	91	7th	▲
April 11	Duck Commander 500	Texas	18	11	334/334	Running	$146,525		8th	▼
April 19	Food City 500	Bristol*	5	26	505/511	Running	$109,200		11th	▼
April 26	Toyota Owners 400	Richmond	2	22	398/400	Running	$95,350		12th	▼
May 3	GEICO 500	Talladega	17	9	188/188	Running	$127,645	5	10th	▲
May 9	SpongBob SquarePants 400	Kansas	13	41	205/267	Crash	$79,330		15th	▼
May 24	Coca-Cola 600	Charlotte	5	8	400/400	Running	$143,720	53	15th	▬
May 31	FedEx 400	Dover	1	21	402/405	Running	$129,610	118	14th	▲
June 7	Axalta 400	Pocono	8	10	160/160	Running	$101,615		13th	▲
June 14	Quicken Loans 400	Michigan	13	11	138/138	Running	$106,015		13th	▬
June 28	Toyota/Save Mart 350	Sonoma	15	18	110/110	Running	$108,485		13th	▬
July 5	Coke Zero 400	Daytona	35	3	161/161	Running	$194,430	10	12th	▲
July 11	Quaker State 400	Kentucky	8	3	267/267	Running	$125,335	13	11th	▲
July 19	5 Hour Energy 301	New Hampshire	5	14	301/301	Running	$102,615		11th	▬
July 26	Brickyard 400	Indianapolis	17	5	164/164	Running	$249,875		10th	▲
Aug. 2	Windows 10 400	Pocono	11	22	159/160	Running	$93,645	2	11th	▼
Aug. 9	Cheez-It 355	WatkinsGlen	13	27	90/90	Running	$90,390		10th	▲
Aug. 16	Pure Michigan 400	Michigan	2	5	200/200	Running	$114,000		9th	▲
Aug. 22	IRWIN Tools Night Race	Bristol	1	3	500/500	Running	$195,300	54	9th	▬
Sept. 6	Southern 500	Darlington	6	3	367/367	Running	$180,915	57	8th	▲
Sept. 12	Federated Auto Parts400	Richmond	25	6	400/400	Running	$116,915	14	T-9th	▼
2015 CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
Sept. 20	MyAFibStory.com 400	Chicago	29	1	267/267	Running	$306,315	9	2nd	▲
Sept. 27	Sylvania 300	New Hampshire	7	2	300/300	Running	$189,525	21	2nd	▬
Oct. 4	AAA 400	Dover	2	18	400/400	Running	$97,480		T-1st	▲
Oct. 11	Bank of America 500	Charlotte	5	4	334/334	Running	$147,225		4th	▼
Oct. 18	Hollywood Casino 400	Kansas	5	2	269/269	Running	$239,405		2nd	▲
Oct. 25	CampingWorld.com 500	Talladega	8	37	192/196	Crash	$97,634	5	9th	▼
Averages/Totals			12.1	13.5	98.7%		$5,014,197	526

* Drivers: Denny Hamlin and Erik Jones

#11 FedEx Racing – 2015 Crew Roster
Crew Chief – Dave Rogers
Car Chief – Joe Fiorelli
Engineers – Chris Gabehart, Kenny Oates
Shock Specialist – Ron Denton
Tire Specialist – Jamie Turski
Mechanics – Joey Forgette, Jerad Hewitt, Jason Clements
Spotter – Chris Lambert
Front Tire Changer – Dustin Necaise
Front Tire Carrier – Brandon Pegram
Rear Tire Changer – Mike Hicks
Rear Tire Carrier – Heath Cherry
Jack Man – Nate Bolling
Gas Man – Caleb Hurd
Pit Crew Coordinator – Paul Alepa
Athletic Director – Mike Lepp
Transportation – Kyle Bazzell, Bob Hannigan

- Weber Shandwick Worldwide for FedEx Racing

Martinsville Betting Preview: 2015 Goody's 500

Why not four in a row for Logano?

LAS VEGAS -- Holy smokes, it's been a long time since we've seen a driver win four straight NASCAR Sprint Cup races and Joey Logano has a chance to do it Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. So much for the target on his back at Talladega after wrecking Matt Kenseth at Kansas two weeks ago. He not only fended off any veteran wrath, he ends up winning the race. Crazy!

But is he out of the clear yet? Could it be that justice will be served when it counts most, during the Eliminator Round? If one of the veteran drivers were going to attempt to teach Logano a lesson, wouldn't it matter more if they did it on a track where he was most likely to win?

This week's race at Martinsville could see the No. 22 Pennzoil Ford punted easily, but why mess with him here? At Texas, that's a place he can win at. So if the veterans wanting to really teach Logano a lesson want to really make an impact, why not make him pay at a track he can win at?

In the next Chase round -- Elimination Round -- there's Martinsville this week, then Texas and then Phoenix.

Logano most likely won't win this week -- even though he's had a top-five finish in his past three starts there, and Harvick's got Phoenix wrapped up liked he's done the past four races there, so that leaves Texas as the big day of justice to teach Logano a lesson. If you really want to make Logano feel some wrath, Matt Kenseth, or several other veterans like Denny Hamlin or Kevin Harvick, then Texas is the place.

As it sits now, Logano advances with seven other drivers as possible candidates to win the 2015 Sprint Cup. Hamlin, Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman are out.

Read More Here......Top-5 Finish Prediction at VegasInsider.com

Martinsville Speedway Notes: 2015 Goody's 500

Denny Hamlin looking for some more home cooking at Martinsville.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series 2015 Top 16 at Martinsville Speedway

Rank	Driver	Races	Poles	Wins	Top Fives	Top 10s	DNFs	Average Finish	Driver Rating
1	Joey Logano	13	1	0	4	5	0	13.2	88
2	Carl Edwards	22	0	0	1	5	0	16	81.8
3	Jeff Gordon	45	7	8	28	36	0	6.9	119.1
4	Kurt Busch	30	1	2	3	5	2	21.1	79.7
5	Brad Keselowski	11	0	0	2	6	0	14	86.3
6	Martin Truex Jr	19	0	0	2	5	2	22.2	70.1
7	Kevin Harvick	28	0	1	3	13	1	16.1	93.6
8	Kyle Busch	20	1	0	8	9	1	15.6	96.2
9	Denny Hamlin	19	3	5	10	15	1	8.3	111.4
10	Ryan Newman	27	3	1	8	12	2	15.5	86.2
11	Matt Kenseth	31	0	0	5	12	2	14.4	86.2
12	Dale Earnhardt Jr	31	0	1	12	17	2	13.2	99.5
13	Jimmie Johnson	27	3	8	18	22	1	7.3	119.4
14	Jamie McMurray	25	2	0	1	13	2	17	85.7
15	Paul Menard	16	0	0	0	1	1	20.6	63.6
16	Clint Bowyer	19	0	0	4	12	1	12.1	94.6

* – Based on last 21 races at Martinsville Speedway (2005 – 2015).

                                               

Martinsville Speedway Data Season Race #: 33 of 36 (11-01-15) 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 Top 10 Driver Ratings at Martinsville Jimmie Johnson........................ 119.4 Jeff Gordon.............................. 119.1 Denny Hamlin............................ 111.4 Dale Earnhardt Jr........................ 99.5 Tony Stewart............................... 96.8 Kyle Busch................................. 96.2 Clint Bowyer............................... 94.6 Kevin Harvick.............................. 93.6 Joey Logano.............................. 88.0 Brad Keselowski......................... 86.3 Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (21 total) among active drivers at Martinsville Speedway. Qualifying/Race Data 2014 pole winner: Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet 99.905 mph, 18.945 secs. 10-24-14 2014 race winner: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet 70.725 mph, (03:43:07), 10-26-14 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