Martinsville Betting Preview: 2019 First Data 500

The Round of 8 begins Sunday at Martinsville.

Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway’s flat half-mile paperclip kicks off the Round of 8 in NASCAR’s Playoffs, the first of three races in the round. The eight eligible drivers can get the automatic berth into the Championship 4 finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 17 by winning one of the next three races or scoring the most points. Do poorly at Martinsville to start the round and it’s likely that driver will be one of the four chopped following the Phoenix race in three weeks.

Let’s take a look at each of the candidate's chances at Martinsville and I’ve included the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook’s updated championship odds next to each driver’s name along with how many points they start the round with.

1. Kyle Busch 3/1 (4,046 points) - “I really look forward to this round,’’ Busch said. “I feel like it’s our best round. We run well at all three of those places and we’ve won a few at Texas, we won Martinsville twice and Phoenix has been getting better for us too, winning the last two races there. We just need to continue to execute and do a good job and make sure that we mind our Ps and Qs.’’

It would be the shock of the playoffs if Busch didn’t make the Championship 4 because he’s been so good on all three tracks. The 2015 Cup Champion comes into the Martinsville race with eight straight top-five finishes there, including both of his only Cup wins (2016, 2017). He’s led 1,424 laps between 28 starts which include 16 top-five finishes. This is why the Superbook has him posted as the heavy 5-to-2 favorite to win Sunday. Just for good measure, he’s also got two Truck Series wins at Martinsville, the last coming in April.

2. Martin Truex Jr. 7/2 (4,042) - The 2017 Cup Champion has never won at Martinsville, but he’s come really close in the last few years after struggling there for the first two-thirds of his career. He’s been eighth or better in his last four starts there and had a career-best runner-up during the playoffs during his championship run.

“We know what we need to do,’’ Truex said. “Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it. I know (crew chief) Cole (Pearn) and the guys have a good plan every week, so I’m confident we can do that. We have been fast, ran up front and led laps at all of these tracks in this round. All eight (playoff) guys would love to go into Martinsville this week and win the race to move on. That’s our goal, but we also feel good about the other tracks too.’’

The thing that makes Truex attractive this week (6/1 odds to win) is how well he’s run with this week’s race package with engines producing 750 horsepower. He’s won four of the 12 races using it which includes winning on his first career short-track -- he swept the season at Richmond.

3. Denny Hamlin 4/1 (4,037) - The Virginian has the best Martinsville resume among all playoff drivers which includes five wins, 14 top-fives, and 1,536 laps led. He’s listed a 9-to-2 to win this week which sounds like a good deal despite not winning there since 2016. He comes in with some serious momentum after winning his fifth race of the season last week.

“It was a great victory for us,” Hamlin said. “Hats off to the entire team, especially Chris Gabehart making all the right calls on those late cautions. Now we’re dialed in and focused on Martinsville and the Round of 8. Martinsville is going to be very pivotal. We’ve always seen great battles there. I feel like it’s the greatest race in the playoffs other than Homestead.”

Beyond momentum, home cooking, and past history -- includes two Truck Series wins, the best reason to support him this week is 10 top-five finishes using this week’s race package. He was fifth in the March 24 Martinsville race.

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

Denny Hamlin is 9/2 to win 2019 First Data 500 at Martinsville

Denny Hamlin has five Martinsville wins.

Denny Hamlin
#11 FedEx Freight Toyota
Joe Gibbs Racing

Race Info:
Race: First Data 500
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 27/3:00 p.m. ET
Race Distance: 500 Laps/263 Miles
Track Shape: Oval
Track Length: .526-Mile
Banking: 12 degrees
2018 Winner: Joey Logano

Express Notes:

Kansas Recap: Denny Hamlin earned his fifth win of the season Sunday at Kansas Speedway, overcoming two overtime restarts and a hard-charging effort from Chase Elliott. After starting 23rd, Hamlin appeared to be cruising to his first win of the 2019 Playoffs after winning Stage 2 of the race and then dominating Stage 3. But the caution flag flew for Ryan Blaney with just 14 laps to go in the race. Crew chief Chris Gabehart brought Hamlin to pit road under the yellow for two tires, while others in the top 10 took four. Hamlin held the lead for the restart and the next six laps, when the caution came out again, this time for a multi-car accident that would send the race into overtime. Once again, Hamlin restarted in the lead. And, once again, a multi-car incident brought out a yellow flag, just as it appeared the FedEx Toyota was taking the white flag – and the win. But NASCAR ruled that Hamlin was short of the start-finish when the caution flag was displayed. The field bunched up one more time for a second attempt at a green-white-checkered finish, and this time Hamlin paced two solid laps, holding off runner-up Chase Elliott for the win.

Martinsville Preview: With only four races remaining in the 2019 season, the Series returns to Martinsville for Sunday’s 500-lap event around the half-mile “Paperclip.” Denny Hamlin is coming off a victory at Kansas Speedway and hopes to continue his success around the narrow oval. Sitting third in points, Hamlin is dialed in and ready to move deeper into the playoffs.

Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Races: 27
Wins: 5
Poles: 3
Top-5: 14
Top-10: 20
Laps Led: 1,536
Avg. Start: 9
Avg. Finish: 9.6

Hamlin Conversation – Martinsville:

How do you feel heading into the Round of 8 at Martinsville coming off your victory at Kansas?

“It was a great victory for us. Hats off to the entire team, especially Chris Gabehart making all the right calls on those late cautions. Now we’re dialed in and focused on Martinsville and the Round of 8. Martinsville is going to be very pivotal. We’ve always seen great battles there. I feel like it’s the greatest race in the playoffs other than Homestead.”

You must be feeling pretty good about the performance you’re putting on this season for your sponsor, FedEx?

“We definitely feel proud to be giving FedEx the results we’ve had this year. (CEO) Fred Smith and his whole team have been so great to support me and this race team for 14 years of my career, and I could not be happier to get a fifth win for this company and all the folks that work there.”

FedEx Freight’s Along for the Ride at Martinsville: For the First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, FedEx Freight recognizes the company’s Staunton, Va., service center by featuring the call letters STN on the #11 FedEx Freight race car. The Staunton service center has approximately 50 team members who are committed to making every FedEx experience outstanding.

The Standard: Jimmie Johnson

Jimmie Johnson is 40/1 to win at Martinsville.

Although seven-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson is ineligible for the series championship for the first time in his certain NASCAR Hall of Fame career, he does have plenty of motivation to play spoiler this weekend at Martinsville.

Johnson is enduring his longest career winless streak – his last victory was June 4, 2017 at Dover, Del. – but this week he will be competing at a venue where he is the winningest active driver and on the verge of making more NASCAR history.

The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet can become only the third driver in NASCAR history to have earned 10 or more wins at more than one track. He is an 11-time winner at Dover and has nine victories already at Martinsville Speedway.

Only NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip have won 10 or more races at more than one race track. Petty won 15 times at Martinsville; 15 times at North Wilkesboro, N.C.; 13 races at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, 11 races at Rockingham (N.C.) Speedway and 10 times at Daytona International Speedway

Waltrip won 12 times at Bristol, Tenn., 11 times at Martinsville, Va. and 10 times at North Wilkesboro.

Johnson is easily the most successful driver at Martinsville this weekend with a series-best 19 top fives and 24 top 10s to go with his nine wins. He’s led a series-best 2,962 laps. Thirteen times he’s led at least 100 laps in a Martinsville race. Four times he’s led at least 200 laps and twice he’s led at least 300 laps.

He’s one of only seven drivers to ever win three consecutive races at Martinsville (2006-07) and from 2006-2009, he won five-of-six races. Not bad for a driver who finished 35th in his first start at the track.

His last top-10 finish at Martinsville was a victory in the 2016 Playoffs, when he went on to win the series championship.

Johnson currently holds a 15-point advantage over Stewart-Haas Racing’s Daniel Suarez for 17th position in the championship standings – tops among those who did not qualify for the Playoffs.

CHASE-ING

Chase Elliott is 7/1 to win at Martinsville.

Chase Elliott pulled off one of the most dramatic Playoff-extending performances of the season on Sunday in Kansas, racing to a runner-up finish to Denny Hamlin, which along with some poor luck from fellow contender Brad Keselowski, propelled him forward in the championship hunt.

As the standings are reset to reflect bonus points, Elliott vaults from just earning a spot among the Top eight (three points over Keselowski) to now being ranked sixth among the eight drivers. And Elliott has reason to be optimistic about optimizing his chances.

Elliott has four top-10 finishes in eight Martinsville Speedway races, including a pair of top-five runs. His best showing came this March when he was runner-up to race winner Brad Keselowski and led 49 laps on the evening.

He’s finished in the top 10 in the last three races at The Paperclip. And just for good measure, he does own a Martinsville trophy. He won the 2017 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race from the pole position, leading a race-best 92-of-250 laps.

This season, on tracks less than one mile in length, Elliott has a pair of top-five finishes (runner-up at Martinsville in March and fifth at Bristol, Tenn. in September.). He’s finished 15th or better in all five previous short track races and won the pole position for the April Bristol race.

Truex still looking for first win at Martinsville

Martin Truex is 6/1 to win at Martinsville.

The season’s most prolific winner, six-time race winner Martin Truex Jr. goes into Martinsville (Va.) Speedway still looking for his first career victory at the notoriously finicky half-miler.

He has five top-five and 11 top-10 finishes in 27 starts. And his recent work has been his best. He has finished eighth or better in seven of the last nine races – including the last four. He was runner-up to Kyle Busch in 2017 and went on to win his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup championship. He was third in the 2018 Playoff race and finished eighth this March.

Truex trails his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch by only four points in the championship standings heading into Martinsville.

“We know what we need to do,’’ Truex said. “Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it. I know [crew chief] Cole [Pearn] and the guys have a good plan every week, so I’m confident we can do that. We have been fast, ran up front and led laps at all of these tracks in this round.

“All eight [playoff] guys would love to go into Martinsville this week and win the race to move on. That’s our goal, but we also feel good about the other tracks too.’’

And, he added, “We’ve got a great team. We just have to go out and execute.’’

Hamlin’s time to shine

Denny Hamlin is 9/2 to win at Martinsville.

Denny Hamlin earned his fifth win of the season Sunday at Kansas Speedway and he’s already turning in career statistical numbers, such as his 17 top fives and counting total. But there’s a stat he would like to own, and it comes with a trophy too – Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion.

The 38-year-old Virginian is undeniably the prince of the Martinsville short track among his eight remaining Playoff competitors. His five wins at the half-miler are most among the Playoff field. Only seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson’s nine Martinsville victories are more than Hamlin’s among this week’s entrants.

From 2009-10. Hamlin won three consecutive races at the historic half-miler – a feat done by only a handful of drivers, all champions: Richard Petty (1968-69), Cale Yarborough (1976-77), Darrell Waltrip (1988-89), Rusty Wallace (1994-95) and Jimmie Johnson (2006-07). Fred Lorenzen holds the all-time mark of four straight Martinsville wins between 1963-65.

In addition to his trophies, Hamlin has finished runner-up three times and third place on three more occasions. He’s led 100 laps or more five times at Martinsville. Statistically, when Hamlin’s good, he’s great. He led 502 of his 1,001 career laps out front at Martinsville in just two races – 296 laps in a runner-up finish in Spring 2009 and 206 laps in his Fall 2009 victory.

He has five top-10 finishes in the last seven Martinsville races and the driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was runner-up to Joey Logano in last year’s Playoff race. He was fifth in March and boasts the best average finish (9.6) among Playoff drivers. His 20 top 10s at Martinsville are best among Playoff competitors and second only to Johnson’s 24 in this week’s starting field.

Kyle Busch could use a rally

Kyle Busch is the 5/2 favorite to win at Martinsville Sunday.

It’s been 18 races since Kyle Busch last held a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series trophy, but the four-race winner this season arrives at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway as the series championship leader again – four points up on six-race winner, Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. and nine-points ahead of Sunday’s Kansas winner, another JGR teammate, five-race winner Denny Hamlin.

For most people in the garage and in the grandstands, Busch heads into this final three-race stretch to determine the Championship 4 drivers, a competitor “on the verge” of winning. Certainly, his past performance at these three upcoming tracks would confirm that.

Busch is the only driver among the eight with multiple Cup Series wins at all three venues – Martinsville (two), Texas (three) and ISM Raceway in Phoenix (three). For good measure and further consideration, Busch has won an additional nine times at Texas and 11 times at Phoenix in the Xfinity Series giving him double-digit trophies from those tracks.

At this week’s Martinsville half-miler, Busch has wins in Spring 2016 and in the 2017 Playoff race. He was runner-up three more times, including both spring races in 2017 and 2018. Most telling, perhaps, is that of his 17 top-10 finishes – 16 of them are top fives. When he’s on, he’s on.

He’s finished fifth or better in the last eight Martinsville races – including two victories and two second-place finishes. He led a race-best 274 laps and finished runner-up to Brad Keselowski in 2017. In the last seven races, Busch has led 937 laps – 65.8 percent of his 1,424 lap-total at Martinsville. Seven times he’s led at least 100 laps in a race. His average finish (12.0) is second only to five-time Martinsville winner Hamlin among the Playoff-eligible drivers.

“I really look forward to this round,’’ Busch said. “I feel like it’s our best round. We run well at all three of those places and we’ve won a few at Texas, we won Martinsville twice and Phoenix has been getting better for us too, winning the last two races there.

“We just need to continue to execute and do a good job and make sure that we mind our Ps and Qs.’’

Team Penske gears up for Martinsville Speedway

Brad Keselowski led 446 of the 500 laps in the spring race.

Team Penske has won three of the past five races – including the last two – at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, home to Sunday’s First Data 500 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) Monster Energy NACAR Cup Series Playoff race.

Penske’s Brad Keselowski has won two of those Martinsville races – including one of the most dominating victories in the 141-race history at the famous half-mile paperclip-shaped track. He led 446-of-500 laps en route to the March trophy. Only four other times has a race winner led more. And while Keselowski has fallen out of championship contention – missing the Playoff cutoff by a mere three points last week – certainly his two Playoff-eligible teammates – Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney – can take some positive energy from the Penske organization’s performance at Martinsville.

Logano, driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford, is the defending Martinsville Playoff race winner, leading 309 laps en route to the victory last October.

In the last five Martinsville races, at least two Team Penske drivers have finished among the top 10.

In March, Keselowski won the race and Blaney finished fourth. In this race last year, Logano won and Keselowski finished fifth. In Spring 2018, Blaney was third, Logano placed sixth and Keselowski finished 10th. In the 2017 Playoff race, Keselowski was fourth and Blaney was eighth. Keselowski won the Spring 2017 race and Logano was fourth.

Only five-time Martinsville winner Denny Hamlin (9.6) has a better average finish than Keselowski’s 11.3. Logano (13.4) and Blaney (14.0) are third and fourth best, respectively, among the eight Playoff drivers in that important statistic.

Logano, 29, has nine top-10 finishes in 21 Martinsville starts, including the 2018 Playoff win. He’s started from the pole position a series-best five times among active drivers – including this March – and has four top-10 finishes in the last six races.

Blaney, 25, has three top-10 finishes in seven Martinsville starts, including a fourth this March. He’s finished in the top-10 in three of the last four races including a career-best of third in 2018.

Kevin Harvick is 14/1 to win at Martinsville

KEVIN HARVICK Final Eight to Final Four  Kevin Has one win at Martinsville in Cup Series. KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Oct. 23, 2019) – For the sixth consecutive year, Kevin Harvick has made it to the final eight of the NASCAR playoffs and, for the fifth time in six seasons, he’s looking to make the final four. Harvick is hoping he can heat things up by scoring a win in Sunday’s Round of 8 opener at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway and locking himself into the Nov. 17 winner-take-all Championship 4 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has one win, five top-three finishes, 18 top-10s and has led a total of 628 laps in his 36 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Martinsville. His average start there is 14.0, his average finish is 15.1 and he has a lap-completion rate of 98.1 percent – 17,696 of the 18,039 laps available. His only Martinsville Cup Series win came in April 2011, when he started ninth and led only six laps en route to the victory. While he’s looking for his second Cup Series win at Martinsville, his sponsor, Hunt Brothers Pizza, is looking for its first at the .526-mile, paperclip-shaped oval. Hunt Brothers Pizza has sponsored Harvick in NASCAR for 10 years and last visited victory lane with him when he won last year’s Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Harvick has also won two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races with Hunt Brothers as a sponsor at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth and at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, both in 2011. Sunday’s event at Martinsville is the third and final race of 2019 in which Hunt Brothers Pizza is sponsoring. The company also sponsored him in the non-points NASCAR All-Star Race in 2014 and 2015, which were conducted at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. Harvick finished second in both races. With more than 7,800 locations in 30 states, Hunt Brothers Pizza is the nation’s largest brand of made-to-order pizza in the convenience store industry. Hunt Brothers Pizza offers original and thin crust pizzas available as a grab-and-go Hunk, perfect for today’s on-the-go lifestyle, or as a customizable whole pizza that is an exceptional value with “All Toppings No Extra Charge.” Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hunt Brothers Pizza is family owned and operated with more than 25 years of experience serving great pizza to convenience store shoppers through its store partners. Harvick, Hunt Brothers Pizza and the rest of the No. 4 team are hoping they can “cook up” a victory this week – and lock themselves into the final four.

KEVIN HARVICK, Driver of the No. 4 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Does winning a Martinsville grandfather clock mean more to you than other trophies? “The clock at Martinsville in pretty unique. I think, as you look at the clock and the history that comes with the clock and being represented by that particular trophy, it’s something that I like. I think some of the racetracks have boring and stale trophies and, when you go to Martinsville, they’re cool clocks that represent who Martinsville is. When you go to the Daytona 500 and win the Harley J. Earl Trophy, it represents who Daytona is. When you go to some tracks and have a Plexiglas and sticker trophy, well maybe that represents some of the racetracks that we go to and some of them are the same.” Where do you want to be at Martinsville to help you avoid trouble on the racetrack? “I think the best position to be in at any racetrack is in the lead. You want to be in control of the race and try to get yourself in a position to where you can have a good, clean restart and have as much clear track – especially at Martinsville – just for the fact that there is so much pushing and shoving on the restarts to get to the bottom lane that you want to try to be as far forward as possible.” When you think of Martinsville, what comes to mind? “Some guys just have a knack for Martinsville. There are some weekends when I show up and I feel good about where I’m at and some weekends I just feel like I’ve never been there before. You look at this little bitty racetrack and you think it would be so simple, and you go out there and it becomes so hard.”

Daniel Suarez is 80/1 to win at Martinsville

DANIEL SUÁREZ Looking for Success at Martinsville KANNAPOLIS, North Carolina (Oct. 23, 2019) – Daniel Suárez and the No. 41 Haas Automation Mustang team for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) make the relatively short jaunt north to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series First Data 500. Suárez will return to the red-and-black Haas Automation livery after driving his ARRIS Ford Mustang last weekend at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City. At Kansas, Suárez qualified the ARRIS Mustang eighth, making him the highest qualifying SHR entry. He led nine laps and ran in the top-10 for a majority of the day but finished 32nd at the 1.5-mile track after late-race accident.   The Mexico native has two career top-10 finishes in his five starts at the half-mile, paperclip-shaped Virginia short track. In this year’s March race, he started ninth and finished 10th. He has an average starting position there of 14.8 and an average finishing position of 16.8.   Additionally, Suárez has four Martinsville starts in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors NASCAR Truck Series, which he used to gain experience for his Cup Series endeavor as the Xfinity Series does not race at the venue. In the Truck Series, he has three top-10 starts, including one outside pole position, and two top-10 results, earning him an average starting position of 6.2 and an average finishing position of 11.5.   Haas Automation, founded in 1983 by SHR co-owner Gene Haas, is America’s leading builder of CNC machine tools. The company manufactures a complete line of vertical and horizontal machining centers, turning centers and rotary tables and indexers. All Haas products are constructed in the company’s 1.1-million-square-foot manufacturing facility in Oxnard, California, and distributed through a worldwide network of Haas Factory Outlets.   SHR has accumulated four wins at Martinsville, the most recent by Clint Bowyer in March 2018. In total, the Kannapolis, North Carolina-based team has 10 top-five finishes and 28 top-10s in 66 starts there.   At tracks 1 mile in length or less, Suárez has five top-10 finishes and 22 laps led, with an average starting position of 18.5 and an average finishing position of 14.6.   Fans have the chance to bid on Suárez’s Kansas race-worn helmet visor benefiting the Jimmie Johnson Foundation to help raise funds for K-12 public education programs. Fans can vote here until noon EDT Friday.   The Virginia track is the shortest of the season for the Cup Series at .526 of a mile, and the second-to-last short track remaining on the calendar for the 2019 season. Should Suárez score the win Sunday, he’ll take home the unique Martinsville grandfather clock trophy.   The Haas Automation driver is 18th in the standings with 757 points and has three top-fives and 10 top-10s this season, along with 141 laps led. He has an average start of 14.5 and an average finish of 16.5. He earned his second career Cup Series pole, first with the No. 41 team, in July at Kentucky Speedway in Sparta.

Daniel Suárez: Driver of the No. 41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

What makes Martinsville unique? “I love going to Martinsville. It’s just a different atmosphere and they have things so unique to them – the trophy, the style of track, etc. It’s one of those tracks that you have to go slow in order to make yourself fast. You have to back up the corner and go slow going into it, then you really get your speed coming off of it to pass people. There’s a lot of beating and banging between all of us on the track and it’s something really fun to watch for the fans.”

Odds to win 2019 First Data 500 at Martinsville

Brad Keselowski led 446 of 500 laps in the spring race at Martinsville.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK

ODDS TO WIN 2019 FIRST DATA 500

MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2019 - 3:15 PM ET

Kyle BUSCH 5/2
Denny HAMLIN 9/2
Martin TRUEX JR 6/1
Brad KESELOWSKI 7/1
Joey LOGANO 7/1
Chase ELLIOTT 7/1
Kevin HARVICK 14/1
Ryan BLANEY 14/1
Clint BOWYER 25/1
Kyle LARSON 40/1
Erik JONES 40/1
Jimmie JOHNSON 40/1
Kurt BUSCH 40/1
Daniel SUAREZ 60/1
Aric ALMIROLA 60/1
Alex BOWMAN 80/1
William BYRON 80/1
Matt DiBENEDETTO 80/1
Austin DILLON 300/1
Ryan NEWMAN 300/1
Ryan PREECE 300/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 300/1
Paul MENARD 300/1
Chris BUESCHER 500/1
Ty DILLON 2000/1
Daniel HEMRIC 2000/1
Darrell WALLACE JR 2000/1
Michael McDOWELL 2000/1
David RAGAN 2000/1
Matt TIFFT 5000/1
Corey LAJOIE 5000/1
Landon CASSILL 5000/1
Ross CHASTAIN 5000/1
FIELD (all others) 1000/1

Joey Logano gets first grandfather clock with Martinsville win

Martinsville Results

Joey Logano wins at Martinsville in wild, controversial finish

Oct. 28, 2018
By Reid Spencer

MARTINSVILLE, Va. – Joey Logano provided his own interpretation of the Golden Rule in Sunday’s First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway, as in "Do unto others as others didn’t do to you."

With a guaranteed spot in the Championship 4 Round of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series at stake, Logano moved the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr. out of the way in Turns 3 and 4 of the final lap to win for the first time at the .526-mile short track and claim his berth in the title race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"Just thinking about Miami, man," Logano said unapologetically after climbing from his car to an evenly divided chorus of cheers and boos from fans in the frontstretch grandstand. "Some are going to like it, and haters are going to hate a little bit, but I'm a hard racer. I don't think that's a secret to anyone. We're here to win a championship this year."

Truex, who cleared Logano off Turn 2 on the final lap after an extended side-by-side battle, vowed that Logano wouldn’t win his first title this season.

"He may have won the battle, but he ain’t winning the damn war," promised Truex, who slid across the finish line in third place after Denny Hamlin edged him for second in a wild scramble off the final corner. "That’s it. I’m not letting him – I’m going to win the championship...

"I was next to him for six laps. I never knocked him out of the way. We were going to race hard for it in my book. I cleared him fair and square. We weren’t even banging doors for me to pass him. He just drove into the back of me and knocked me out of the way. It’s short-track racing, but what goes around comes around."

From past experience, Logano knows that retaliation can be sudden and decisive. In 2015, after turning Matt Kenseth to win a Playoff race at Kansas, Logano appeared a likely winner at Martinsville and a favorite for the championship until Kenseth pile-drove him into the Turn 1 wall at Martinsville and ended his Playoff run.

But that incident seemed a distant memory on Sunday evening, as Logano savored his second victory of the season, the 20th of his career and the cherished grandfather clock trophy that comes with a Martinsville win.

"We raced hard there," Logano said. "He raced really clean, and I laid the bumper to him, so I don’t expect him to be happy. We had to do what we’ve got to do, and maybe there’s something he’s got to do, and we’ll hash it out, I’m sure, one way or another.

"But that was our shot. It may be our only shot, so we had to make it happen."

Hamlin, who had an excellent long-run car but couldn’t fight his way past fourth-place finisher Kyle Busch and fifth-place Brad Keselowski in time to challenge for the win, nevertheless had a ringside seat for the pyrotechnics between Logano and Truex.

"I think the 22 (Logano) saw he was in a vulnerable position," Hamlin said. "They were side by side for two laps. The 22 was on the outside. That's a position where you can't do anything to the leader. So it looked like to me that he conceded the spot on the white-flag lap. Once I saw that he conceded the spot, followed in behind him, I knew we were in for an exciting Turn 3 and 4.

"I knew it was coming. Everyone probably saw it was coming. I just think it would have been still a cool battle if they would have just stayed side by side. I think the 22 thought he wasn't going to win that way."

Despite finishing third, Truex leaves Martinsville tied for third on the Playoff grid with 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick, 25 points ahead of Kurt Busch (sixth Sunday), the first driver below the Championship 4 cut line. Harvick is the last driver above the cut line due to a tiebreaker because Truex currently has the higher Round of 8 finish. Kyle Busch sits second on the grid, 46 points ahead of his brother.

Chase Elliott, who ran seventh, is 31 points behind Harvick. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Clint Bowyer and Aric Almirola are 42 and 50 points out of fourth, respectively. A late spin cost Bowyer dearly. He finished 21st, one lap down.

Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Race - 70th Annual First Data 500

Martinsville Speedway

Martinsville, Virginia

Sunday, October 28, 2018

 

                  1. (10)  Joey Logano (P), Ford, 500.

                  2. (3)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 500.

                  3. (33)  Martin Truex Jr. (P), Toyota, 500.

                  4. (1)  Kyle Busch (P), Toyota, 500.

                  5. (7)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 500.

                  6. (6)  Kurt Busch (P), Ford, 500.

                  7. (19)  Chase Elliott (P), Chevrolet, 500.

                  8. (16)  Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 500.

                  9. (8)  Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 500.

                  10. (12)  Kevin Harvick (P), Ford, 500.

                  11. (5)  Aric Almirola (P), Ford, 500.

                  12. (34)  Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 500.

                  13. (13)  Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 500.

                  14. (15)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 500.

                  15. (23)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 500.

                  16. (17)  Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 500.

                  17. (14)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 500.

                  18. (36)  David Ragan, Ford, 500.

                  19. (18)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 500.

                  20. (4)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 500.

                  21. (2)  Clint Bowyer (P), Ford, 499.

                  22. (35)  Paul Menard, Ford, 499.

                  23. (24)  Matt Kenseth, Ford, 499.

                  24. (28)  Cole Whitt, Chevrolet, 498.

                  25. (20)  Michael McDowell, Ford, 497.

                  26. (21)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 494.

                  27. (29)  DJ Kennington(i), Toyota, 493.

                  28. (27)  Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 492.

                  29. (22)  Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 492.

                  30. (25)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 491.

                  31. (38)  JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 491.

                  32. (32)  Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 490.

                  33. (39)  Jeb Burton(i), Chevrolet, 489.

                  34. (37)  Bubba Wallace #, Chevrolet, 488.

                  35. (30)  Joey Gase(i), Chevrolet, 467.

                  36. (26)  Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 451.

                  37. (9)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Engine, 393.

                  38. (40)  Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, Engine, 368.

                  39. (11)  William Byron #, Chevrolet, Accident, 364.

                  40. (31)  Hermie Sadler III, Chevrolet, Brakes, 230.

 

Average Speed of Race Winner:  75.31 mph.

Time of Race:  3 Hrs, 29 Mins, 32 Secs. Margin of Victory:  0.107 Seconds.

Caution Flags:  8 for 68 laps.

Lead Changes:  11 among 6 drivers.

Lap Leaders:   K. Busch (P) 1-30;D. Hamlin 31-44;C. Bowyer (P) 45;K. Busch (P) 46-115;D. Hamlin 116-132;J. Logano (P) 133-359;M. Truex Jr. (P) 360-376;J. Logano (P) 377-418;B. Keselowski 419-459;J. Logano (P) 460-498;M. Truex Jr. (P) 499;J. Logano (P) 500.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Joey Logano (P) 4 times for 309 laps; Kyle Busch (P) 2 times for 100 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 41 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 31 laps; Martin Truex Jr. (P) 2 times for 18 laps; Clint Bowyer (P) 1 time for 1 lap.

Stage #1 Top Ten: 11,22,18,14,41,31,78,12,4,10

Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,11,18,78,41,31,9,14,47,2

Martinsville Betting Preview: 2018 First Data 500

Late post from last Wednesday

Who's going to be the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Champion? Will it be a former champion like Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. or Kevin Harvick? How about the beginning of a new era with Chase Elliott? Or maybe the upset with an old dog like Clint Bowyer or Kurt Busch?

Four drivers were chopped from championship contention last week at Kansas and only eight remain as the third round of NASCAR's Playoffs begin this weekend at Martinsville Speedway's flat half-mile layout. It's the first of three races in this round and four drivers can advance to the Nov. 18 Championship Race ay Homestead by winning one of the next three races or accumulating the most points.

The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook updated their odds to win the NASCAR Championship and posted Las Vegan Kyle Busch and Bakersfield's Kevin Harvick as 9/4 co-favorites (Bet $100 to win $225). Both are most likely to advance to the Championship Race just because they've been given a huge head start by carrying over playoff points acquired during the regular season. Busch has seven wins and leads with 4,055 points and Harvick has seven wins and 4,054 points, but no wins in the playoffs. Harvick's last win came at Michigan, 10 races ago, on Aug. 12.

Based on Harvick's past history between the next three races, he's almost assured of being of the four championship drivers. He's only had one career Cup win at Martinsville (2011), but he won the fall Texas race last season and has three wins on 1.5-mile tracks this season and at Phoenix, he has nine career wins and owns most of the track records. Kyle Busch also feels good about his chances.

“I like it," Busch said of the third round. "I think it’s going to be good. I really look forward to this round. I feel like it’s our best round. We run well at all three of those places and we won at Texas in the spring, we won Martinsville last fall and Phoenix has been getting better for us, too. We just need to continue to execute and do a good job and make sure that we mind our Ps and Qs. There are certainly some areas that we need to clean up right now and continue to get better because, when you get to Homestead – you’ve got to get there first, but when you get there – you better be picture perfect, so hopefully we can get it all sorted out.”

Busch should advance as well. He won at Texas April 8 and also has three wins on 1.5s and swept both Richmond races, a set-up which transfers over well to Phoenix. He's got a 17-point lead over third-place Martin Truex Jr. who has been posted at 9/2 odds to win the title. Defending Cup Champion Truex has four wins on the season, but none since July 14 at Kentucky, which is shortly before his team announced they would be closing the doors of their shop permanently at seasons end.

Read More Here.........VegasInsider.com

Fall Martinsville Results

Martinsville Betting Preview: 2017 First Data 500

Kyle Busch bows last spring at Martinsville.

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.

Read More Here......Top-5 Finish Prediction

Odds to win 2017 First Data 500 at Martinsville Speedway

Kyle Busch won his first grandfather clock in 2016.

WESTGATE LAS VEGAS SUPERBOOK
ODDS TO WIN 2017 FIRST DATA 500
MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2017 - 3:13 PM ET

Kyle BUSCH 3/1
Denny HAMLIN 9/2
Brad KESELOWSKI 9/2
Jimmie JOHNSON 7/1
Martin TRUEX JR 10/1
Kyle LARSON 10/1
Joey LOGANO 10/1
Kevin HARVICK 12/1
Chase ELLIOTT 15/1
Matt KENSETH 18/1
Clint BOWYER 30/1
Jamie McMURRAY 40/1
Ryan BLANEY 40/1
Erik JONES 60/1
Dale EARNHARDT JR 80/1
Ryan NEWMAN 80/1
Daniel SUAREZ 100/1
Kurt BUSCH 100/1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 100/1
Austin DILLON 100/1
Kasey KAHNE 100/1
Aric ALMIROLA 200/1
Ricky STENHOUSE JR 200/1
Paul MENARD 300/1
Chris BUESCHER 300/1
Trevor BAYNE 500/1
Ty DILLON 1000/1
Danica PATRICK 1000/1
Michael McDOWELL 1000/1
FIELD (all others) 500/1