NASCAR is at the paperclip this week for some short track racing on the half mile Martinsville track. We are likely to see a lot of beating and banging as we saw in the other series this weekend. Track position is huge as passing is difficult so drivers do not want to get stuck back in traffic at any point in the race this weekend. We are likely to see 2-3 dominators in this race depending how it plays out. With so many laps in the race, getting the dominators right are crucial to a good DFS lineup this week.
Potential Dominators
Christopher Bell
Chase Elliott
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Bell went out and got the pole in qualifying and has some good races here even though his results last year at Martinsville were not great. He will have the best chance to lead early and he will need to lead a lot of laps to get the dominator points needed to hit value. He had top 10 speed in practice and should have the opportunity to be one of the dominators in the race. Elliott will be Bell’s biggest competition early in the race starting just outside of him on the front row. Elliott on the other hand has been one of the best cars at both Martinsville races last year. He had consistent speed in practice over the run and should be a top contender throughout the race and be there at the end to battle for the win. Hamlin has been great at Martinsville in his career and I expect for of the same this week. He was fast in practice and showed he can go through the field last season, so with his track position starting in 5th, he should have a great chance to be a dominator this week. Byron is another that is good at Martinsville and like his teammate Elliott in practice had a lot of speed. He starts 10th and I would expect him to run around the top 5 all race with upside to be a top contender.
Place Differential Plays
Ryan Blaney
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Preece
Noah Gragson
Blaney starts way back in 32nd giving him major place differential for a driver that is great at Martinsville. He had speed in practice as well and was really good on the long run in lap averages. He should move forward and be a top option for the DFS slate. Keselowski had top 10 speed in lap averages in practice and ran well here last fall with a top 10 finish. He starts in 27th so he has a lot of room to move forward and is a good place differential play this week. Preece and Gragson didn't jump out on the leaderboard for practice times but they were both solid in the session. Both have good track records at Martinsville and should have top 15 potential for the race. They also start mid pack so their ownership may be kept lower than it should as well.
Cheap Options
Carson Hocevar
Cole Custer
Shane Van Gisbergen
Ty Dillon
Hocevar had speed in practice as he was 7th in the 20 lap run averages in the session. He starts back in 29th and is an aggressive driver so getting through the field should be something he can do as long as he doesn't make too many enemies throughout the race. He is a good place differential option at his salary. A cheap option I really like this week is Cole Custer. He starts in 22nd so he has less place differential potential than some others but he has had good runs at Martinsville in the past even though he doesn't necessarily have the results to show for it. He had speed in practice and I think he will have top 10 upside for the race. We have seen good road racers do well at Martinsville in the past and SVG is part of that group as he finished 12th here in the fall. He starts back in 33rd so he has a ton of place differential potential and should move forward throughout the race making him a great option for this weekend. Ty Dillon is a good flier play this week as he was solid in practice and since he starts 28th his ownership may be kept down a bit.