The NASCAR Xfinity Series is in Martinsville this week for the last race before the championship in Phoenix. The drivers above the cut line for the playoffs have a good buffer against the drivers below the cut line so those drivers below are likely in must win situations. Also Cole Custer and Justin Allgaier will be battling each other over points just in case there is a new winner the higher point driver of those two will still be in the championship race. We have seen some crazy races and moves by drivers going for the win the last few years in this race to try to make it to the championship next week.
Potential Dominators
Cole Custer
Sammy Smith
Chandler Smith
Sheldon Creed
Custer was one of the fastest cars in lap averages in practice and has a good history at Martinsville. He led laps and ran up front here in the spring and I would expect him to be a front runner again this week. He starts back in 10th so he has a little place differential to gain as well. Sammy Smith was fastest in 15 lap averages and he needs a win to move on in the playoffs. I expect him to run up front as he has run well here but there is some risk of him going all out for the win and ending up wrecked. Chandler Smith has the best chance to lead early as he starts 3rd and the front row are drivers we don’t expect to lead the field very long. Smith was solid in practice and is usually good on flat style tracks. Creed had speed in practice and I would expect him to be a factor throughout the race this weekend. He has run well here before and could run well again this weekend.
Place Differential Plays
AJ Allmendinger
Riley Herbst
Ryan Sieg
Parker Kligerman
Allmendinger is locked into the championship race with his win so this week doesn’t matter to him but he has a good history at Martinsville and he was fast in practice. It would not surprise me to see him be a contender for the win this week and starting 11th gives him a little bit of room to move forward. Herbst is another that starts just outside of the top 10 but I would not be surprised to see him in the top 5 by the end of the race. He could be a solid option at his salary this week. Sieg did not post a qualifying lap with brake issues so he starts in the back and will have huge place differential potential in the race. They should have the car all fixed for the race and he will be one of the top options for place differential making him one of the higher owned drivers most likely. Kligerman is another that had brake issues but he decided to run in qualifying. He will have to go to the rear for them to fix it but he will be scored from 18th. This could keep his ownership low and if he can find himself in the top 10 by the end of the race he could be a great option for DFS.
Cheap Options
Matt Dibenedetto
Kyle Sieg
Preston Pardus
Myatt Snider
Leland Honeyman
Dibenedetto had really good lap times in practice and has a good history at Martinsville in his career. He starts 16th so that could keep his ownership down but I think he is still a solid option and would be a sleeper for a top 10. Sieg and Pardus are solid flier plays that start outside the top 25. They had decent speed in practice and if they can make it to the end without any trouble they could be good value plays. Snider and Honeyman are really cheap options and start a little higher up than you would typically want for them in their equipment. But they both had close to top 20 speed in practice and I think they could be solid options for the race. Also with them starting higher up that gives them a better chance of not getting lapped early since that will be a concern at the short track this week.