The third round of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase for the Sprint Cup begins this weekend at the smallest track on the circuit, Martinsville Speedway. That means plenty of hot dogs, grandfather clocks and of course close racing.
A field of 43 cars will take the green this weekend but only a few drivers will be of any relevance to those who are playing Fantasy NASCAR this late into the season.
This track will either make or break the eight drivers left competing for the Cup. With that being said off to Tireball Sports’ weekly NASCAR Fantasy Picks.
Five to Pick
Jeff Gordon – An eight time winner at Martinsville, Gordon won this race last year. He has had as good of luck as anyone at the short track with finishes of 20th or better dating back to 2003. During that span 22 of his 25 starts have resulted in a finish inside the top 10.
Brad Keselowski AND Joey Logano – Team Penske is running its best right now. I normally would break this into two drivers but why? Multiple wins for both, wins in the previous round and ah forget it. You already have them in your lineup. Why are you reading this anymore?
Matt Kenseth – There was once a point in time where Kenseth and Martinsville was a big no-no. Throw that out the window. Sure Kenseth has not won this season and its unlikely he will win on Sunday but he just keeps putting along in this Chase. He has three top tens and two 14 place finishes in his last five races here.
Kyle Larson – We are going to look past a 17th place run at Talladega which just happened to be his worst finish in his last nine starts this season. Larson appears to be the long driver who did not start in the Chase who could actually win a race before the season ends.
Three to Avoid
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Guy did not even make Talladega. In three starts at Martinsville he has a best of 25th.
Tony Stewart – If you are picking Stewart this week you are going off of what he has done in the past rather than what he has done recently. His last three runs here have been 27th, 17th and 17th. This team just never had it from the start of the season and Stewart’s absence from the team mid-season ultimately derailed them.
Kurt Busch – Sure he won here in the spring. Forget that. His seventh place run at Talladega was his best finish since the Chase started. We would not buy into that as turning it around though, rather good fortune.
