In late March, Denny Hamlin picked up the victory at his "home track". The race went eight laps longer than it was scheduled to, but Hamlin prevailed followed by Joey Logano, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman, and Martin Truex, Jr. To check out the results from this year's other race at Martinsville, click here. Denny Hamlin also won the race last year in October, with Jimmie Johnson, Juan Montoya, Kyle Busch, and Jeff Gordon rounding out the top five. For last year's fall Martinsville race results, click here. Hamlin started 19th and 17th in his past two wins at this track.
Jordan's Top Fifteen for the Bank of America 500:
Driver - Fantasy Price - Car - Starting Position
Driver - Fantasy Price - Car - Starting Position
1. Denny Hamlin - $23.90 - #11 FedEx Express Toyota - Starts 1st
Hamlin hasn't finished worse than 12th in the past six races and that streak will continue Sunday at Martinsville (his home track). Denny is stellar here: he has won three of the past four races at "The Paperclip" and finished 2nd in the other race. He is riding a six race streak of top fives here and has an average career finish of 6.6. He starts on the pole and gets the first pit stall, which can be very important for track position. He wasn't amazing anybody on the speed charts but he was right there in average speed (9th). There is no way Hamlin won't make my roster this week. Note: if a driver wins from the pole, they receive 20 bonus points.
2. Jeff Gordon - $22.90 - #24 DuPont Chevrolet - Starts 11th
Gordon has a 15-race streak of top tens at Martinsville and I see no reason why it would end on Sunday. He was 2nd in average speed (although his Happy Hour average speed was 14th) and he was 2nd in ten-lap averages during Happy Hour. Jeff knows how to get around this track, amassing 32 top twelves in 35 career races and he brought the same car that he recently finished 6th with at New Hampshire.
3. Jimmie Johnson - $24.00 - #48 Lowe's Chevrolet - Starts 19th
It's hard (and stupid) to bet against Johnson and Hamlin at Martinsville (as well as Gordon). The 48 and the 11 have been the only winners here since 2006, with Johnson winning five of them and Hamlin three. Johnson hasn't finished outside of the top ten at "The Paperclip" in the past sixteen races and don't expect him to Sunday. He starts kind of far back, which is the reason for his 3rd-place ranking, but he had the fourth fastest ten-lap average in Happy Hour. Unless he gets caught up in an early wreck, a top five is pretty much a lock for Johnson.
4. Clint Bowyer - $17.50 - #33 BB&T Chevrolet - Starts 17th
Like Johnson, Clint has some cars to pass to make his way to the front, but the #33 looked stellar in practice Saturday (as did the entire RCR fleet). Bowyer ended up 6th on the average speed chart (3rd in Happy Hour ranking) and was in the top six in both ten-lap averages (3rd in Happy Hour). Once you get past the appalling stats from Hamlin, Gordon, and Johnson, you will notice that Bowyer isn't too bad at Martinsville. His career best finish here is 5th, but Sunday may be the day he improves that.
5. Ryan Newman - $18.60 - #39 Tornados Chevrolet - Starts 4th
"The Rocketman" has an average career finish at Martinsville of 13.4 and finished 4th here in the spring. He was in the top ten in both ten-lap averages and ended up 13th on the average speed chart. Newman has finished in the top ten in his past three races at Martinsville will be looking to get back on track after last week's mess. In the COT era, Newman has the fifth-best average finish at "The Paperclip" (thanks ifantasyrace.com)
6. Tony Stewart - $18.20 - #14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet - Starts 6th
"Smoke" is driving the same car that he almost won New Hampshire with in September (he ran out of fuel coming to the white flag). He was the last driver to win here aside from Hamlin and Johnson and has an average career finish of 12.6 at "The Paperclip". Don't let his low average speed ranking fool you: Stewart likes to do long runs during practice to see how his tires will react, which makes his average speed lower.
7. Jamie McMurray - $16.40 - #1 Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Chevrolet - Starts 9th
Jamie Mac is starting to get some consistency on a week-to-week basis. Over the past six races, he has the fourth-best average finish (10.3) and his lowest finish was 17th. He got the win at Charlotte last week and brought that momentum to Virginia. The 1 car placed 8th on the average speed chart and ended up sixth on the ten-lap average chart for Happy Hour. McMurray has finished in the top ten in three of his last four visits to "The Paperclip" and seems on track to make it four of five.
8. Juan Montoya - $15.40 - #42 Target Chevrolet - Starts 5th
As usual, I caution anybody who picks Montoya this week--he is simply inconsistent and very high risk. He finished 36th here in the spring (tire problem), but that was his only finish outside of the top 16 in his career at Martinsville (seven career races). He placed 7th on the average speed chart and is running the same car that finished 7th at Richmond. If you're feeling lucky, take a shot with Juan this week.
9. Kevin Harvick - $27.00 - #29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet - Starts 36th
If "Happy Harvick" makes your roster this week--which I see no reason why he would because of his price--you better hope that there isn't an early wreck. Qualifying is never a strong trait for Harvick and he showed it again this week. His car, though, like all the RCR cars this week, is fast. He was first in average speed and in the top five in both ten-lap averages. If he can make it to the front, Harvick could have a winning car, but it will take a lot of strategy and luck for that too happen. He finished 10th in the fall Martinsville race in 2009.
10. Mark Martin - $20.10 - #5 GoDaddy.com/eBay Motors Chevrolet - Starts 21st
Mark "The Kid" Martin is finally getting the finishes that we were used to in 2009: he has a five-race streak of top fifteens. He was 4th on the average practice speed chart and ended up 5th on the ten-lap average chart during Happy Hour. He has some cars to pass but he has done it before. Last year Martin finished 7th after rolling off the grid in 31st. He has an average career finish of 13.3 at "The Paperclip".
11. Jeff Burton - $21.80 - #31 Caterpillar Chevrolet - Starts 18th
RCR has their cars hooked up this week, placing all three of their cars in the top six in both practice sessions on Saturday. Burton ran the most laps of anyone in practice on Saturday, which is usually the case week in and week out. He has an average career finish at Martinsville of 14.8 with one win but hasn't finished better than 15th in his past four races here. Burton had a good car in the spring before a flat tire ruined his day. He is driving the same chassis that he finished 10th at Bristol with.
12. Carl Edwards - $20.70 - #99 Aflac Ford - Starts 7th
Cousin Carl finished 8th here in the spring, only his third top ten at Martinsville in twelve career races. However, those three career top tens here have come in the past four races at the track. Edwards was 7th in ten-lap average speed during Happy Hour but only 17th in overall average speed. He looks to be the best Ford this week.
13. Marcos Ambrose - $11.10 - #47 DG Country Million Sweep. Toyota - Starts 2nd
One of my sleepers of the week made me look good by almost getting the pole on Friday. Ambrose finished 11th here earlier in the year, and I always keep my eye on him at tracks where you need to save your brakes (which he is an expert at). He had the fastest average speed in Happy Hour and was 3rd on the ten-lap average chart during second practice. Marcos is a very good low-dollar option this week.
14. Paul Menard - $12.80 - #98 Energizer/Menards Ford - Starts 11th
Ranking fifth on the average speed chart, Menard does what he does best: look super fast during practice. Sometimes the speed carries over into the race, while other times it does not. Menard finished a career-best (at Martinsville) 14th in the spring race after starting 9th. With all the uncertainty going on at Richard Petty Motorsports, the 98 is a gamble this week, but a top fifteen wouldn't be surprising.
15. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - $17.10 - #88 Amp Energy/Nat. Guard Chevrolet - Starts 28th
Little E has a lot of cars to pass on Sunday, but he has done it before. In 2009 he finished 8th after starting 19th and in 2008 Jr finished 6th after starting 22nd. Martinsville is one of Jr's better racetracks, with a career average finish here of 14.1. In the spring race he finished 15th and he ended up 15th on the average practice speed chart (9th in ten-lap average during Happy Hour).
On The Outside Looking In:
Bobby Labonte: Labonte really impressed me last week with his 22nd place finish. It wasn't a great one, but it was surprising--he wasn't on my radar at all. When you can get that good of a finish with a very low dollar driver (he costs $8.50) it can make your roster a money winner. Labonte was 4th in happy hour average speed and 16th overall. He's in the 09 this weeks, which gets its engines from Hendrick.
A.J. Allmendinger: Allmendinger starts 15th and looked great in practice (3rd in average speed) but has finished 34th or worse in four of his six career starts here. The 'Dinger finished 9th here last fall after starting 16th and always seems to run better in the October race at Martinsville.
Aric Almirola: He's in Kasey Kahne's old ride and you could tell he wasn't used to it. He was terrible up until Happy Hour, where he was 9th on the grid (and 13th in average speed). He starts 35th, but if he doesn't get in a wreck is capable of a top 20 finish this week.
Don't Let Them Fool You:
Greg Biffle: The Biff has raced here 15 times and has come away with only two top tens (and an average finish of 22.3). He starts 3rd on Sunday and in 2008 started there and finished 12th. He was 14th in average speed and, even though he starts good, isn't the best option for his price ($22.20).
Kyle Busch: In the past five races at "The Paperclip", Rowdy has an average finish of 23.4. He starts 26th and has shown no speed so far (23rd in average speed). He wasn't happy with his car at all during practice and this isn't his best racetrack, so I would stay clear of Kyle this week.
Scott Speed: He starts 14th, but don't expect him to stay there long. He has raced at Martinsville four times but has never finished better than 30th. Speed was 25th on the average practice chart but it will take some luck for him to finish that high this week.
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