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Martinsville fantasy NASCAR picks start with Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin and William Byron for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, where the same small group of drivers has run up front in recent races.
The 500-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, November 1, on NBC. The best guides are the last two races at the 0.526-mile track, last October and this March, plus the October 18 race at Phoenix Raceway, a flat one-mile track.
What the last two Martinsville races showed
Byron won this race last October, ahead of Blaney, Chase Elliott, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson. Byron won the pole and both stages and led 304 laps.
Elliott won the spring race on March 29 from the 10th starting spot. Hamlin finished second after winning the pole and both stages and leading 292 laps. Joey Logano, Ty Gibbs and Byron completed the top five.
Seven drivers finished in the top 10 in both races: Byron, Blaney, Elliott, Larson, Logano, Christopher Bell and Josh Berry.
Analysis: Drivers to start
Ryan Blaney. Second here last October and sixth in March. He won the fall Martinsville race in 2023 and 2024, and he finished second at Phoenix on October 18.
Denny Hamlin. He has six Cup wins at Martinsville and led 292 of 400 laps in March. His Phoenix race was undone by a shredded tire and a speeding penalty, and he finished eighth at Talladega.
William Byron. The defending winner, and fifth in March. He finished second at Talladega on Sunday.
Chase Elliott. The spring winner was third here last October and third at Phoenix. He was caught in the Lap 132 crash at Talladega, which does not reflect his short-track form.
Analysis: Solid plays
Kyle Larson. The points leader has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five Martinsville races, but he has not won any of them. He struggled for speed at Phoenix before a blown tire put him into the wall.
Joey Logano. Third in March and eighth last October. He led 84 laps and swept the first two stages at Phoenix.
Christopher Bell. Seventh in both of the last two Martinsville races and fourth at Phoenix. He won the fall Martinsville race in 2022.
Analysis: Sleepers
Ty Gibbs. Fourth in March and 10th at Phoenix.
Josh Berry. Tenth in both of the last two Martinsville races, a steady pick in salary-cap formats.
Ross Chastain. Fourth here last October, ninth at Phoenix and fourth at Talladega.
Analysis: Drivers to sit
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Cole Custer. They finished third and fifth at Talladega, but superspeedway results don’t carry over to Martinsville. Neither finished in the top 10 in the last two races here.
Tyler Reddick. He won at Phoenix for his sixth win of the season, but he finished outside the top 10 in both of the last two Martinsville races and was caught in the Lap 132 crash at Talladega. Proceed with caution.
Bubba Wallace. He was fastest in practice in March but finished 36th after completing 323 laps.
Strategy notes for Sunday
With 500 laps, laps-led points matter. One driver led more than 290 laps in each of the last two Martinsville races, so picking the dominator can decide a lineup.
Cup practice is Saturday at 1 p.m. ET and qualifying is at 2:05 p.m. on truTV. Check the starting lineup before locking in picks, since drivers who start deep in the field and finish in the top 10 score big place-differential points. Sunday’s forecast carries a chance of rain, so check for any change to the start time.
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