The NASCAR Cup Series will compete at another short track this week when they travel to Martinsville Speedway. Some of the most historic races have occurred at Martinsville. They include the Matt Kenseth takeout of Joey Logano in 2015, Jeff Gordon’s last win in 2015, Chase Elliott calling out Denny Hamlin for wrecking him in 2020 and the “Hail Melon” last year. It will be fun to see what history is made this week.
The “Best Bet” has been on fire. Christopher Bell went to Victory Lane last week and that makes three winners in a row. I have received some positive feedback on the strategies of allocating your bankroll, so I will continue to post the betting chart each week. I will also do my best to keep the hot streak going.
This is not a good week to make a lot of money betting on NASCAR unless you want to put all of your money on one driver. There are seven drivers who have dominated the races at Martinsville. It will be tough to beat these drivers unless something crazy happens. These drivers include (Chase Elliott, William Byron, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney). I like to spread the bets on multiple drivers, instead of placing all of my eggs in one basket. That means I will likely have a small return this week, unless Alex Bowman or Brad Keselowski can pull a rabbit out of the hat Sunday.
* If you do want to put all of your money on one driver, William Byron would be my pick.
DRAFTKINGS ODDS FOR MARTINSVILLE
* The odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. The odds could change between the time of this article and the time you place your bet.
** The first number is the amount of money based on the second number (the amount of the wager). So if you bet $1 on William Byron at 6-1 odds, you will win $60.
Here are my bets for Martinsville based on a $100 bankroll for the race….
WILLIAM BYRON (6-1): The race Sunday looks like Byron’s race to win. He won the Truck Series and Cup Series races at Martinsville last year. He also dominated the last race on a short, flat track at Richmond when Byron led 117 laps. Hendrick Motorsports has their setup figured out for the new aero package on the short tracks this year. I will bet on Byron as an insurance policy so I can get some money back if he dominates the race as he is expected to do Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (7-1): Do you believe in momentum? How about track history? Is that important? Well, Bell has both. He has momentum after his win last week on the dirt at Bristol and he led 150 laps on his way to Victory Lane at Martinsville last October. Adam Stevens and Alan Gustafson are the two best crew chiefs at Martinsville. I will bet that Bell can win back-to-back races in the Cup Series and back-to-back races at Martinsville.
DENNY HAMLIN (7-1): I rather bet on Hamlin at his home track than bet against him. He has a series-high five wins at Martinsville. Hamlin is no stranger to dominating the races at Martinsville. He led 203 laps in the last race at the track and 379 laps in the two races in 2021. Hamlin had one of the best cars on the short, flat track in Richmond two weeks ago. Hamlin is a great bet to win this week.
JOEY LOGANO (9-1): Logano has not been great in the two short, flat track races using the new aero package (Phoenix and Richmond), but he has not been too bad. Paul Wolfe knows how to set up a car for Martinsville, so I expect Logano to be good Sunday. Logano has the best average finishing position at Martinsville over the last six races. He is not afraid to wreck other drivers to get to Victory Lane. That is not a good look for the sport, but it is good for my wallet when I have money bet on him.
ALEX BOWMAN (20-1): I like the speed that Hendrick Motorsports has had this year. Are they cheating? Probably, but cheating has been part of the sport since the green flag was waived in the first Daytona 500 race. Bowman knows how to win at Martinsville. He won at this track in 2021. Getting a Hendrick Motorsports car at 20-1 odds seems too good to pass up this week.
BRED KESELOWSKI (22-1): Keselowski has a history of dominating the races at Martinsville. He led 446 of the 500 laps at Martinsville in 2019. The No. 6 car is starting to find more and more speed each week. I will bet that Keselowski can help his team figure out a setup to allow him to qualify up front and then he can use his knowledge of the track to keep the car up front. He just needs a little luck, and the No. 6 car could be in Victory Lane Sunday.
* I also like Ryan Preece as long shot bets. I want to keep my bankroll at $100, so I did not bet them. He is worth a $5 bet Sunday.
Good luck Sunday!
Follow me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR