The Cup Series had their normal schedule this week. The teams had a 20-minute practice session to shake down their cars for Sunday’s race. Martinsville is a .526-mile flat track. It only takes 19 seconds to turn a lap at Martinsville, so most of the teams were able to make a long run in practice. Traffic can be an issue in practice at Martinsville and skew the lap times. I like to look at the long-run speed to handicap this race. There were two drivers who had a lot of speed in practice, have had a lot of success at Martinsville and have a good chance to win Sunday. I will be add two drivers to my betting card this week.
I already have JOEY LOGANO (+1200), TY GIBBS (+1300), CHASE BRISCOE (+2200) and BUBBA WALLACE (+2500) on my betting card.
* I have $50 left from my $100 budget. Here is how I will be spending the remaining funds on the Cook Out 400…
KYLE LARSON (+350): Larson looked awesome in practice. He had the fastest speed on the long runs in his group and then he went out and won the pole. Larson has said before that he hates Martinsville, but that does not mean he is not good at this track. Larson finished won this race last year and his average finishing position in his last three races at Martinsville is 3rd. The No. 5 car has a great chance to win Sunday.
CHASE ELLIOTT (+1000): This race means a lot to Hendrick Motorsports. All of their cars have a special paint scheme this weekend and they all had speed in practice. I really like what Elliott said in his interview after practice. Elliott said that the Gen-7 car did not have the feel that the old car had at Martinsville when he was winning at this track. The No. 5 team worked hard to get him the feel he was looking for and Elliott said he thinks he has it. I will believe Elliott and bet him at 10-1 odds Sunday.
BETS MADE EARLIER THIS WEEK
Good luck Sunday!
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