NASCAR goes under the lights Saturday in its first visit to Martinsville Speedway of the season for the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400.
Martin Truex Jr. has owned this place of late, winning three of the last five trips to the famed Virginia short track. Not surprisingly, he’s heavily favored at +550 to win.
Quite a few drivers feel confident at Martinsvillle, however, which means there could be betting value to be found elsewhere. Check out who our experts are eyeing this week.
All odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.
Ben Watanabe
Kyle Busch, winner +1000
It’s really tempting to take Ryan Blaney (+900), who’s done everything right this year except win, at a very similar number. But Busch desperately needs a victory in an uncharacteristically up-and-down season for him. Despite — or perhaps because of — a tape-related penalty, he finished ninth at Richmond Raceway, so he still knows how to wheel it at short tracks. In addition to his two career wins at Martinsville, Busch has finished ninth, 10th and second in his last three races at the paperclip.
Mike Cole
Ryan Blaney, winner +900
I will give in to the Blaney temptation. He has finished 11th or better in eight of his last nine Martinsville races, which tells you he’s always in the mix here. He’s had some downright dominating performances where he did everything but win, like last spring when he won both the first and second stages while leading 157 laps before finishing 11th. He had a similar performance in 2018, winning the second stage, placing third in another and leading 145 laps en route to a third-place finish. He’s knocking on the door and should resort to kicking it in this weekend.
Dakota Randall
Austin Cindric, top five +450
The rookie has been a bit inconsistent since opening the season with a Daytona 500 victory but still has four other top 20 finishes this year, including an eighth-place finish two weeks ago. But that’s not why we’re betting on him to finish in the top five at Martinsville. In 17 combined Xfinity Series starts at Martinsville, Richmond and Bristol Motor Speedway, Cindric has 12 top-10 finishes, including eight top-fives. He knows how to race on short tracks, despite his inexperience on the Cup level.
