Beat The Experts: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 At Martinsville
By Cole Mentzel
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series is heading to Martinsville for the first race of the Eliminator 8 round of the Chase. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman were eliminated last round leaving the following drivers in the running for the Championship:
- Joey Logano
- Carl Edwards
- Jeff Gordon
- Kurt Busch
- Brad Keselowski
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kevin Harvick
- Kyle Busch
Logano, who won all three races in the previous round, captured the pole for Sunday, taking no breaks from his recent domination. After this round, we will know the four drivers competing for a Championship at Homestead, but before that, there’s three races to take care of. First up is the paper clip.
Through two rounds of the BTF Chase game, staff writer Cole Mentzel (221 points) leads, followed by staff writer Mike Hutton (212 points), BTF editor Christopher Olmstead (203 points) and staff writers Michael Finley (143 points) and Joseph Shelton (118 points).
For the BTF fans game, Chris Losurdo continues to lead with 233 points followed by Linda Lopez Gearst Gerhardt (212 points), Tammy Hemminger (200 points), Rita Stout (174 points) and Mary Jo Korp (137 points).
Here are the BTF staff picks for Martinsville:
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Cole Mentzel – Martin Truex Jr. – In a way, Truex has flown under the radar this whole Chase. He hasn’t finished below 15th in the last six races but he also hasn’t exactly competed for a win. He’s been doing just enough to get by and he managed to pull off a good finish at Talladega last weekend when his back was against the wall. He finished 6th at Martinsville earlier in the year but he can make it to Victory Lane this time around.
Mike Hutton – Carl Edwards – With teammate Denny Hamlin’s experience at Martinsville, Carl will get the assistance he needs to finally put him over the top.
Michael Finley – Kyle Busch – He has had some solid results here and I think he’s a lock for a top 15 finish at the very worst come Sunday.
Joseph Shelton – Carl Edwards – He’s run well at Martinsville in the past and if it wasn’t for the cut tire in the Spring race, he could have easily taken the win.
Martinsville, the shortest track in the NASCAR circuit, is always tricky because of the close proximity and the amount of cars that can be taken out in one wreck. A few drivers to watch for are Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who both have 8 wins at the track. Also, Denny Hamlin, who was just recently eliminated, won at the track in Spring and has been good on road courses in his career.
The first race of a new round in the Chase is always suspenseful for drivers since the points reset and everyone is level with each other. If a Chase driver is able to win this race, they will be able to lock up their spot in the final race at Homestead and won’t have to worry about the next two races. That’s an extra incentive to take care of business early.
Who do you think will win at Martinsville? Let us know in the comments below!