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Goody's Fast Relief 500

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Goody's Fast Relief 500

Martinsville Speedway - Martinsville, Virginia
Track - .526 Oval Short Track
12° Banking in the Corners

The Round of 8 kicks of with a trip to Martinsville for some short track racing this Sunday afternoon. With just four races to go the pressure is mounting as the shot at a Championship is getting closer to becoming a reality for the final eight drivers. The reality is that a win in any of the next three races equals a ticket into the one race, four driver showdown for the chance to be crowned Champion at Homestead, Miami.

Looking at teams and manufacturers, Toyota looks to have the upper hand as all four Joe Gibbs Racing cars have made the final eight along with three Chevrolet's(Johnson, Busch, Harvick) and one Ford(Joey Logano). Don't expect any driver to give up anything for a teammate as these races get down to the nitty gritty as it will be every driver for fighting for himself and his team.

Martinsville, also known as the "Paperclip", is the shortest track on the circuit and is a very challenging setup with just 12° of banking in the corners. Looking at the historic average finish among active drivers it becomes clear it is a short list of veterans and Sprint Cup champions who consistently do well here. Looking at more current trends there has been a different winner here in each of the last five races. Before that it was future Hall of Fame teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson winning three straight collectively. Speaking of Jeff Gordon, he will be back behind the wheel of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 car this weekend in what some think could be his final race of his career. Hendrick Motor Sports built him a brand new car for the trip and it sure would be cool to see him win one last Martinsville race. I don't see it happening  seeing as he has only recorded one Top 10 in his seven races. Sorry ma!

The most important thing for fantasy this weekend will be Qualifying as track position is very important. The track is short, flat and not very wide making the racing congested and very tough to pass. Getting that driver that could ultimately lead a ton of laps and finish Top 3 is what we are after. Let's take a look at some plays following Qualifying Friday afternoon.

The following is the initial schedule for the weekend:

• First Practice - Friday @ 11:00 a.m. ET
• Qualifying - Friday @ 4:40 p.m. ET
• Practice 2 - Saturday @ 9:00 a.m. ET
• Final Practice - Saturday @ 12:00 p.m. ET
• Race - Sunday @ 1:00 p.m. ET

Are you looking to streamline your research process and spend more time making lineups? Check out my DFS NASCAR Cheatsheet. If you have any questions about the cheatsheet throw me an email(jagerbombs99@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9).

Upper Tier Targets ($9,000+)

Joey Logano 
DraftKings - $9,800
Practice #1 - 3rd
Qualified - 2nd
Practice #2 - 2nd
Final Practice - 8th

He faced many challenges last week in a due or die effort and came home with the win to continue his Championship bid. His current run has the feel of last season's Chase run where he won three straight before the incident with Kenseth. He seems to have learned form his mistakes and looks ready to challenge for the title. He will be looking for his first win here at Martinsville and will have the car to do it. He came out flying in first practice finishing 3rd fastest and in qualifying he was 1st in Round 1, 3rd in Round 2 and ended up Qualifying 3rd. At a price under $10K this week he is a lock as the top play.

Jimmie Johnson
DraftKings - $10,500
Practice #1 - 10th
Qualified - 3rd
Practice #2 - 10th
Final Practice - 20th

Just another track where Jimmie has dominated through his career where he has eight career wins, one short of teammate Jeff Gordon. The #48 team has made it into the Round of 8 for the first time since the new format was introduced and look to be one of the favorites for another Championship with just four races to left in the Chase. He will most definitely be the chalk but starting third he will have a great shot at getting out front and picking up a ton of dominator points.

Martin Truex Jr.
DraftKings - $9,400
Practice #1 - 6th
Qualified - 1st
Practice #2 - 4th
Final Practice - 7th

He was eliminated from the Chase last week after a blown engine. He was quoted telling a reporter he and the #78, with nothing to lose, will be gunning for wins in the final four races and make a very strong non Chase option in DFS this week. He was 6th in first practice and then put down an excellent qualifying effort and will start at the front of the field on Sunday. I wouldn't trust him in cash games but he makes a high upside GPP play.

Also Consider - Kyle Busch

Middle Tier Targets ($7,000-$9,000)

Carl Edwards
DraftKings - $8,900
Practice #1 - 18th
Qualified - 7th
Practice #2 - 7th
Final Practice - 27th

He sits 6th in my overall weighted model this week and is the cheapest of the eight remaining Chase drivers. Martinsville has definitely not been one of his best tracks as he has not only never recorded a win here but has just one Top 5 in 24 races. I think this will make him the lowest owned of the Chase drivers and a great GPP play this week. He didn't show the greatest of speeds in practice one(18th) but qualified 7th and will have a decent shot at pulling off his first career backflip here at the home of the Martinsville Hot Dog!

AJ Allmendinger
DraftKings - $7,300
Practice #1 - 8th
Qualified - 4th
Practice #2 - 5th
Final Practice - 19th

Martinsville is one place Allmendinger loves to comes as it is the only other track outside of Watkins Glen where he has recorded multiple Top 5 finishes in his career. He is also coming off his best career finish here, in the spring, where he finished runner up to Kyle Busch. He showed Top 10 speed in the opening practice and followed it up qualifying 4th for the race on Sunday.  At $7,300 he is safe in all formats if he shows us consistent To 10 speed in the final two practices on Saturday.

Also Consider - Austin Dillon

Low End Targets ($6,900 and Below)

Aric Almirola
DraftKings - $6,800
Practice #1 - 29th
Qualified - 16th
Practice #2 - 22nd
Final Practice - 29th

Almirola is coming off is best finish of the season(8th) last week at Talladega and now comes to a track where he has had success over the last few years. Looking at the previous five years here at Martinsville, Almirola has raced here nine times with one Top 5, three Top 10's and an impressive 16.6 average finish. His 29th fastest speed in opening practice is a little concerning but he showed much better speed in qualifying and will be starting 16th. Stay tuned for his performance in the final two practices.

Also Consider - David Ragan

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

Qualifying Top 10

1. #78 Martin Truex Jr.
2. #22 Joey Logano
3. #48 Jimmie Johnson
4. #47 AJ Allmendinger
5. #24 Chase Elliott
6. #14 Tony Stewart
7. #19 Carl Edwards
8. #11 Denny Hamlin
9. #18 Kyle Busch
10. #88 Jeff Gordon

If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation.

Good Luck everyone!

Want to see how more analysis and information on building lineups for the Goody's Fast Relief 500? Chris is selling his cheatsheet & targets for only $5. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership. Or Purchase through PayPal here.