Xfinity 500
Location: Martinsville, Va.
Course: Martinsville Speedway
Format: 0.53-mile oval
Laps: 500
Race Preview
Chase Briscoe joined teammate Denny Hamlin in shoring up one of the four spots that will race for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series championship by winning last week at Talladega. The victory was his third of the season and comes after an impressive run in the playoffs. Hamlin's win at Las Vegas the week before makes it two Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas that will have a chance to win this year's title. Which drivers will join them is set to be decided this week in a short-track shootout at Martinsville Speedway. Hamlin won at the track last time out but Ryan Blaney won the last two fall Martinsville stops. Blaney will have to win again in order to advance, as will Chase Elliott, since both drivers sit so far behind the top four positions on points. Those in the driver's seat are Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson. Though those drivers are separated by just a single point in the transfer positions, there is a 36-point advantage back to William Byron in fifth. In other words, aside from Hamlin and Briscoe, there is no reason not for every remaining playoff contender to go for the win this week.
Key Stats at Martinsville Speedway
- Number of races: 153
- Winners from pole: 21
- Winners from top-5 starters: 77
- Winners from top-10 starters: 108
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 82.223 mph
Previous 10 Martinsville Winners
2025 spring - Denny Hamlin
2024 fall - Ryan Blaney
2024 spring - William Byron
2023 fall - Ryan Blaney
2023 spring - Kyle Larson
2022 fall - Christopher Bell
2022 spring - William Byron
2021 fall - Alex Bowman
2021 spring - Martin Truex Jr.
2020 fall - Chase Elliott
Martinsville Speedway is a short and flat oval. The track's fast straights and tight turns require heavy braking and as much mechanical grip as teams can dial into their cars. With high horsepower, heavy braking, and flat turns, tire wear and brakes are always a concern. It is easy to abuse both, but to be quick throughout a race a driver will have to manage their equipment well. Track position is also critical. At Martinsville, the inside line is the preference. Drivers will try to out brake one another to get to the inside of cars ahead and, if a driver is unlucky to be stuck on the outside, many positions can be lost until a gap big enough to move back down opens. Caution periods can be an opportunity for teams to gamble on tire strategy. New tires are usually faster at this track, but gaining spots through a two-tire stop can be a way to move forward. No matter what, traffic will be a concern for everyone. Leaders will need to be able to make passes on slower cars quickly but also by not using up too much tire or brake. While winners have come from as far back as 20th in the past few years, starting up front is still an advantage. Denny Hamlin dominated the spring race from the fifth starting spot, and fantasy players should pay attention to practice and qualifying speeds.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Xfinity 500 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ryan Blaney - $11,200
Christopher Bell - $10,700
Kyle Larson - $10,500
Joey Logano - $10,200
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Chase Elliott - $10,000
William Byron - $9,700
Chase Briscoe - $9,200
Ross Chastain - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Tyler Reddick - $8,800
Josh Berry - $8,500
Alex Bowman - $8,300
Bubba Wallace - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Brad Keselowski - $7,600
Austin Cindric - $7,200
Ryan Preece - $7,000
Todd Gilliland - $6,400
NASCAR Cup Series DFS Picks for the Xfinity 500
Kyle Larson - $10,500
Chase Elliott - $10,000
Josh Berry - $8,500
Brad Keselowski - $7,600
Ryan Preece - $7,000
Todd Gilliland - $6,400
On the surface, it looks Kyle Larson's (DK $10,500, FD $13,500) upward momentum stalled last week at Talladega with a 26th-place. That surface view hides the fact that he was in position to race for the win in an overtime finish at a superspeedway before he ran out of fuel, though. Were it any other track, perhaps his momentum truly would be gone, but considering superspeedways have been his worst tracks, he should enter this week's race at Martinsville with a vengeance. Larson finished sixth or better in his last six races at the track with a win in 2023 from the 19th starting spot. Despite last week's setback, Larson still looks like a victory could come before the year concludes.
Teammate Chase Elliott (DK $10,000, FD $12,000) should also not be overlooked. He has been one of the most consistent drivers this season and last week's poor result is just part and parcel of racing at Talladega. At Martinsville earlier this year, Elliott led 42 laps from a front-row start and finished fourth. With 1,275 laps led in his 20-start career at this track, Elliott will be expecting to race at the front and in the lead Sunday, which gives him a very tangible opportunity to win his way into the championship finale.
Martinsville's spring race was one where Josh Berry (DK $8,500, FD $9,500) shined. It was the Wood Brothers Racing driver's third series start at the track and he qualified 14th and led 40 laps in the race's first stage. Somewhat more importantly, at two other flat tracks this season (Phoenix and New Hampshire) he scored top-five finishes. Berry showed potential in that spring Martinsville show and demonstrated further proof of it on other flat tracks this season, which makes him worth considering for a lineup spot this week.
Brad Keselowski (DK $7,600, FD $8,200) might also offer fantasy players value for money. The veteran is a two-time Martinsville victor, but he has had a rough go of things at the track since the switch to the current generation of car. For that reason, fantasy players are getting a bit of a discount. What makes him valuable is that even though his results at the track have struggled since 2022, in this race last season he led 170 laps from the 18th starting spot and finished ninth. That showing proved he still has the chops to get to the front at this track, which makes this a week fantasy players should expect more upside from the No. 6 than they've grown accustomed to this year.
Ryan Preece (DK $7,000, FD $6,800) also put on a show at Martinsville. The past spring race saw him start 21st but finish seventh in an impressive race that included stage points from the first segment. That was one of Preece's two top-10 Martinsville finishes. The other also came in the spring in 2024. With the right equipment, Preece has come alive at this track and his ability to move forward in the past spring race gives me confidence he can grab another top finish this weekend.
The choices so far leave enough room for Todd Gilliland (DK $6,400, FD $5,200) further down the price list. The Front Row Motorsports driver is no compromise selection, though. Earlier this season, Gilliland started 25th and climbed to a 10th-place finish at this track. That was one of his four top-10 finishes this season and his second at Martinsville. Three of his last four series starts at this track have ended with finishes of 15th or better with two being top-10 results. Considering how hard it is to find top-10 production this far down the price list, fantasy players should definitely not overlook the No. 34 car this week.
NASCAR Cup Series Betting Picks for the Xfinity 500
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 3:00 PM ET Friday
Race Winner - Kyle Larson +500
Top-Five Finish - Joey Logano +115
Top-10 Finish - Ryan Preece +300
As long as none of the playoff drivers below Kyle Larson in the standings wins on Sunday, Larson holds a good chance of advancing to the final on points. However, his impressive superspeedway run at Talladega a week ago ultimately falling short of the win should give him extra motivation to forcefully take a race win. He has been locked out of Victory Lane since May, but results in recent races have been race-winning material. Larson is a Martinsville winner who hasn't finished lower than sixth at the track since 2022, and winning this weekend to propel himself into Phoenix on a high will be well within his reach. That makes him a wager worth taking this week.
Joey Logano to score a top-five finish this week is also offering nice odds. The Team Penske driver is excellent at this circuit, and he has a history of unlikely playoff comebacks, too. Logano has just one Martinsville win from 33 series starts, but he finished in the top five at the track in a third of those starts and in the top 10 in nearly two-thirds. He finished eighth at the track this spring, which was also his 12th straight Martinsville top-10. Logano needs to win this week to have a chance to defend his title at Phoenix, and even if he comes up a little short of that, a top-five should still be a likely outcome for the No. 22.
A more profitable wager that could be enticing is Ryan Preece to finish in the top 10. Preece has 12 top-10 finishes so far this season, and one of those was at Martinsville in March. That was his second Martinsville top-10 in three races, and both came from starting positions outside of the top 20. This is a track where Preece's abilities rise to the stop with RFK Racing and these odds for another top-10 finish from him are pretty generous considering how well he has raced at this track recently.
Mapping out your wagers for the Xfinity 500? Check out the latest Sportsbook Promo Codes to get special offers and make the most of your bets.
