This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Long John Silver's 200
Location: Martinsville, Va.
Course: Martinsville Speedway
Format: 0.53-mile oval
Laps: 200
NASCAR Trucks Long John Silver's 200 Race Preview
One week after Joey Logano dominated on the Bristol dirt, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series goes short-track racing once again at Martinsville Speedway. William Byron, another Cup Series regular, won last year's race at the track, and four former Martinsville winners are entered this week. The track has hosted the trucks 45 times with 32 different drivers heading to Victory Lane in that span. With nine different winners from the last nine races, Martinsville is a very competitive venue, too. Zane Smith continues to lead the season with two victories so far while Ty Majeski tops the points as he seeks his first win in 2023. This week's race will be the last before the teams get a short break to regroup and make improvements as the second half of the regular season looms ahead. The battle for the 10 championship playoff spots will only continue to heat up, too. Matt DiBenedetto currently sits 10th with a two-point gap to Nick Sanchez in 11th. There is still a lot of racing yet to come and anything could happen with less than nine points separating Tanner Gray in ninth to Chase Purdy in 12th.
Key Stats at Martinsville Speedway
- Number of races: 45
- Winners from pole: 9
- Winners from top-5 starters: 27
- Winners from top-10 starters: 37
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 75.296 mph
Previous 10 Martinsville Winners
2022 - William Byron
2021 - Zane Smith
2020 - Grant Enfinger
2019 fall - Todd Gilliland
2019 spring - Kyle Busch
2018 fall - Johnny Sauter
2018 spring - John Hunter Nemechek
2017 fall - Noah Gragson
2017 spring - Chase Elliott
2016 fall - Johnny Sauter
Martinsville Speedway is a flat, paper-clip shaped track where drivers must manage their equipment and preserve both brakes and tires to make passes. Getting the most grip through the tight turns and the best launch down the track's long straights is what teams will be aiming for in their setups. The preferred racing line at this track is always the inside. Vehicles on the outside tend to fall back in the field until a gap wide enough to squeeze back down to the bottom reappears. Getting caught out of that inside groove often means many lost position. That feature makes track position, especially on restarts, a big advantage. That dynamic also means that teams may choose to gamble on two-tire or fuel-only stops to gain spots on pit road. Fresh tires will be faster than old once with grip at a premium, but the number of drivers who stay on track to maximize track position could make those new tires not worth it. William Byron's win from the 32nd starting position last season is the furthest back a driver has started and won since Dennis Setzer's victory from the 33rd starting position in 2002. Fantasy players this week should hone in on driver starting inside the first six rows where possible.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Trucks Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Long John Silver's (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Kyle Busch - $13,000
Ross Chastain - $11,000
Zane Smith - $10,600
Ty Majeski - $10,200
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ben Rhodes - $9,900
Stewart Friesen - $9,700
Carson Hocevar - $9,300
Christian Eckes - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Matt Crafton - $8,900
Grant Enfinger - $8,700
Nick Sanchez - $8,500
Matt DiBenedetto - $8,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Tyler Ankrum - $7,700
Hailie Deegan - $6,800
Daniel Dye - $6,700
Spencer Boyd - $5,700
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Long John Silver's 200
Ross Chastain - $11,000
Ty Majeski - $10,200
Nick Sanchez - $8,500
Tyler Ankrum - $7,700
Daniel Dye - $6,700
Spencer Boyd - $5,700
Kyle Busch may be the biggest favorite this week, but he doesn't win every race that he enters and his price for many fantasy rosters may just simply be too high. A great alternative at Martinsville is Ross Chastain, though. This week's race will be his ninth series start at the track and his third series start of the season. He finished second last time out in a truck at Martinsville and finished fifth his last start in the series this season at Circuit of the Americas. Chastain seems like a decent value this weekend. Ty Majeski has been one of the best full-time series drivers this season. He leads the points and is in search of his first win of the year. He finished second last week at Bristol and was 11th in this race last season. Nick Sanchez has also been having a great start to 2023. He nearly won at Texas and has led three of the six races so far. This will be his first Martinsville start in a truck, but he raced to a seventh-place finish here in the Xfinity Series last year. In contrast, Tyler Ankrum is still working to get his season onto the right foot. He had a disappointing weekend at Bristol, but scored his first Martinsville top-10 last year. That was his second finish of 12th or better at the track in his last three starts. Fantasy players might also want to consider Daniel Dye this week. He has been a top-20 type of driver this season. This will be his first series taste of Martinsville, but that risk comes along with most rookies. Dye should still carry a top-20 expectation this week. Lastly, Spencer Boyd could bring some valuable fantasy points to rosters this week. He has only failed to finish better than his starting position once so far this season. He also has six career Martinsville starts with three 15th-place finishes.
