The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series moves from the high-speed two-mile Trail of Automobile Club Speedway to the 0.5-mile paperclip Trail of Martinsville for the STP 500.
Last week, Kyle Busch became the first repeat winner of the season and oddsmakers think he is primed for a third win in a row since they’ve made him the favorite at +220.
BetOnline has Busch as the favorite in +220 followed closely by Brad Keselowski at +500, Martin Truex Jr. at +600, Joey Logano at +750 and Denny Hamlin at +1000 to round out the top five drivers around the oddsboard.
Standout Stats
Ford cars have won three of the previous four races at Martinsville, including the two runnings there last year.
Joey Logano looks to become the initial back-to-back winner in the paperclip since Jimmie Johnson won successive races there in 2012 and 2013.
The pole at Martinsville hasn’t won in the last 11 races dating back to 2013. In eight of the last 11 runnings, the winner qualified fifth or worse.
You might be looking at Kevin Harvick as a value pick at +1600, however the California native has only one win in 35 starts at Martinsville and that victory arrived in 2011. He has not finished better than fifth there because that succeed in 2011.
Joey Logano has qualified on the pole in four of the last eight races in the paperclip but only finished on the podium twice over that span, including the latest conducting in October of last year, he won.
Clint Bowyer won the spring race last year in Martinsville, leading 215 of the 500 laps, and has finished in the top five in six of the 26 career starts at this course.
Kyle Busch has won two of those previous six races at Martinsville and has finished fifth or better in each of the previous seven runnings there. Additionally, he has led the most laps in three of their last six races.
My Best Bet for your STP 500
Kyle Busch +220
Although it’s not a long-shot choice, I think it’s the smart one. The Nevada native hasn’t finished worse than fifth in any of the previous seven races at Martinsville, such as finishing first or second in four of these runnings. He is carrying a great deal of momentum into this weekend, having won the last two races on this season.
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