The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to Martinsville, Virginia for the STP 500 from the Martinsville Speedway this weekend. It will take a good car and an aggressive attitude to win this race. Kyle Busch knows exactly what it will take to win after securing a victory here a year ago. Busch has dealt with some bad luck in each of his last three starts. Perhaps this will be the week he finally breaks through as the defending champ at Martinsville. Here is a preview of this week’s NASCAR race.
Event Details
Event: STP 500
Category: Sprint Cup Series
Date: Sunday April 2, 2017
Location: Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia
Last Race Recap
Busch secured his 35th career victory in last year’s STP 500. The fact that it was also his first win of the 2016 season should boost his confidence that he can get it done again this week. The race had 11 lead changes but it was Busch that led a race-high 353 laps on his way to the victory. Joey Logano won the pole here a year ago and led 21 laps on his way to an 11th-place finish. There has been plenty of trash talking between Busch and Logano early on this season. The Busch-Logano feud is one more storyline to keep an eye on this weekend.
Past Five Winners
2016: Kyle Busch
2015: Denny Hamlin
2014: Kurt Busch
2013: Jimmie Johnson
2012: Ryan Newman
What To Know About The Track
Track position will be extremely important at Martinsville. The 800-foot straightaway is all about speed but drivers have to be able to hit their brakes and venture through the U-turn at the end of those runs. The track is extremely tight and sometimes the only way to pass a driver is to push him out of the way. Drivers who start on the inside line have a tremendous advantage over their competitors on the outside. Some drivers will even try to give up a spot in the pits just to start on the inside lane. With so little room, there should be plenty of bumping again this week, which could lead to more drama.
The Field
The field for this week’s event is absolutely loaded once again with Busch and Logano once again in the spotlight. Jimmie Johnson should be in the mix as well as he looks to double down at this race after winning here in 2013. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin won this race in 2014 and could be in the mix. Brad Keselowski has finished no worse than fifth in each of his last four races. Keselowski is worth considering as a potential outright winner again this week.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Joey Logano over Jimmie Johnson
Johnson has had a lot of success at this track in the past. However, he is pretty cold to start the season and he could be in tough to finish in the top-five this week. That is where we might see Logano, who has finished sixth or better in four of his first five races. Logano is still looking for his first win of the season. It might not happen this week, but we like him to finish ahead of Johnson at Martinsville.
Top-Five Pick: Kyle Busch
Busch has had some terrible luck early on this season but this might be the week he turns things around. Busch won the STP 500 last season and he has finished no worse than fifth in each of his last three appearances at this track. Busch’s race time last season was the fastest finish at this event since 1996. Despite his bad luck, he is still coming off back-to-back top-10 finishes. Busch should be in the mix to win this race outright. Even if he falls short of the victory, Busch should still finish in the top-five once again at the STP 500.
Odds To Win STP 500
Kyle Busch +600
Denny Hamlin +600
Brad Keselowski +700
Jimmie Johnson +700
Martin Truex Jr +800
Joey Logano +800
Matt Kenseth +1000
Kevin Harvick +1000
Kyle Larson +1200
Dale Earnhardt Jr +1500
Chase Elliott +2000
Jamie McMurray +2500
Clint Bowyer +2500
Ryan Newman +4000
Kurt Busch +4000
Kasey Kahne +4000
AJ Allmendinger +4000
Erik Jones +6000
Austin Dillon +6000
Ryan Blaney +6000
Field +2000
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