FOX Fantasy Auto Expert Picks for Martinsville

Qualifying was rained out at Martinsville Speedway on Friday so the starting lineup for Sunday’s STP 500 will be set by owners points. That wasn’t the best thing (in FOX Fantasy Auto, anyway) for fantasy players who wanted to go after drivers with the most momentum to start this season, though, because all of those guys will start up front this weekend. Still, there are some good opportunities for drivers to move up on Sunday and the potential for a huge points week out of your team is the best it’s been since Daytona.

NOTE: This post has been edited from it’s original version after I was reminded that place differential points are not awarded in FOX Fantasy Auto when qualifying is cancelled.

My team points last week (Fontana): 200
Overall team percentile: 99%
Total team points for the season: 914

Top FOX Fantasy Auto Drivers for the 2017 Fontana Race

Kyle Busch ($11,300) – Can Kyle Busch finally get Joe Gibbs Racing their first win of the 2017 NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series season? The #18 Toyota has been the fastest car out of that camp this year, but that’s not exactly saying a lot when you consider how mediocre Denny Hamlin and terrible Matt Kenseth have been thus far. Anyway, Rowdy probably has the strongest race car heading into Sunday’s STP 500, and he’s starting from 10th so he doesn’t have a long way to get to the front. Remember, he dominated this race after starting 7th last year. That is Busch’s only win here at Martinsville but he has posted eleven top 5 finishes in twenty-three career starts here (47.8%). Kyle Busch is going to be highly owned in FOX Fantasy Auto this weekend but there’s a good reason behind that: he’s probably going to be the favorite to win on Sunday.

Joey Logano ($12,400) – Will we see Joey Logano get that payback from Kyle Busch this weekend? This is a good place to do so, and the #18 Toyota and #22 Ford are two of the best cars heading into Sunday’s STP 500. I personally don’t think that it will happen, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised. Anyway, Logano has never won here at Martinsville Speedway but he’s going to soon. Nobody has led more laps than Joey in the last four races at “The Paperclip,” and he has led at least 21 in each of the last six. Part of that is due to the fact that Logano always qualifies up front here (he had five straight front row starts here coming into the weekend). Because of the rain, Logano will start from 5th here on Sunday, and he should be running with the leaders all day long. He had the best 30-lap average during Happy Hour.

Denny Hamlin ($10,800) – If you had to narrow your fantasy picks down to just two drivers at this track, the majority of fantasy players would end up going with Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin. The latter’s record here isn’t quite as impressive as the former’s, but Hamlin still has five wins at “The Paperclip” as well as a top 5 finish percentage of 54.5. Denny has finished 3rd or better in three of the last four races here at Martinsville and had a strong car off the truck on Friday. In fact, he probably would have challenged for the pole if the weather would have cooperated. Still, that speed bodes well for this #11 team on Sunday. Surprisingly, he’s very affordable this weekend, too.

Jamie McMurray ($9,900) – During the two practice sessions on Saturday, the stars of the show were Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano. Coming in at an overlooked 4th, however, was Jamie McMurray. Not only does this #1 team have a bunch of momentum on their side coming into this weekend, but Martinsville is also one of Jamie Mac’s best tracks; he has finished inside the top 10 in three of the last four races here and has a car that is more than capable of staying up front all day long (the #1 Chevrolet will start from 6th). Speed-wise, McMurray looked the fastest he has all season long here on Sunday, and if that car is as good as it seems to be, he could very easily lead some laps this weekend, too. Jamie also makes a nice ‘off-sequence’ pick this weekend, as less than 10% of FOX teams have him rostered as of Saturday evening.

Other viable options: Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick

Stay away from…

Chase Elliott ($9,900) – Chase Elliott’s salary took a nosedive in FOX Fantasy Auto this week, and that’s part of the reason that he’s going to be on so many rosters on Sunday. Another reason why is because the #24 Chevrolet has been running so well this season. With that being said, those reasons do not make Chase a good fantasy pick in this format. Yes, his potential for a good finish here at Martinsville is high, but at the same time, Chase has yet to show that he has figured this place out. He started 5th and finished 12th here at Martinsville last October–his best finish at this track thus far. If he would have showed a bit more speed during the practice sessions on Saturday, I would maybe recommend taking a chance on Elliott, but that wasn’t the case. Give Chase a break this weekend.

Matt Kenseth ($10,700) – Once I was reminded that place differential fantasy points aren’t awarded in FOX Fantasy Auto when qualifying gets cancelled, that threw any Matt Kenseth roster out the window. To be honest, the #20 Toyota has looked like garbage this weekend, even worse than it has at the other tracks this year. Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t quite gotten off to the start they were hoping for this year but Matt Kenseth is off the charts bad. This weekend, Kenseth hasn’t shown much speed at all during the practice sessions, and he’s going to start from back in 25th when the STP 500 goes green. This #20 team is going to have to make some major adjustments before the race or Kenseth could very easily wind up a lap down early on Sunday. He should be avoided in most Fantasy NASCAR league formats, especially FOX Fantasy Auto.