The Dragon Energy NASCAR Cup Series moves in the high-speed two-mile track of Auto Club Speedway to the 0.5-mile paperclip Trail of Martinsville for Its STP 500.
Last week, Kyle Busch became the first repeat winner of the season and oddsmakers think he’s primed for a third win in a row since they have made him the favorite at +220.
BetOnline has Busch as the favored at +220 followed closely by Brad Keselowski at +500, Martin Truex Jr. in +600, Joey Logano in +750 and Denny Hamlin in +1000 to round out the top five drivers around the oddsboard.
Standout Stats
Ford automobiles have won three of the last four races at Martinsville, including both runnings there last season.
Joey Logano looks to become the initial back-to-back winner at the paperclip because 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 even worse.
You may be looking in Kevin Harvick as a value pick at +1600, but the California native has only one win in 35 starts at Martinsville and that success arrived in 2011. He has not finished better than fifth there because that triumph in 2011.
Joey Logano has qualified on the pole in four of the past eight races at the paperclip but only finished on the podium twice during that span, including the latest running in October of this past year, he won.
Clint Bowyer won the spring race this past year at Martinsville, top 215 of the 500 laps, and has finished in the top five in six of his 26 career starts at this track.
Kyle Busch has won just two of the last six races at Martinsville and has finished fifth or better in each of the last seven runnings there. Furthermore, he’s led the most laps in three of the last six races.
My Very Best Bet for the STP 500
Kyle Busch +220
Though it’s not a long-shot choice, I think that it’s the clever 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 those runnings. He’s carrying a lot of momentum into this weekend, having won the last two races on this season.
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