The Dragon Energy NASCAR Cup Series moves from the high-speed two-mile track of Auto Club Speedway to the 0.5-mile paperclip track of Martinsville for the STP 500.
Last week, Kyle Busch became the first repeat winner of this season and oddsmakers believe he is primed for a third win in a row since they’ve left him the favorite in +220.
BetOnline has Busch as the favored in +220 followed closely by Brad Keselowski at +500, Martin Truex Jr. in +600, Joey Logano at +750 and Denny Hamlin at +1000 to round out the top five drivers around the oddsboard.
Standout Stats
Ford automobiles have won three of those previous four races at Martinsville, including both runnings there last season.
Joey Logano looks to become the initial back-to-back winner at the paperclip since Jimmie Johnson won consecutive races there in 2012 and 2013.
The pole sitter at Martinsville has not won in the last 11 races dating back to 2013. In eight of the past 11 runnings, the winner characterized 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 came 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 at the paperclip but only finished on the podium twice during that span, including the most recent running in October of last year, he won.
Clint Bowyer won the spring race this past year at Martinsville, leading 215 of the 500 laps, and has finished in the top five of the 26 career starts at this course.
Kyle Busch has won 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 their previous six races.
My Best Option for the STP 500
Kyle Busch +220
Though it is not a long-shot pick, I think it’s the clever one. The Nevada native has not 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 past two races on this season.
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