Overview
The Camping World Truck Series had a bit of a layoff not having raced since COTA on March 26th but this week they head to the shortest track on the schedule, Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. Martinsville is a .526-mile asphalt concrete oval that has 12 degrees of banking in the turns. Commonly called the “Paperclip”, Martinsville requires a lot of precision, especially when breaking into the corners. This track can really beat up the truck/car as drivers push and bump for position throughout. The drivers will turn 200 laps, the most of any Truck Series race thus far putting an emphasis on dominator points. Track position is imperative here as typically one of, if not both drivers starting on the front row will lead the majority of laps. Joining the field this week will be Kyle Busch and Hendrick Motorsports Cup driver William Byron in the number 7 Spire truck, the same truck that Alex Bowman drove at COTA and had a strong showing with. Busch and Byron will be factors but who else should we be looking at?
Strategy
As mentioned above, there are 200 laps in this race making dominator points relevant, unlike the last Truck Series race which had just 41 laps. Looking at two dominators will be the baseline for me as I build my lineups while also looking heavily at drivers in good, strong trucks that can withstand the grind that this race is. Zane Smith won this race last year and led 65 laps. Todd Gilliland led a race-high 133 laps after starting second.
Most comparable tracks: Bristol Motor Speedway (but don’t look to deeply into this comparison)
*Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused
Top Drivers
Kyle Busch ($15,000)
Busch will once again join the field for the Camping World Trucks, his third race in the series this season. Busch has taken the truck to victory lane twice in his career at Martinsville and will clearly be the favorite. The question is whether or not you find the need to pay up for him. More will be clear on this after qualifying but assuming that Busch qualifies on the front row, the likelihood of his leading the majority of laps in that situation is high.
Zane Smith ($11,400)
The defending winner of this race Zane Smith also won the last Truck Series race at COTA. Smith had a great truck in last year’s Martinsville race leading 65 laps and winning from the ninth starting position. Smith finished third in this race the year prior while leading 20 laps so it’s clear that he’s comfortable. Smith will be a contender to win regardless of his qualifying position.
William Byron ($9,800)
Typically when Cup drivers join the field in the Truck or XFINITY Series they will be in a good machine with a chance to win. This was the case with Bowman at COTA and will be the case with Byron this week. At $9,800 Byron is priced under six drivers in this race. Byron has performed well at this track in the Cup series with three top-fives in eight attempts.
Also Consider:
Christian Eckes ($8,700)
- Eckes has an average finishing position of 10th in three Martinsville races with a top-five.
Carson Hocevar ($8,000)
- Extremely talented young driver with two top-10’s this season. The Niece trucks are always prepared well and Hocevar is very affordable. He’s finished 13th and 12th in two career races at Martinsville.
Timmy Hill ($6,100)
- Hill is a veteran who typically knows how to keep his truck clean and that’s been the case in his last three trips to Martinsville. In those races Hill has finished fifth, 14th, and 10th despite starting 22nd, 23rd, and 24th respectively. Assuming that he qualifies in the late-teens to early-20s again, he’ll be a nice bargain to insert into lineups.
Note: Be sure to check Discord for updates after qualifying.
GOOD LUCK!!