NASCAR Weekly Preview: STP 500
This weekend we head to Ridgeway, Virginia for the STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. The race is Sunday at 2pm EST on FS1. I decided to move the weekly preview article from my fantasy NASCAR package this season. I hope it helps everyone get started on their fantasy NASCAR research.
Track Preview
Martinsville Speedway
“The Paperclip”
- 263 Miles
- 500 Laps
- Surface :Asphalt, Concrete
- Banks:
Turns 12°
Straights 0°
Comparable Short Tracks
Bristol
Richmond
Comparable Flat Tracks
Indianapolis
New Hampshire
Phoenix
Pocono
Richmond
Stats from 2005-Present
Top 5 Driver Rating
Jimmie Johnson – 117.7
Denny Hamlin – 108.2
Kyle Busch – 99.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr – 98.7
Kevin Harvick – 94.6
Top 5 Average Running Position
Jimmie Johnsonv – 7.99
Denny Hamlin – 9.578
Dale Earnhardt Jr – 11.941
Kyle Busch – 11.989
Kevin Harvick – 13.244
Top 5 Average Finish
Jimmie Johnson – 6.8
Denny Hamlin – 9.2
Dale Earnhardt Jr – 12
Matt Kenseth – 13.5
Brad Keselowski – 13.8
Top 5 Fastest on Restarts
- Average speed of first two laps under green.
Danica Patrick – 96.656
Matt Kenseth – 91.240
Joey Logano – 91.005
Jimmie Johnson – 90.480
Denny Hamlin – 90.418
October 2016 Race Results
| Driver | Starting Spot | Finishing Spot | Diff | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jimmie Johnson | 3 | 1 | 2 | #48 |
| Brad Keselowski | 19 | 2 | 17 | #2 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8 | 3 | 5 | #11 |
| Matt Kenseth | 17 | 4 | 13 | #20 |
| Kyle Busch | 9 | 5 | 4 | #18 |
| Jeff Gordon | 10 | 6 | 4 | #88 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 1 | 7 | -6 | #78 |
| Jamie McMurray | 14 | 8 | 6 | #1 |
| Joey Logano | 2 | 9 | -7 | #22 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 4 | 10 | -6 | #47 |
| Kasey Kahne | 22 | 11 | 11 | #5 |
| Chase Elliott | 5 | 12 | -7 | #24 |
| Greg Biffle | 25 | 13 | 12 | #16 |
| Kyle Larson | 11 | 14 | -3 | #42 |
| Aric Almirola | 16 | 15 | 1 | #43 |
| Ryan Newman | 13 | 16 | -3 | #31 |
| Austin Dillon | 32 | 17 | 15 | #3 |
| Michael McDowell | 30 | 18 | 12 | #95 |
| Ryan Blaney | 15 | 19 | -4 | #21 |
| Kevin Harvick | 20 | 20 | 0 | #4 |
| Casey Mears | 26 | 21 | 5 | #13 |
| Kurt Busch | 23 | 22 | 1 | #41 |
| Trevor Bayne | 31 | 23 | 8 | #6 |
| Danica Patrick | 24 | 24 | 0 | #10 |
| Paul Menard | 18 | 25 | -7 | #27 |
| Tony Stewart | 6 | 26 | -20 | #14 |
| Chris Buescher | 29 | 27 | 2 | #34 |
| Clint Bowyer | 28 | 28 | 0 | #15 |
| Landon Cassill | 33 | 29 | 4 | #38 |
| Regan Smith | 21 | 30 | -9 | #7 |
| Dylan Lupton | 37 | 31 | 6 | #83 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 27 | 32 | -5 | #93 |
| Jeffrey Earnhardt | 38 | 33 | 5 | #32 |
| Brian Scott | 35 | 34 | 1 | #44 |
| Michael Annett | 40 | 35 | 5 | #46 |
| Carl Edwards | 7 | 36 | -29 | #19 |
| David Ragan | 12 | 37 | -25 | #23 |
| Reed Sorenson | 34 | 38 | -4 | #55 |
| Gray Gaulding | 36 | 39 | -3 | #30 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 39 | 40 | -1 | #17 |
Top 5 Lap Leaders
Matt Kenseth – 176
Martin Truex Jr. – 147
Jimmie Johnson – 92
Denny Hamlin – 48
Joey Logano – 21
Top 5 Positive Place Differential
Brad Keselowski +17
Austin Dillon +15
Matt Kenseth +13
Greg Biffle +12
Michael McDowell +12
Top 5 Negative Place Differential
Carl Edwards -29
David Ragan -25
Tony Stewart -20
Regan Smith -9
Joey Logano -7
Chase Elliott -7
Paul Menard -7
Top 5 Average Running Position
1 18 Kyle Busch – 3.49
2 78 Martin Truex Jr – 3.94
3 20 Matt Kenseth – 4.01
4 47 AJ Allmendinger – 6.63
5 22 Joey Logano – 6.76
Top 5 Fastest Laps Run
Driver – Percentage – Laps
1 15 Clint Bowyer – 12.4% – 54
2 11 Denny Hamlin – 9.7% – 42
3 20 Matt Kenseth – 9.0% – 39
4 78 Martin Truex Jr – 8.5% – 37
5 38 Landon Cassill – 8.1% – 35
Top 5 Quality Passes
1 2 Brad Keselowski – 52
2 42 Kyle Larson – 42
3 88 Jeff Gordon – 34
4 20 Matt Kenseth – 33
5 1 Jamie McMurray – 33
April 2016 Race Results
| Driver | Starting Spot | Finishing Spot | Diff | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Busch | 7 | 1 | 6 | #18 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 6 | 2 | 4 | #47 |
| Kyle Larson | 17 | 3 | 14 | #42 |
| Austin Dillon | 29 | 4 | 25 | #3 |
| Brad Keselowski | 11 | 5 | 6 | #2 |
| Carl Edwards | 25 | 6 | 19 | #19 |
| Brian Vickers | 3 | 7 | -4 | #14 |
| Paul Menard | 4 | 8 | -4 | #27 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 24 | 9 | 15 | #48 |
| Ryan Newman | 5 | 10 | -5 | #31 |
| Joey Logano | 1 | 11 | -10 | #22 |
| Greg Biffle | 14 | 12 | 2 | #16 |
| Kurt Busch | 23 | 13 | 10 | #41 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 21 | 14 | 7 | #88 |
| Matt Kenseth | 9 | 15 | -6 | #20 |
| Danica Patrick | 28 | 16 | 12 | #10 |
| Kevin Harvick | 19 | 17 | 2 | #4 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 16 | 18 | -2 | #78 |
| Ryan Blaney | 12 | 19 | -7 | #21 |
| Chase Elliott | 10 | 20 | -10 | #24 |
| David Ragan | 22 | 21 | 1 | #23 |
| Kasey Kahne | 2 | 22 | -20 | #5 |
| Jamie McMurray | 15 | 23 | -8 | #1 |
| Michael McDowell | 27 | 24 | 3 | #95 |
| Clint Bowyer | 30 | 25 | 5 | #15 |
| Brian Scott | 26 | 26 | 0 | #44 |
| Trevor Bayne | 32 | 27 | 5 | #6 |
| Landon Cassill | 33 | 28 | 5 | #38 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 35 | 29 | 6 | #83 |
| Cole Whitt | 31 | 30 | 1 | #98 |
| Casey Mears | 18 | 31 | -13 | #13 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 13 | 32 | -19 | #17 |
| Chris Buescher | 36 | 33 | 3 | #34 |
| Regan Smith | 34 | 34 | 0 | #7 |
| Michael Annett | 38 | 35 | 3 | #46 |
| Joey Gase | 37 | 36 | 1 | #32 |
| Reed Sorenson | 40 | 37 | 3 | #55 |
| Josh Wise | 39 | 38 | 1 | #30 |
| Denny Hamlin | 8 | 39 | -31 | #11 |
| Aric Almirola | 20 | 40 | -20 | #43 |
Top 5 Lap Leaders
Kyle Busch – 352
Kevin Harvick – 72
Matt Kenseth – 45
Joey Logano – 21
Paul Menard – 10
Top 5 Positive Place Differential
Austin Dillon +25
Carl Edwards +19
Jimmie Johnson +15
Kyle Larson +14
Danica Patrick +12
Top 5 Negative Place Differential
Denny Hamlin -31
Kasey Kahne -20
Aric Almirola -20
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. -19
Casey Mears -13
Top 5 Average Running Position
1 18 Kyle Busch – 1.49
2 20 Matt Kenseth – 3.07
3 4 Kevin Harvick – 4.93
4 2 Brad Keselowski – 6.91
5 42 Kyle Larson – 7.10
Top 5 Fastest Laps Run
Driver – Percentage – Laps
1 18 Kyle Busch – 18.8% – 81
2 2 Brad Keselowski – 17.4% – 75
3 4 Kevin Harvick – 16.4% – 71
4 20 Matt Kenseth – 11.1% – 48
5 47 AJ Allmendinger – 5.6% – 24
Top 5 Quality Passes
1 2 Brad Keselowski – 51
2 14 Brian Vickers – 42
3 48 Jimmie Johnson – 42
4 16 Greg Biffle – 41
5 47 AJ Allmendinger – 37
November 2015 Race Results
| Driver | Starting Spot | Finishing Spot | Diff | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Gordon | 5 | 1 | 4 | #24 |
| Jamie McMurray | 4 | 2 | 2 | #1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 10 | 3 | 7 | #11 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 22 | 4 | 18 | #88 |
| Kyle Busch | 6 | 5 | 1 | #18 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 2 | 6 | -4 | #78 |
| Ryan Newman | 7 | 7 | 0 | #31 |
| Kevin Harvick | 12 | 8 | 4 | #4 |
| Kasey Kahne | 24 | 9 | 15 | #5 |
| Tony Stewart | 13 | 10 | 3 | #14 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 3 | 11 | -8 | #47 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 21 | 12 | 9 | #48 |
| Justin Allgaier | 23 | 13 | 10 | #51 |
| Carl Edwards | 14 | 14 | 0 | #19 |
| Paul Menard | 26 | 15 | 11 | #27 |
| Aric Almirola | 8 | 16 | -8 | #43 |
| Casey Mears | 19 | 17 | 2 | #13 |
| Austin Dillon | 30 | 18 | 12 | #3 |
| Kyle Larson | 9 | 19 | -10 | #42 |
| Cole Whitt | 31 | 20 | 11 | #35 |
| Landon Cassill | 27 | 21 | 6 | #40 |
| Alex Bowman | 41 | 22 | 19 | #7 |
| Michael Annett | 38 | 23 | 15 | #46 |
| David Gilliland | 33 | 24 | 9 | #38 |
| David Ragan | 28 | 25 | 3 | #55 |
| Greg Biffle | 25 | 26 | -1 | #16 |
| Jeb Burton | 35 | 27 | 8 | #23 |
| Sam Hornish Jr. | 20 | 28 | -8 | #9 |
| J.J. Yeley | 39 | 29 | 10 | #26 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 36 | 30 | 6 | #83 |
| Trevor Bayne | 32 | 31 | 1 | #6 |
| Brad Keselowski | 11 | 32 | -21 | #2 |
| Alex Kennedy | 43 | 33 | 10 | #33 |
| Kurt Busch | 15 | 34 | -19 | #41 |
| Brett Moffitt | 34 | 35 | -1 | #34 |
| Timmy Hill | 42 | 36 | 6 | #62 |
| Joey Logano | 1 | 37 | -36 | #22 |
| Matt Kenseth | 18 | 38 | -20 | #20 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 29 | 39 | -10 | #17 |
| Danica Patrick | 16 | 40 | -24 | #10 |
| Kyle Fowler | 40 | 41 | -1 | #32 |
| Ryan Preece | 37 | 42 | -5 | #98 |
| Clint Bowyer | 17 | 43 | -26 | #15 |
Top 5 Lap Leaders
Joey Logano – 207
Brad Keselowski – 143
Kevin Harvick – 38
Jeff Gordon – 35
Martin Truex Jr. – 27
Top 5 Positive Place Differential
Alex Bowman +19
Dale Earnhardt Jr. +18
Kasey Kahne +15
Michael Annett +15
Austin Dillon +12
Top 5 Negative Place Differential
Joey Logano -36
Clint Bowyer -26
Danica Patrick -24
Brad Keselowski -21
Matt Kenseth -20
Top 5 Average Running Position
1 24 Jeff Gordon – 3.90
2 22 Joey Logano – 4.75
3 4 Kevin Harvick – 5.15
4 1 Jamie McMurray – 6.11
5 78 Martin Truex Jr – 8.13
Top 5 Fastest Laps Run
Driver – Percentage – Laps
Kevin Harvick – 17.3% – 62
Joey Logano – 14.5% – 52
Brad Keselowski – 12.3% – 44
Matt Kenseth – 7.8% – 28
Jeff Gordon – 6.4% – 23
Top 5 Quality Passes
1 20 Matt Kenseth – 66
2 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr – 63
3 48 Jimmie Johnson – 52
4 1 Jamie McMurray – 45
5 18 Kyle Busch – 44