NASCAR DFS Picks for Martinsville: Lineup Strategy and Value Plays
By Phil Bobbitt in Racing
Published:
- Five Fords with one Chevrolet exception. Our Martinsville DFS lineup comes with some fine print on brand loyalty.
- Two short-track heavyweights anchor our build, while practice speed and a deep starting position help us find affordable upside.
- Start time/TV: Sunday, Nov. 1, at 2 p.m. ET on NBC.
The clocks go back Sunday, giving us an extra hour to explain why Denny Hamlin isn’t in our DraftKings lineup.
We may need all 60 minutes.
Hamlin starts on the pole and tops both of our models. We’re spending $22,400 on Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano instead, which should tell you how much we like the Penske cars at Martinsville.
Blaney starts 13th, giving us room to collect place-differential points. Logano starts fifth, close enough to make an early run at the lead. With 500 laps scheduled, we want both of them collecting the points that can turn a good lineup into a winning one.
The full build comes to $49,900 and includes five Fords. Ross Chastain’s Chevrolet gets the sixth spot because he costs $7,100 and leads our SpeedwaySteve2 practice metric.
We’ll deal with the manufacturer complaints after we finish the Hamlin conversation.
Martinsville DFS Lineup
This build uses DraftKings salaries and scoring. Our guide to the best DFS apps compares other fantasy options and contest formats.
NASCAR DFS Strategy
Ryan Blaney ($11,700), starting 13th
Blaney gives us room to gain positions and a chance to collect points at the front. Our two models rank him third and fourth overall.
Across our 16-race comparison sample, Blaney has a 7.2 average running position and has spent 93.5% of his laps inside the top 15. He won at New Hampshire after leading 115 laps, finished third at Iowa with 129 laps led, and finished second at Phoenix two weeks ago.
At Martinsville this spring, he finished sixth with a 5.7 average running position. A similar finish would gain seven positions Sunday, with laps led and fastest laps adding to the return.
Joey Logano ($10,700), starting fifth
Both models rank Logano second. Starting fifth gives him an early shot at the lead.
Logano won at North Wilkesboro and Richmond this season, then finished third at Gateway and sixth at Phoenix. Those four races produced 598 laps led. The man has been taking attendance at the front.
His raw comparison averages include an 8.2 running position and 57.1 laps led per race. He also finished third at Martinsville in the spring.
Our practice metric placed him 15th. We’re leaning on the broader short-track record for this investment.
Josh Berry ($8,700), starting 10th
Our Penske-lite entry makes the lineup again. The Wood Brothers get the technical relationship, and we get a smaller invoice.
Berry ranks eighth and ninth across our models and fifth in our practice metric. His recent comparison results include fourth at Iowa, eighth at Richmond and third at New Hampshire.
That Loudon run included 73 laps led, 47 fastest laps and a 3.3 average running position. At Phoenix, he finished 11th despite running 6.7 on average and recording 29 fastest laps.
He finished 10th at Martinsville this spring while spending all 400 laps inside the top 15. Starting 10th limits the easy place-differential points. We’re buying speed and the chance to contribute fastest laps.
Martinsville Value Plays
Ross Chastain ($7,100), starting 16th
Chastain ranks first in our SpeedwaySteve2 practice metric. Starting 16th gives him room to turn that pace into place-differential points, with the potential to contribute fastest laps along the way.
Steve ranks him ninth overall, and he’s 12th in my model. That’s an appealing combination at $7,100.
He’s also finished seventh at Iowa, fifth at Gateway and ninth at Phoenix this season. At Iowa, his 4.9 average running position and 40 laps led showed the upside.
A top-10 run would suit this salary beautifully. Any laps led would make the manufacturer exception even easier to live with.
Todd Gilliland ($5,700), starting 22nd
Gilliland helps the expensive cars fit, and Saturday gave us something useful beyond a cheap salary.
He ranks seventh in our practice metric, with a favorable assessment from Steve, too. Starting 22nd gives him room to turn that speed into place-differential points.
Gilliland finished eighth at North Wilkesboro and 14th at Phoenix this year. The Phoenix result came with an 11.0 average running position, so there was real speed underneath it.
Our overall models rank him 20th and 23rd. We’re looking for Saturday’s pace to pull him toward the better end of that range, with room for more.
Zane Smith ($6,000), starting 33rd
Starting 33rd gives Zane plenty of room to add place-differential points.
Zane is the clearest compromise in this build. Our practice metric placed him 30th, and we’ll need him to improve on that showing.
My projected finish of 25.7 would still mean roughly seven positions gained. Steve ranks him 19th overall.
Smith finished 16th at Iowa, 13th at New Hampshire and 15th at Phoenix this season. Those results show the possibility of a much more useful afternoon than his qualifying lap suggested.
We’re asking him to work forward while the expensive Fords handle most of the leading.
If you’re exploring another fantasy platform, our Underdog Fantasy promo code page covers the current offer and eligibility details. Check the available contests and scoring before carrying these driver selections over.
For our race bets, follow along on JuiceReel, where we’ll post our betting card and any additions before the green flag.
Phil Bobbitt is a motorsports betting analyst and recurring guest on CBS Sports HQ, The Early Edge, and VSiN’s A Numbers Game. He and his pal Steve developed a racing algorithm that’s profited over 260 units and $1 million in DFS winnings since 2020.
