RADIO
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Martinsville on Friday night to kick off a packed weekend at the shortest track on the circuit. Last week, the Truck Series hit the dirt at Bristol, with Cup Series star Joey Logano making a rare appearance in the series and driving to the victory.
Last week's race helped Ty Majeski extend his points lead, which is now 34 points over Zane Smith. Majeski is yet to win a race, but he's got five top 10s through the first six races of the season, which has helped him get off to this early lead despite Zane Smith having a pair of victories.
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Craftsman Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the Long John Silver's 200 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 4/14/2023 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
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Post-Qualifying Updates
Normally, I'd guarantee some post-qualifying updates are added here, but I'm on a kind of working vacation this week, so I...can't really guarantee anything. I'll try, though! Check back here after qualifying and I'll hopefully have added a brief Twitter thread with some thoughts.
What Past Martinsville Races Can Teach Us
Weather matters in NASCAR, and that includes temperature, so I want to put more weight on Spring Truck races here. The problem is we didn't have those in 2020 or 2021, so that complicates things.
In last year's race, Cup regular William Byron ran this race in the 7 truck for Spire, leading 94 laps and winning. Beyond Byron though, it was a race where two teams were really good, as the drivers who finished second through seventh all raced for either Kyle Busch Motorsports or ThorSport, including fifth-place finisher Ben Rhodes, who led 47 laps.
It was also a weird race because the top two finishers started in the back, but the rest of the top 10 all started 12th or better. It's not necessarily a track that's easy to pass at, unless you've got a good truck coming from far back, in which case it can be. (Yeah, that's a confusing statement, but this is a track where things mostly feel normal, where the good trucks usually do well, regardless of starting spot.)
Of the drivers in this week's field, Kyle Busch, Zane Smith, Grant Enfinger and Matt Crafton have won here in the Truck Series.
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Potential Top Plays
Kyle Busch ($13,000) is the obvious top play from a "guy who can score the most DFS points in this field" perspective, though his salary always makes him a risky play. You need Busch to either a) have some issue in qualifying and thus have place differential upside or b) start on the pole and lead a ton of laps if you want him to pay off at this price. The thing is, he absolutely can do those things.
Ross Chastain ($11,000) is $2,000 cheaper than Busch and is a great pivot. Last time he was here was for the Hail Melon Cup Series race, and we'll see if that momentum carries over to Friday's Truck Series race. This Niece truck won't be as good as Busch's KBM truck, but it should still have a lot of speed, and if something goes wrong for Busch, Chastain could be there to pounce.
Zane Smith ($10,600) is a former winner here, and he's won twice this season, so $10,600 feels like a bargain. He's had three top 10s in three Martinsville starts with an average finish of 4.3. He'll be in contention. If I wasn't on vacation right now in a state without legal betting, I'd be putting some money down on Smith winning.
Grant Enfinger ($8,700) is another former winner here. GMS probably won't have the speed for him to win Friday night, but with five top 10s here and an average finish of 10.8, Enfinger seems like he'll be a good in-between guy, someone who fills those mid-range price slots in a lot of DFS lineups.
Potential Value Plays
Tanner Gray ($8,200): This feels like a week where the Gray brothers could put some good runs together. Tanner has made four Truck Series starts here, with a top finish of third in 2021. He wasn't quite as good in his other three starts, but that 2021 race was impressive, as he managed a strong finish despite an average running position of 13th. It's also notable how well Gray has run this season, as he's already halfway to last year's number of top 10s.
Taylor Gray ($7,400) feels slightly less intriguing than his brother, but the fact she's $800 less adds appeal. His average finish through three starts this year is just 23.0, but he's shown some speed. More importantly though, one of his two career top 10s came at this track in 2021.
William Sawalich ($7,000) makes his Truck Series debut on Friday night, driving the 1 truck for DGR. This truck has run four times so far this season, with three top 20s, including a ninth at COTA for Kaz Grala. Sawalich's young, but he's already looking like a solid short-track driver, with a win this year in his first ARCA Menards Series East start. Could be some value here.
Dean Thompson ($6,300) had a tough start to the year, but he's run better the past two races, contending for a strong finish at Texas before crashing out, then finishing 12th at Bristol. This feels underpriced.
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