Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 Betting News and Notes

Martinsville 500
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

It's kind of ironic in this twist and turns of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase drama that we go from the biggest track in the series -- Talladega Superspeedway -- to the smallest at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday. It’s half-mile short track racing time and this layout -- with relatively no banking -- will have a huge impact on which of the eight eligible drivers win the Championship in four weeks at Homestead.

Martinsville starts the three race Eliminator Round, and after races at Texas and Phoenix, four of the eight drivers will be eliminated with a championship game of sorts at Homestead for the final four remaining drivers. They have to either win one of the next three or total more points to advance. There's a possibility that only one driver will advance by points. Then, the best finish among the last four remaining at Homestead wins the Sprint Cup.

The cool thing about this round is that there are three vastly different tracks and each has drivers that traditionally do well on them. The Westgate SuperBook has Jeff Gordon listed as the 5/2 favorite (Bet $100 to win $250) to be that final driver standing at Homestead with Brad Keselowski at 3/1 odds. Keselowski advanced to The Eliminator round in dramatic fashion with a win at Talladega.

Keselowski will have an edge at Texas and Phoenix, but he’s not considered one of the favorites at Martinsville where his best finish is fourth in this race last fall. If he can somehow manage to finish in the top-10 like he did during 2012 championship season when he finished sixth, he’ll be in a good shape to advance because he’s absolute money on the other two tracks and will be favored to win. However, if he finishes 38th again like he did in the first Martinsville race back in March, he’ll be in a situation again like Talladega where he’ll need to win to advance.

Gordon should get off to a great start in this round because he’s one of the best ever at Martinsville, a track that has been running continually in the Cup series since 1949. Gordon has eight wins on the track that looks like a paper-clip, but most importantly is that he won this race last fall. He had been stuck on seven wins since 2005 as Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin were doing most of the winning.

In between the wins, Gordon had 12 top-5 finishes in 15 starts, an amazing run of consistency and it was a huge moment when he finally visited victory lane again there last season. He finished 12th in the spring race this season.

The only driver just as smooth as Gordon at Martinsville is Johnson who also has eight career wins. He won five of six races there from 2006-09 and won there last spring. In the spring, he led the most laps before settling for second behind Kurt Busch. Johnson lost the lead with 11 laps to go.

Now that Johnson has been eliminated from winning his record tying seventh Cup title, it will be interesting to see where the team goes from here. Are they in test mode for 2015 or do they come out swinging trying to steal wins from Chasers. Regardless of what mode they’re in, Martinsville should still be a good track for him where in many ways it‘s a track that is about the driver.

No one is talking about Denny Hamlin as a viable Sprint Cup contender because of Keselowski, Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano getting most of the spotlight, but he could punch himself a ticket into the Homestead race with a win this week and then care less about what happens in the next two races. Hamlin hails from Virginia and is a four time winner there including three straight from 2009-10. That was his last win and he’s raced there six times since. He looked extremely sluggish with a 19th-place finish in March in a car that was probably only the 30th best.

The hope here for Hamlin is that his Joe Gibbs Racing organization shows some urgency into giving him something he can win with like he’s had in the past. It should be a collaborative effort by all the JGR resources to make his car great again and give their driver a shot to win a championship. The same goes for teammate Matt Kenseth’s crew. If Hamlin doesn’t have a top-5 car at Martinsville, then the season is likely over for them.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
2) #24 Jeff Gordon (5/1)
3) #11 Denny Hamlin (8/1)
4) #15 Clint Bowyer (15/1)
5) #4 Kevin Harvick (8/1)

NASCAR Odds - Gordon favored to win ninth grandfather clock
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

Jeff Gordon, on a quest to win his fifth Sprint Cup title, has been posted by the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as the 4-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's Goody's Headache Powder Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. He has eight grandfather clocks (Martinsville trophy) and 27 top-5 finishes in 43 starts. He is an absolute legend on the half-mile flat track, and with only eight drivers remaining eligible to win the championship -- a group that doesn't include Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- Gordon now becomes an even bigger fan favorite.

There are several great stories to root for over the next three races. Four drivers will advance either by winning or having the most points. It's possible that only one driver could advance on points, especially with Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano being favorites to win the Texas and Phoenix races.

The sentimental choice, whether a fan of his or not, has to be Gordon. NASCAR fans gave him a heap of boos throughout his early career while he was winning his four championships -- the last coming in 2001. He was almost like a villain character and that image was sometimes fueled by rival and fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt. Now, after watching Jimmie Johnson takeover the winners' villain role, and seeing Gordon 'pay his dues' over the years, there's been a reversal of feeling by many toward the good old dog.

Kevin Harvick should also have plenty of supporters as well. He's still looking for his first Cup title. The thing most like about him is that he's a badass that doesn't take any guff, and he's a direct link to the Earnhardt/Childress No. 3 era. There's a lot of love in NASCAR Nation for the Bakersfield, CA native. Harvick won at Martinsville in 2011 and his teammate Kurt Busch won in the spring race. He should run well. The Westgate will pay 6-to-1 odds if Harvick wins Sunday.

Denny Hamlin is listed at 8-to-1 odds, and from the standpoint of rooting for a Chase underdog, he's a great choice to support in the quest to win his first title. He had to sit and watch those Penske and Hendrick cars pass him all season long with their massive horsepower, but he drove smart. He took 25th-place cars and routinely finished with top-10's. Now his team is gradually getting better. He's one of the final eight drivers and he comes to Martinsville where he has a home field advantage with four wins and an 8.8 average finish in 17 starts.

Then there's Matt Kenseth, who is still looking for his first win this season and first at Martinsville. Last fall during the Chase, Kenseth had the best Martinsville run of his career with a second-place finish. He has some more fans just because he stepped up at Charlotte and showed everyone he's not going to be bullied anymore. He finished sixth in the spring race.

Jimmie Johnson is an eight-time winner at Martinsville and comes in at 5-to-1 odds. Because of his 3.7 average finish over his past 20 starts, it seems logical to think he might finish fourth or better. In his last four he has two wins, a fifth and runner-up. Now that his championship chase for title No. 7 is over, does the team regroup and begin testing for 2015? Does it matter with Johnson at Martinsville?

Johnson, Gordon and Hamlin have combined to win 15 of the last 20 Martinsville races. Besides Gordon and Hamlin, Harvick and Ryan Newman (2012) are the only Chase drivers with a Martinsville win. Brad Keselowski finished 38th in the spring race, but prior to that he had three solid runs of sixth or better. Joey Logano was fourth in the spring, and his best finish was runner-up in 2010.

ODDS TO WIN GOODY'S HEADACHE RELIEF SHOT 500

JEFF GORDON 4-1
JIMMIE JOHNSON 5-1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 6-1
KEVIN HARVICK 6-1
JOEY LOGANO 8-1
DENNY HAMLIN 8-1
KYLE BUSCH 12-1
MATT KENSETH 12-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 15-1
CLINT BOWYER 18-1
JAMIE McMURRAY 30-1
KYLE LARSON 30-1
CARL EDWARDS 30-1
KURT BUSCH 30-1
KASEY KAHNE 30-1
TONY STEWART 40-1
RYAN NEWMAN 40-1
BRIAN VICKERS 60-1
GREG BIFFLE 60-1
PAUL MENARD 100-1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 100-1
AUSTIN DILLON 100-1
ARIC ALMIROLA 200-1
MARCOS AMBROSE 200-1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 300-1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 300-1
DANICA PATRICK 500-1
CASEY MEARS 500-1
JUSTIN ALLGAIER 500-1
FIELD 500-1

Chassis Selections
Jayski.com

#1-Jamie McMurray: chassis not reported on race preview.
#2-Brad Keselowski: Primary Chassis:PRS-914. Last Raced: Watkins Glen (finished 35th). Backup Chassis: PRS-910. Last Raced: Charlotte backup (not raced)
#3-Austin Dillon: will pilot Chassis No. 489 in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new Chevrolet SS that will be utilized for the first time this weekend.
#4-Kevin Harvick: Chassis No. 4-868: Kevin Harvick will pilot Chassis No. 4-864 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Built new for 2014, Chassis 4-864 started 18th and finished seventh at Martinsville in April, its only time in competition.
#5-Kasey Kahne: chassis not reported on race preview.
#7-Michael Annett: chassis not reported on race preview.
#10-Danica Patrick: Chassis No. 10-865: Chassis No. 10-865 debuted in March at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, where Patrick qualified 10th but finished 32nd. It was then used in July at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, where she started 29th and finished 22nd.
#15-Clint Bowyer: Chassis No. 806 serves as the primary chassis for Bowyer at Martinsville. This chassis raced at Martinsville in April where Bowyer finished ninth. Chassis No. 787 serves as the back-up chassis. This chassis served as the primary chassis for Martin Truex Jr. in last October's Martinsville race where he finished 16th.
#16-Greg Biffle: Chassis RK-856 is the same car Biffle led laps with in the spring race and is also the same car he finished in the top 10 last fall at Martinsville. Backup Chassis: RK-867 Last ran Phoenix - finished 17th
#17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr.:Chassis RK-858 is the same chassis that the No. 17 team raced at Martinsville in the spring. Stenhouse had worked his way inside the top-20 before breaking a drive shaft. Backup Chassis: RK - 877 - last raced at Loudon - finished ninth.
#18-Kyle Busch: chassis not reported on race preview.
#20-Matt Kenseth: chassis not reported on race preview.
#22-Joey Logano: Primary Chassis: PRS-913. Last Raced: Watkins Glen (finished sixth). Backup Chassis: PRS-901. Last Raced: Charlotte backup (not raced)
#24-Jeff Gordon: #24 crew chief Alan Gustafson has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 24-902 for this Sunday's race. This chassis is new and has never been raced.
#27-Paul Menard: will utilize chassis No. 488 during the 263-mile event at Martinsville Speedway. This Chevrolet SS chassis is brand new to the Richard Childress Racing stable and will make its first laps during Friday's practice session at the paperclip-shaped track.
#31-Ryan Newman: will drive chassis No. 490 on Sunday at Martinsville Speedway. This is a new Chevrolet SS that will be utilized under race conditions for the first time this weekend. The No. 31 team tested with this car last week in a two-day Richard Childress Racing Cup team test at the .526-mile track.
#34-David Regan: chassis not reported on race preview.
#38-David Gilliland: chassis not reported on race preview.
#41-Kurt Busch: Chassis No. 909: Kurt Busch will pilot Chassis No. 909 in Sunday's Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Built new for 2014, Chassis No. 909 will see its first laps of competition this weekend.
#42-Kyle Larson: chassis not reported on race preview.
#47-A.J. Allmendinger: chassis not reported on race preview.
#48-Jimmie Johnson: Crew chief Chad Knaus has selected Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 48-913 for this weekend's event in Martinsville. This is a brand new car. The backup car is Chassis No. 48-749, which was last raced in March at Martinsville, where Johnson finished second.
#51-Justin Allgaier: chassis not reported on race preview.
#55-Brian Vickers: Primary: 807 finished 16th at Martinsville on March 30. Backup: 785 has not raced.
#78-Martin Truex Jr.: chassis not reported on race preview.
#88-Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Crew chief Steve Letarte will unload Hendrick Motorsports Chassis No. 88-789 for this weekend's race at Martinsville Speedway. Earnhardt most recently raced this chassis to a third-place finish at Martinsville in April.
#99-Carl Edwards: Primary chassis RK-866 last ran at the Spring Martinsville race, starting eighth and finishing 13th. Backup chassis RK-886 last ran at Richmond, starting 10th and finishing 22nd.

Driver Handicaps: Martinsville
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

MRN.com's detailed notes and statistics to help you set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday's Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

Who's HOT at Martinsville

• Jeff Gordon, who scored his eighth win in this event last year, leads all drivers in top 10s (34) and laps led (3,593).
• Jimmie Johnson, also an eight-time winner, leads all drivers with a 5.2 average finish.
• Clint Bowyer is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in each of the last five races.
• Denny Hamlin has finished in the top 10 in 12 of the last 15 races, including four wins.
• Matt Kenseth, who finished second last fall, has combined to lead 334 laps in his first three track starts with Joe Gibbs Racing.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has posted nine top 10s, including two runner-up finishes, in 13 starts with Hendrick Motorsports.
• Brad Keselowski has finished ninth or better in four of his last five starts.

Who to Keep an Eye On at Martinsville

• Team Penske (Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski); Hendrick Motorsports (Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon); Richard Childress Racing (Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon and Paul Menard); and Chip Ganassi Racing (Kyle Larson and Jamie McMurray) tested at Martinsville.
• Joe Gibbs Racing (Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth) and Stewart-Haas Racing's Kevin Harvick recently tested at the half-mile Sandusky Speedway in Ohio.
• Kurt Busch won the Martinsville spring race in his first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing.
• Logano and Marcos Ambrose both finished in the top five at Martinsville in March.
• Kyle Busch has posted an average finish of 9.0 - including two top fives - in his last four starts at Martinsville.
• Harvick has finished in the top 10 in his last two Martinsville starts, including a seventh-place run this spring in his first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing.
• Greg Biffle (11.8) and Aric Almirola (12.0) each rank in the top 10 in average finish in the last five races at Martinsville.
• Carl Edwards (11.4) and Brian Vickers (14.2) each rank in the top 10 in average finish at short tracks in 2014.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Jeff Gordon
Pete Pistone: Jimmie Johnson
Dustin Long: Jeff Gordon
John Singler: Kevin Harvick

Top 20 Driver Notes - Ordered by Current Standings

Joey Logano: Looks to continue his stellar average finish (4.2) in the Chase with a second straight top five at Martinsville. Logano's fourth-place finish in March lowered his average finish in 11 Martinsville starts to 14.8 and it marked his first top 10 in three starts with Team Penske. Logano tested at Martinsville and will drive the same car (chassis No. 913) in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500 that he finished sixth with at Watkins Glen International.

Kevin Harvick: Finished seventh in first Martinsville start with Stewart-Haas Racing in March. The finish was Harvick' second consecutive top 10 and 12th overall, which includes a win in the 2011 spring race. This weekend, Harvick will pilot the same car (chassis No. 864) that he raced in the spring at Martinsville.

Ryan Newman: Finished 20th in first Martinsville start with Richard Childress Racing in March. Newman's last of 11 top 10s in 25 starts came when he won the 2012 spring race. Newman tested at Martinsville and will return in the same car (chassis No. 490) that he utilized at the test.

Denny Hamlin: Finished 19th at Martinsville in March and did not lead a lap for the first time in the last 10 races. Hamlin, who combined to lead 918 laps in his previous nine starts, is a four-time winner at the .526-mile oval, with the last one coming in this event in 2010.

Matt Kenseth: Has combined to lead 334 laps and post a 7.3 average finish in his three Martinsville starts with Joe Gibbs Racing. Kenseth led 202 laps in this race last season en route to a second-place finish (behind Jeff Gordon). In his previous 26 starts with Roush Fenway Racing, Kenseth only combined to lead 73 laps.

Carl Edwards: Last of five top 10s in 20 Martinsville starts came in this event in 2011. This weekend, Edwards will return in the same car (chassis No. 866) that he started eighth and finished 13th with in the spring race at Martinsville.

Jeff Gordon: Scored his eighth win in 43 Martinsville starts in this race last year. Gordon finished 12th in the spring to snap a streak of three consecutive top 10s. He leads all drivers in laps led (3,593) and has the second-best average finish (7.0). This weekend, Gordon will debut a new chassis (chassis No. 902) in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500. He tested at Martinsville at the end of August.

Brad Keselowski: Finished 38th at Martinsville in the spring after contact on pit road. The finish snapped Keselowski's streak of four consecutive top 10s. Keselowski recently tested at Martinsville and will be driving the same car (chassis No. 914) he finished 35th with at Watkins Glen International.

Kyle Busch: Started from the pole and finished 14th in the spring at Martinsville. Busch has led 90 laps and posted a 9.0 average finish in his last four starts at the .526-mile oval. His best finish came in this race in 2012, second place.

Jimmie Johnson: Led 296 laps in the spring at Martinsville en route to a second-place finish and fourth consecutive top five. Johnson's last of eight Martinsville wins came in the 2013 spring race. Johnson tested in August at Martinsville and will pilot a new car (chassis No. 913) in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.

Kasey Kahne: 27th-place finish last fall snapped a run of two consecutive top fives at Martinsville. Kahne tested in late August at Martinsville and will be looking to improve his 22nd-place finish from the spring.

AJ Allmendinger: Finished 11th in the spring in first Martinsville start with JTG/Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger scored two top 10s in previous 11 starts, including a runner-up finish with Team Penske in 2012.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Coming off second consecutive top 10 at Martinsville. Earnhardt's third-place finish in the spring was his ninth top 10 in 13 starts with Hendrick Motorsports at the .526-mile oval. Earnhardt, who tested at Martinsville in August, will return in the same car (chassis No. 789) he drove in the spring race.

Greg Biffle: Finished 18th in the spring at Martinsville, snapping a streak of three consecutive top 10s. This weekend, Biffle will return in the same car (chassis No. 856) that he finished 16th with at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Kurt Busch: Battled back from damage on pit road after making contact with Brad Keselowski to win the spring race at Martinsville. It marked his fifth top 10 in 28 starts, which also included a win in the 2002 fall race while at Roush Racing. This weekend, Busch will debut a new chassis (No. 909) in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.

Aric Almirola: Coming off third top 10 in his last five Martinsville starts with Richard Petty Motorsports. Almirola's average finish in six starts at the .526-mile track with RPM is 13.5.

Kyle Larson: Finished 27th in first Martinsville start with Chip Ganassi Racing back in March. Larson, who also made a start with HScott Racing in this event last year, tested at Martinsville as he looks to lower his overall average of 34.5.

Clint Bowyer: Is the only driver that's finished in the top 10 in the last five races at Martinsville. Bowyer, who has finished in the top five in the last two fall races, will return in the same car (chassis No. 806) that he placed ninth in at Martinsville in March.

Austin Dillon: Finished 15th in first Cup start at Martinsville earlier this season. Dillon tested at Martinsville and will be racing a new car (chassis No. 489) in the Goody's Headache Relief Shot 500.

Jamie McMurray: Finished 42nd in the spring at Martinsville, snapping a streak of two consecutive top 10s. McMurray tested at Martinsville earlier this month, a track where he has 12 top 10s in 23 overall starts.

Goody's 500 Post-Practice Notes
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

There’s nothing better than seeing a master at their craft go to work, whether it’s Michelangelo putting the finishing touches on a sculpture, Peyton Manning executing a drive with precision on the football field, or Michael Jordan dominating in a playoff game. When I watched Jeff Gordon during practices on Friday and Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, I couldn’t help but compare his excellence on the half-mile track with some all-time greats in their fields. He truly is the Master of Martinsville.

Gordon was only fastest in single-lap times during the first session Friday, but when stringing together average speeds over any 10-consecutive lap stretch, Gordon was faster than everyone in all three sessions, which easily makes him the driver to beat in Sunday’s Goody’s 500.

Gordon was already considered the driver to beat at 4-to-1 odds because of all his past domination at Martinsville, where he's won eight times. The guy has an amazing 27 top-five finishes over his 43 career starts, and now he has the dangling championship carrot in front of him. If he wins this race, he’ll get an invite to the championship round at Homestead in four weeks. Between having the skills, the car, and knowing what’s at stake for this race, Gordon is in a pretty good situation to win his fifth Sprint Cup title and first since 2001.

Jimmie Johnson is the main reason why Gordon hasn’t yet passed Richard Petty’s all-time Martinsville record of 15 wins. Despite being teammates and Johnson being eliminated from the Chase, he’ll do all he can to keep Gordon with eight career Martinsville wins and grab his own ninth victory. Over Johnson’s past 20 Martinsville starts, he’s had eight wins and an insane 3.7 average finish.

During practices, Johnson was just a notch below Gordon, but he did have the fastest lap in Saturday’s early session. During happy hour he had the second-best 10-consecutive lap average. He’s going to be a thorn in Gordon’s side all day, and even though Gordon owns half of Johnson’s No. 48 car, don’t expect to see much teamwork Sunday.

In terms of impressiveness, Brad Keselowski was right behind Gordon and Johnson, trailing only that dynamic duo in average speeds. Keselowski has never won at Martinsville and this is supposed to be a track where a driver like Gordon has a huge edge, but the No. 2 car is dialed in pretty well to the point where if there is a late slip-up by Gordon or Johnson, it will be right there to take advantage. Great things are expected out of this team at Texas and Phoenix over the next two weeks, but Keselowski's capable of getting his invite to Homestead on Sunday.

There were high expectations for Denny Hamlin this week because of Martinsville being in his home state of Virginia and his four previous wins on the track, but he didn’t look as strong in the final practices as he did on Friday while set up in qualifying trim. He was middle of the pack in average speeds. When he was dominating on the track, he was always up there with the top average speeds. In fact, both his teammates, Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch, looked better in practice. Hamlin needs this race bad with hopes of competing for his first championship at Homestead. Look for Hamlin to scratch and claw for a decent finish, but he’ll need Johnson and Gordon to have some trouble in order to win – and that never happens to either of them at Martinsville.

The best long shot value is Jamie McMurray, who was right up there with Gordon, Johnson and Keselowski as the stars of Saturday‘s practices. He‘ll start from the pole, which will allow him to lead several laps early on, and he should be able to maintain a good pace based on his solid average speeds. Just over 27 percent of all Martinsville winners have come from the front row, which kind of shows how important start position is on the track. On that same token, Harvick has a poor starting position, and despite having a very good car, he’s got a major uphill climb.