And, just like that, there are only four races remaining in the Sprint Cup Series season. Let's cherish our time together.
Previewing Talladega, I talked often about setting your daily fantasy lineup just based on drivers starting further back in the field. With wrecks making finishing position more volatile than ever, the relatively meaninglessness of practice/qualifying speeds and how evenly spread fastest laps are through the field, it's worth playing for start/finish differential points, and take the possibility of negative points out of the picture.
Was it the smart play? The top three starters in Sunday's race, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth, all put up negative points.
Meanwhile, the top six points earners all started 16th or worse, with five of those starting outside the top 20. They included Brian Scott, who cost just $5,100 on DraftKings.
But now we're done with restrictor-plate racing for the season. Let's shelve that line of thinking until next February's Daytona 500.
This week, we're racing at Martinsville, the polar opposite of Talladega. While Dega is the longest track and one of the highest-bank with a relatively low number laps run (188), Martinsville is the shortest and flattest, and will run 500 laps.
And you're going to see some crazy fastest laps and laps led numbers here. Passing is tough, and because of the close quarters, starting position comes into play, since the drivers starting at the back will be nearly a lap down when the race starts.
So this all starts with the polesitter. Going back to 2005, the driver starting first has led 110 laps per race. That's 55 points there right off the start.
But those are just averages. It's your best bet, but consider this: Over the last three seasons, there's been six instances of a driver putting up at least 100 fantasy points in a Martinsville race. The best start among those drivers was fourth, by Jimmie Johnson in 2014.
The other five started seventh, 13th, 15th, 17th and 23rd. So there is mid-pack value to be had here. But you want to chase those laps led because there is usually a huge points day to be had here for a driver. In the spring Martinsville race, Kyle Busch won while leading 352 laps and running 81 fastest laps. That's 180.5 points.
Here are my picks to get you started this week. But check back again after qualifying for my final picks and fades.
I'm starting my team with:
Kevin Harvick hasn't won at Martinsville since the 2011 spring race. Later that year was also his last top-five finish at the track. So why do I like a driver who hasn't had a top-five finish at Martinsville in the last nine races? Consistency.
Over the last three Martinsville race, Harvick has led at least 38 laps in all three, with more than 50 fastest laps in each. He leads all drivers with 63.7 fastest laps per race over the last two seasons at Martinsville.
Keep an eye on these four:
Kyle Busch: Busch was dominant here in the spring race, leading 352 laps as referenced above. But he falls out of my top spot because he hasn't consistently been collecting bonus points for fastest laps and laps led, despite a string of top-15 finishes. In his previous six Martinsville races, Busch failed to lead three times and never reached 30 fastest laps.
Jeff Gordon: Gordon hasn't been overly impressive since returning part-time to fill in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., but he is coming off 10th-place finish in his last start. Gordon has always been great at Martinsville, putting up more than 20 fastest laps in 18 of his last 19 Martinsville starts with an average finish of fifth in that span.
Kasey Kahne: I'm looking for Kahne to continue his recent resurgence, especially given his strength on shorter, flatter tracks this season (Martinsville, New Hampshire, Richmond and Phoenix). In three of the last four races on such tracks, Kahne has finished with more than 40 DraftKings points and ranked among the top eight drivers. He was ninth and 11th in the two Martinsville races last year before finishing 22nd earlier this season.
AJ Allmendinger: The Dinger is a road course ace, but the tight turns and hard braking needed at Martinsville syncs up well with those skills. Allmendinger finished runner-up at Martinsville earlier this season, his fourth finish of 11th or better in the last five Martinsville races. He's also hit double digits in fastest laps in four of the last five Martinsville races, which isn't bad considering his price tag.
That's all I have for you this week. If you can't get yourself a Martinsville hot dog, prepare your own favorite hot dog. But please don't put ketchup on it. Our friendship depends on it.