Martinsville a short track that's not big on surprises

The foothills of Southern Virginia provide the backdrop for this week's Sprint Cup Series race. Martinsville Speedway is a continuation of the short-track racing on which NASCAR was built. The relatively flat oval produces lots of contact and single-groove racing that is the trademark of bullring racing.

Typically, the cars and drivers both take a pounding for the 500-lap event and it's often a battle of attrition that crowns the winner of this race. Those drivers that succeed at Martinsville have a penchant for this style of racing and every season we expect to see these same drivers at the front of the pack.

We'll take a close look at all the factors for Martinsville in order to give you a select list of drivers for this punishing short track. The following is our weekly power ranking for the Goody's Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville (1:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX).

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Top Fantasy Racing Drivers for Martinsville

1. Jimmie Johnson
While Johnson typically struggles at the short track of Bristol, Martinsville is a completely different story for the three-time champion. He's won four of the past six races there and has finished in the top five in each of those starts. Only teammate Jeff Gordon qualifies better at Martinsville, so you could say Johnson is the complete package at this facility.

2. Jeff Gordon
Gordon hasn't visited Victory Lane recently at Martinsville, but he has been incredibly consistent. He has two poles and six consecutive top-fives at the short track since his last victory there in 2005. Gordon is making a push to get back to Victory Lane at Martinsville and this could be the weekend where it all falls into place.

3. Denny Hamlin
Hamlin climbs our list to No. 3 this week with his stellar record at Martinsville. He's a one-time pole winner and one-time race winner there. The No. 11 team has finished outside the top 10 only once in Hamlin's seven career starts at the small oval.

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A former Martinsville winner will take the checkered flag again.

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4. Tony Stewart
Smoke is another driver who's climbing the list this week. His brilliant start to this season combined with his strong history at Martinsville makes him a dependable fantasy racing play on Sunday. Stewart owns three career poles and two wins at Martinsville, and he finished fifth in this event one year ago for his former boss, Joe Gibbs.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The short track part of the schedule is a good time for the inconsistent No. 88 team to get things together. Earnhardt has been looking for anything positive from which to build, and his top-15 run at Bristol last week could go a long way toward a good finish this week at Martinsville, as well. He has led more than 300 laps in his past four visits to the Virginia short track and he's collected top-10s in three of those appearances.

6. Kevin Harvick
While Harvick is probably better at Bristol, he's still pretty good at the tight confines of Martinsville, as well. He has qualified in the top 10 in three of the past four races at the facility and he finishes in the top 10, too. Harvick has four top 10s in his past six Martinsville races. While he's not likely to win, he does make a wise fantasy racing play on Sunday.

7. Kyle Busch
Busch slides down our list to the seventh spot for this week's race. The Joe Gibbs Racing phenom is dangerous at any track, but Martinsville has been anything but lucky for the young driver. Busch had a pair of disastrous races at Martinsville last season and that snapped a streak of four top-10s in his prior five starts at the short track. We expect him to rebound this weekend, but use caution in deploying Busch at Martinsville.

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8. Clint Bowyer
Steady and unspectacular are two good ways to describe Bowyer's skills at Martinsville. He's never led a lap there, but he's managed to build a three-race top-10 streak there entering this weekend's event. Bowyer's name always comes to mind when we come to the short tracks, and this weekend is no exception.

9. Carl Edwards
Edwards has only just begun to figure out Martinsville. The Roush Fenway Racing ace started his career with no top-10s in his first seven races at the speedway. However, 2008 was a much different story for Edwards at the small oval. He collected a pair of top-10 finishes and a career-best, third-place finish there this past October. We expect more improvement this weekend.

10. Juan Montoya
Montoya is the sneaky safe play this Sunday. Amazingly, the IRL convert has really taken to the short track of Martinsville during his brief stock-car racing career. Montoya brings a streak of three consecutive top-15s at Martinsville into this weekend's race. He also will likely be driving his best race car ever at the facility with his new Earnhardt Ganassi Chevrolet.

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