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Power Rankings: Is time right for Jimmie’s 10th Martinsville clock?
By Pat DeCola | Published: June 9, 2020 21
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NASCAR.com's Pat DeCola ranks the top 20 NASCAR Cup Series drivers after the race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and before the race at Martinsville Speedway.
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20. Chris Buescher (-1)
Comment: Buescher has no top 10s at Martinsville, but he does have finishes of 11th, 12th and 13th over the past six races there.
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19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (NR)
Comment: Martinsville hasn't quite landed in Stenhouse's wheelhouse like Bristol has, with just two top 10s in 14 starts for an overall average finish of 27.0.
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18. William Byron (-1)
Comment: It's fair to question what's going on with Byron and the No. 24 camp, but perhaps Martinsville will be the spark they need after finishing P2 last fall. That said, his best finish is 20th in the other three starts he's made.
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17. Tyler Reddick (+3)
Comment: Reddick rebounded from an incident at Bristol with a decent run at Atlanta, with spurts of running in the top 10. He's been well above average since NASCAR's return, and he's in the playoff picture at this point.
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16. Matt DiBenedetto (+1)
Comment: Similar to Stenhouse, DiBenedetto hasn't quite figured out Martinsville like he has Bristol, being held out of the top 10 there in 10 starts for an average finish of 30th.
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15. Erik Jones (-3)
Comment: The Joe Gibbs Racing secret Martinsville files apparently haven't hit Jones' inbox yet, because he's yet to finish in the top 10 at the short track, with an average finish of 21.8.
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14. Clint Bowyer (-3)
Comment: At times on Sunday, it looked like Bowyer might be able to compete for a top-five finish at Atlanta, but debatable strategy saddled him with a P20. Perhaps he'll get back on the right foot at Martinsville, where he won in 2018.
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13. Aric Almirola (+1)
Comment: Almirola's 22 winless starts at Martinsville are most among any driver on this list, and he only has four top 10s in that timeframe.
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12. Austin Dillon (+3)
Comment: Already sporting a 11.67 average finish in six races since NASCAR's return, can Dillon keep it rolling at Martinsville? He only has two top 10s in 12 races there, but they were top fives in the spring race.
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11. Jimmie Johnson (+2)
Comment: Though winless, Johnson has consistently been competitive all season, something we didn't see too often from the No. 48 last year. With nine grandfather clocks to his credit, perhaps Martinsville is the place he puts it all together.
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10. Kurt Busch (-1)
Comment: Busch has two wins at Martinsville, but they're part of just seven top 10s there in a whopping 39 starts. Still, he does have two top-six finishes in his last three trips.
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9. Alex Bowman (-2)
Comment: Bowman finished seventh in this race in 2018, but he has a best finish of 14th in his other starts. With the speed he's carried in 2020, expect Wednesday to be more like the 2018 result.
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8. Ryan Blaney (+2)
Comment: If you're looking for a good semi-sleeper pick, Blaney is a solid choice. Team Penske has shown serious strength there at times lately, and Blaney has four top-eight finishes in his last five Martinsville starts.
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7. Martin Truex Jr. (+1)
Comment: While it took him forever to get the short track monkey off his back, Martinsville might make a decent spot for Truex to pick up win No. 1 of 2020. He's the most recent winner there with 464 laps led -- more than double his laps led all of this year.
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6. Kyle Busch (--)
Comment: Teammate Denny Hamlin taught Busch everything he knows at Martinsville and while he's got some catching up to do in the wins department, his 16 top fives are actually one more than the Virginia native.
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5. Denny Hamlin (--)
Comment: Hamlin is the likely favorite for Wednesday, having been the best Toyota driver in 2020 and with five 'Paperclip' wins to his name. The No. 11 driver has a ridiculous 21 top 10s in 28 starts.
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4. Joey Logano (-1)
Comment: Logano has a series-best five poles at Martinsville, though he has just one win there in 22 tries. You might think that win came from one of those pole positions, but you'd be wrong. Logano won that race starting from 10th.
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3. Chase Elliott (+1)
Comment: Still looking for his first Martinsville win, Wednesday should be a night to keep an eye on Elliott. He's been arguably the best driver this year and was P2 in this race a year ago, albeit on Sunday and not under the lights.
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2. Brad Keselowski (-1)
Comment: Though unable to keep his Sunday streak going at Atlanta, perhaps Wednesday night will be better for Keselowski. The Team Penske driver led 446 laps led in this race last year to ride to Victory Lane in the Martinsville spring race for the second time in three years.
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1. Kevin Harvick (+1)
Comment: Harvick has just one career Martinsville win and no laps led since 2016, but he does have five straight top 10s there. Combine that with the consistently strong race cars he's driven in 2020 and there's little reason to believe he won't be up there battling on Wednesday night.