Aside from Kevin Harvick’s handful of top-10 finishes, there’s been little to sing home about at Stewart-Haas Racing through the opening two months of the NASCAR season. On Saturday, the four teams showed up and showed out at Martinsville Speedway, placing all four cars in the top 10 for the first time since September of 2019, when they took positions one through four at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
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Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: William Byron
Starter 2: Martin Truex Jr.
Starter 3: Bubba Wallace
Starter 4: Denny Hamlin
Starter 5: Ryan Blaney
Garage pick: Ryan Preece
NEXT IN LINE: Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suárez, Kevin Harvick
RISING: Stewart-Haas Racing took three of the top four qualifying positions on Saturday and was one-thousandth of a second off from sweeping the front row. Preece, a well-renowned short tracker, is the first driver to have their first career pole come at Martinsville since Scott Riggs in 2005. As I stated earlier this week, Aric Almirola at 40-1 is a good sleeper for the paperclip-shaped track, with three top 10s over the last five races. Briscoe is no slouch here, posting ninth-place runs in both Martinsville races last season. The biggest surprise might be Harvick, who was third on best 10-lap averages – but has finished outside the top 10 in five of the last six Martinsville races.
You probably wouldn’t believe it, but Reddick has never led a lap on an asphalt short track at the Cup level. In 16 starts between Martinsville, Richmond and Bristol, the two-time Xfinity Series champion has just two top 10s. But the No. 45 Toyota had the quickest lap in practice and over a 30-lap run, only dropped to third. With a bunch of road courses coming up, I’m going to save Reddick for later in the season, but you could certainly choose worse than him this weekend.
FALLING: Martinsville is Blaney’s best track on the circuit. And for that reason alone, I’m leaving him in my lineup and could always opt to put Preece in if he’s having a career day and the No. 12 car is struggling, as it did in qualifying. Blaney will be buried in the field when the green flag drops – his 31st-place starting position is the deepest he will begin a race at the half-mile – but looks to have a long run car, placing fifth in 30-lap averages.
It wasn’t many years ago that Brad Keselowski had 10 straight top-10 finishes at Martinsville. He even took the checkered flag in the top 10 last fall before being disqualified after the race. But the No. 6 Ford struggled on Saturday and will start the race in 21st position. Save Keselowski for Talladega next weekend.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Christopher Bell vs. Ryan Blaney
If Blaney’s Saturday was a struggle, Bell’s wasn’t much better. The No. 20 Toyota will start 22nd in the 400-lap race on Sunday; nine spots better than Blaney. And even though Bell won the fall race at Martinsville last year starting just one row ahead of where he does on Sunday, Blaney has won my trust at Martinsville for consistently being consistent. Blaney might not end his 54-race winless streak on Sunday, but, heads up, I think he finishes ahead of Bell.
William Byron vs. Martin Truex Jr.
This looks to be the toughest matchup of the week. Truex bettered Byron in qualifying, though both drivers made the final round. However, if you look at practice, the No. 24 car was lights out on the long run. Byron is my pick to win the race on Sunday.
Austin Dillon vs. Ryan Preece
Given Preece is a hardcore short-track racer, his first pole coming at Martinsville isn’t shocking. Dillon has had decent runs in the past at the famed track, including a third-place effort last spring. Preece has had races in 2023 where he’s shown plenty of speed with little results. Given he’s in my garage to start the race, I’m thinking that turns around this weekend.
Kyle Busch vs. Denny Hamlin
Both drivers are multi-time winners at Martinsville, and it’s a track that they frequently run up front at. On his podcast earlier this week, Hamlin predicted that the No. 11 team would get white hot beginning this weekend. It’s hard not to agree, even with an 11th-place starting position. That’s the same spot he began the fall race from when he would go on to lead a race-high 203 laps.