The Action Network: Why Bowyer is your best bet for Martinsville this weekend

Martinsville Speedway is no stranger to drama, especially during NASCAR's fall event. Martinsville is a tight .526-mile track that results in plenty of beating and banging while not allowing drivers to truly find clear track. Throw in the added intensity of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and you have a recipe for excitement, tempers and hurt feelings. Remember, a win this afternoon locks any of the eight remaining playoff teams into the series finale at Homestead with a shot at the championship, so those drivers will be as aggressive as possible to secure the checkered flag. After analyzing historical Martinsville races, performances at similar tracks with the current aero package and this weekend's on-track activity, here are my favorite bets for today's First Data 500. Five drivers -- Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano and Chase Elliott -- currently have odds of 6-1 or shorter at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas to win today's race. However, there's one past Martinsville winner I'm eyeing as a nice value bet.

Clint Bowyer (25-1) to Win

Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing before the 2017 season, Bowyer has been incredibly fast at Martinsville, posting the fourth-best average finish (7.8). He is tied for the sixth-best average running position (8.4), while leading the fourth-most laps (216) -- including a win in the spring of 2018 -- over those five races. Bowyer was solid at "The Paperclip" earlier this year as well, which is important because it's the only race run at this track with the current aero package. In that event, Clint ran the fifth-most laps en route to a seventh-place result. The driver of the No. 14 Ford has brought that speed again with him so far this weekend, securing the seventh starting position while posting the fastest five-lap, 10-lap, 15-lap and 20-lap averages in final practice. Brett Griffin, Bowyer's spotter, even took time to tweet just how good the team's car is: Like I said, fast. While I don't put Bowyer among the top tier of favorites, he's not priced like one, either. Betting odds of 25-1 are a really nice value for a driver who has performed very well at this track in recent years, especially considering the speed he's shown in practice and qualifying this weekend.