This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Cook Out 400
Location: Martinsville, Va.
Course: Martinsville Speedway
Format: 0.53-mile oval
Laps: 400
Race Preview
Sunday's Cook Out 400 will be the third short-track stop of the season for the NASCAR Cup Series and the second in a row after Richmond. Denny Hamlin won the tire duel at Bristol and then took advantage of a quick stop and overtime finish to edge by teammate Martin Truex Jr. last week. A win this week means Hamlin would sweep the entire first round of short-track victories. He will be facing some serious competition, though. Kyle Larson has been the main Chevrolet contender able to go toe-to-toe with the Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota cars, and Truex will have the bit between his teeth after feeling hard done by missing out last week. Ryan Blaney, still winless in 2024, won at the track last fall, which put him in position to win his first series championship last fall, while Larson was the victor in the spring race. Martinsville Speedway's action is close and aggressive, and with many drivers out to prove something, this week's action should not disappoint.
Key Stats at Martinsville Speedway
- Number of races: 150
- Winners from pole: 21
- Winners from top-5 starters: 76
- Winners from top-10 starters: 107
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 82.223 mph
Previous 10 Martinsville Winners
2023 fall - Ryan Blaney
2023 spring - Kyle Larson
2022 fall - Christopher Bell
2022 spring - William Byron
2021 fall - Alex Bowman
2021 spring - Martin Truex Jr.
2020 fall - Chase Elliott
2020 spring - Martin Truex Jr.
2019 fall - Martin Truex Jr.
2019 spring - Brad Keselowski
This weekend's race will be the 151st for the NASCAR Cup Series at Martinsville Speedway. The historic, flat half-mile oval is famous for its tight turns and long straights. Having been on the calendar since 1949, it is a place drivers and teams know well. The track is shaped like a paperclip, which makes it unique among the short tracks. Martinsville's flat turns also encourage aggressive racing to force cars ahead out of the preferred line to make passes. That fastest lane is the inside line, and that is where drivers will be fighting to get all race long, setting up their cars for maximum mechanical grip. Everyone will have to manage tire and brake wear, though. Having that inside line and getting there before the driver ahead opens the door to making a pass. Track position is extremely important as a result, and losing the inside line often means getting stuck on the outside while several cars rush past on the inside. Despite track position being so important, four of the last five race winners have started outside of the top 10. Restarts and pit strategy is what has enabled that statistic. Teams will go off strategy whenever possible in order to gain ground, and that could produce another come-from-behind victor.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Cook Out 400 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Denny Hamlin - $11,500
Kyle Larson - $11,200
Martin Truex Jr. - $10,800
Christopher Bell - $10,200
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
William Byron - $9,800
Joey Logano - $9,500
Brad Keselowski - $9,200
Ty Gibbs - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Chase Elliott - $8,800
Chris Buescher - $8,600
Tyler Reddick - $8,500
Ross Chastain - $8,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Alex Bowman - $7,900
Josh Berry - $7,400
Noah Gragson - $7,100
Erik Jones - $6,699
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Cook Out 400
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
William Byron - $9,800
Joey Logano - $9,500
Chris Buescher - $8,600
Alex Bowman - $7,900
Josh Berry - $7,400
Erik Jones - $6,600
Driver prices at the higher end for Martinsville mean having to skimp throughout the lineup. A worthy choice, though not a clear favorite, could be William Byron (DK $9,800, FD $11,500), though. Byron has been very competitive in early 2024 and has been one of the most successful drivers in the current generation of car in general. Byron is also a former Martinsville winner. He won this race in 2022 but wasn't as successful there last season. He could be a bargain choice without compromise this week. Joey Logano (DK $9,500, FD $11,000) is another choice very worthy of consideration. He seems to have moved beyond his early-season bad luck and may be on the verge of victory. Logano won at Martinsville in 2018 and finished in the top 10 in all of his last nine tries. Last year's results were both top-fives for him, too. Don't look past Chris Buescher (DK $8,600, FD $8,500) either. Buescher enters the weekend 13th in the playoff standings with four straight top-10 finishes. He only has two top-10 finishes at Martinsville from his past, but he is currently in the best form of his career with the best equipment he has ever had. Another top-10 this weekend is the expectation, not the exception. Alex Bowman (DK $7,900, FD $7,500) offers another bargain option. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has turned his slump around and quietly put himself 12th in the playoff standings with two top-fives from the last three races. One of those top-fives was from Bristol, another short track, too. Bowman won at Martinsville in the fall of 2021, and that was no hack.
Rounding out the lower-risk lineup option are Josh Berry (DK $7,400, FD $7,000) and Erik Jones (DK $6,600, FD $5,000). Both of these drivers have demonstrated competitive pace this season with upside potential. Berry's best finishes in his short Cup career have come on short tracks, and Jones should be a regular contender for top-15 finishes. Both just need to avoid mistakes and take what their cars will give them. If they can accomplish that, both driver should be capable of rewarding fantasy players with top-15 finishes this week at Martinsville.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Martin Truex Jr. - $10,800
Chase Elliott - $8,800
Ross Chastain - $8,300
Kyle Busch - $8,100
Chase Briscoe - $7,500
John Hunter Nemechek - $6,500
There may be no one hungrier for a victory than Martin Truex Jr. (DK $10,800, FD $13,500) after last week's Richmond race. Truex had the race win ripped from his hand by his teammate at the last possible moment. Truex has been one of the best short-track racers in recent memory, though. It would not be a shock to see him come out and win his fourth Martinsville race this weekend. Chase Elliott (DK $8,800, FD $9,500) has things going his way right now, too. He has been winless for quite a while, but he is a former winner at Martinsville with three top-10 finishes from his last four stops there. Elliott is in the top 10 in the playoff standings, coming off of a fifth-place finish a week ago at Martinsville. Martinsville and Ross Chastain (DK $8,300, FD $8,000) will forever be connected via his "hail watermelon" move two years ago to earn a spot in the championship finale. That move has since been banned by NASCAR, but Chastain is still a four-time top-15 finisher from the last four races at the track.
It is no secret that things haven't been going well for Kyle Busch (DK $8,100, FD $8,200) so far this season. His struggles are reflected in this week's price, though. Busch remains a two-time winner at this track. He hasn't finished in the top 10 here since the fall of 2021, though. That is why he is a selection with a bit more risk than usual. On the other hand, Chase Briscoe (DK $7,500, FD $7,200) may offset that risk. Briscoe has four top-10 Martinsville finishes from six tries, and he hasn't finished worse than ninth there since 2021. He led 134 laps in the last three races at the track and could be a sneaky add for fantasy rosters this week. Finally, John Hunter Nemechek (DK $6,500, FD $5,200) offers upside potential at place like this. He enters the weekend just outside of the playoff positions, but has won at Martinsville in Xfinity and the Trucks in the past. One of Nemechek's two top-10 finishes in 2024 came on Bristol's short track, too.
