Martinsville Speedway is my favorite track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, but even I have to admit the racing has not been good there lately.
Thankfully, NASCAR and Goodyear have gone to work and this weekend will be bringing a much softer tire than they have in recent memory.
In theory, softer tires should wear out more quickly and make cars harder to drive, which would then promote more passing.
I'm in wait-and-see mode as to when the tires will truly impact Sunday's Xfinity 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC), but have decided to go ahead and take a small position on one undervalued driver to score a top-1o finish.
NASCAR Odds & Best Early Pick for Martinsville
*Odds as of Wednesday morning
Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing prior to the 2023 Cup Series season, Ryan Preece has been a very solid performer at Martinsville.
Over the course of those three races, Preece has posted the 10th-best driver rating, which, on its own, is interesting when compared to his top-1o finish odds of +400.
And while that driver rating is solid, it's also misleading.
In the spring of 2023, Preece won the pole at Martinsville and led 135 laps before getting caught speeding on pit road, forcing him to restart at the rear.
Preece was able to slice his way back up to a 15th-place finish in that race — a finish that doesn't not properly represent just how fast that race car was.
As a result, I'm taking Preece at +400 odds right now to score a top-10 finish Sunday at Martinsville.
NASCAR Pick: Ryan Preece (+400) for a Top-10 Finish — bet365
