For the second time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series visits my favorite track on the entire circuit: Martinsville Speedway.
In full transparency, I attended the race in the spring, which certainly wasn't the most exciting event I've ever witnessed, but don't blame the track!
Hopefully we see better racing in Sunday's XFINITY 500 (2 p.m. ET, NBC), but in order to ensure some excitement, I'll have some action on this race, starting with the featured driver matchup bet below.
NASCAR Pick for Martinsville
*Odds as of Tuesday afternoon
There are a lot of unknowns heading into Sunday's race, including whether or not drivers will be able to pass, an important question.
In the spring, track position was king at Martinsville, with very few drivers able to drive through the field.
However, Ross Chastain was one driver who picked his way from the back.
After starting 27th, the driver of the No. 1 Chevy was able to maneuver his way through the field to a fifth-place finish, running the seventh-most fast laps along the way. That's not easy when stuck in traffic for most of the race.
Now, Chastain is matched up against Chase Elliott, who is extremely good at Martinsville. However, let's not forget that Ross actually scored the better finish of the two back in April.
And of course, we're not betting this in a vacuum, everything is price-dependent.
Chastain is currently available at +160 against Elliott at DraftKings Sportsbook, a really big number for a driver who could do something that very few others could do with the Next Gen's short-track package in the spring: make passes.
The bet: Chastain (+160) over Elliott
