The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Martinsville, Virginia this weekend for the Goodys Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. The race, which will televised live on FOX, is set to get started at 2:00pmET. NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr vs Carl Edwards Goodys Fast Relief 500 at Sportsbook.com has Dale Earnhardt Jr listed as a -135 moneyline favorite to finish ahead of Roush driver Carl Edwards.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has certainly not gotten off to the kind of start that he expected to this year, but luckily for him and his myriad of fans, there is plenty of racing left to do. Last week's running at Bristol was another positive step for Junior as he finished in the top 15 for the third consecutive race (started 34th, placed 14th). However, it was also indicative of one of his biggest problems this season, which is his team's inability to qualify well. The 88 AMP Chevy has started 31st or worse in three of the five races this season, and it has cracked the top 15 just one time, starting 14th at Daytona.
This week should give Junior another opportunity to advance in the Cup standings (he is currently 19th with a total of 518 or 276 points behind Jeff Gordon). Martinsville has been kind to Earnhardt in the past, and a look at last year's runnings is proof of such. Earnhardt started 22nd in the March 2008 Martinsville race and he finished in sixth after leading 146 laps. In the October race at the half mile oval, he started in the 10th position and went on to place second.
Junior has raced at Martinsville Speedway 18 times in his Sprint Cup career and he has recorded eight top five and nine top 10 finishes. His average placement at the Virginia track is 13.6.
Carl Edwards, who is currently fifth in the Cup standings with a total of 665 points, did not have a spectacular running at Bristol last weekend. Considering where he started the race (38th), though, his 15th place finish was more than acceptable. He too, has been plagued somewhat by his starting position, which has worked out to a less than stellar 24.8 average this year.
Sunday's race at Martinsville will mark Edwards 10th running at the track. In his previous nine outings at the speedway he has recorded just two top 10 finishes (both of which came last year) and an average placement of 17.3. In last year's March race, the Missouri native placed ninth after starting 27th and in the October running he finished in third after starting from the fourth position.
Dale Earnhardt Jr's Career Ratios:
Wins – 5.4 percent (18/332)
Top Fives – 26 percent (86/332)
Top Tens – 41.5 percent (138/332)
Carl Edwards Career Ratios:
Wins – 9.8 percent (16/162)
Top Fives – 34 percent (55/162)
Top Tens – 53.7 percent (87/162)
Sportsbook.com's NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr vs Carl Edwards Goodys Fast Relief 500
Dale Earnhardt Jr -135 (Moneyline)
Carl Edwards +105 (Moneyline)
Be sure to visit Sportsbook.com today to get your driver picks in before qualifying takes place.
