The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Martinsville Speedway for the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500. The green flag drops Wednesday at 7:15 p.m. ET with the race televised on FOX Sports 1. Below, we analyze the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.
Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500: What you need to know
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday, June 10 at 5:20 a.m. ET.
Penske Racing’s Brad Keselowski (+600 for Wednesday’s race) won the spring NASCAR Series Cup race at venerable Martinsville Speedway in 2019, while Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. (+600) picked up checkers in the fall race during the playoffs.
- Both winners in 2019 started from the third position in the grid, and each of the previous 13 winners have started third or lower. The last driver to win from Row 1 was Jimmie Johnson (+2000), both in the spring 2013 race and fall 2012 installment.
- Ford has won three of the previous four Martinsville races, while Toyota has won two of the past five. Johnson last took Chevrolet to Victory Lane in the fall 2016 race.
- Johnson leads all active drivers with 2,863 laps led in his 36 career starts at Martinsville. He has nine victories, 19 top-5 finishes and 24 top-10 runs with just two DNFs and a 9.31 Average-Finish Position (AFP).
- Five drivers in Wednesday’s field have at least two grandfather clocks – the “trophy” for winning at Martinsville – in their shops: Johnson (9), Denny Hamlin (5), Kurt Busch (2), Kyle Busch (2) and Keselowski (2) each have multiple wins at the paper-clip short track in the hills of Virginia.
- Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney (+1100) is on the pole for Wednesday’s race. In eight career starts at Martinsville he has no wins, but a solid three top-5 finishes, four top-10 wins, 145 laps led and 12.88 AFP.
Who is going to win the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500?
The Virginia native Hamlin (+700) is second among active drivers with 1,566 laps led in 28 starts with five victories and a 9.39 AFP. Hamlin, who is from Chesterfield, Va., has also posted 15 runs inside the top 5 with 21 in the top 10.
JGR’s Hamlin goes off from the 12th spot on Wednesday night. Two of his five wins at Martinsville have come from the pole, but his other three victories are when he started 15th or lower.
TRUEX JR. (+600) has managed just one win in his career at Martinsville, the fall race last season. But he has been eighth or better in each of his past five Martinsville runs, including four top-5 finishes, and he has a 7.1 AFP across his past 10 starts at the track. That’s third best among all drivers dating back to the spring 2015 run. Truex goes off fifth.
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KESELOWSKI (+600) enters Wednesday’s race with eight consecutive top-10 finishes, including wins in the spring races in 2017 and 2019. The Penske driver, who has two victories across the past four races, will start from the outside of Row 3. In fact, Penske has three Fords starting in the top six, with Blaney (+1100) on the pole and Joey Logano (+900) firing off third. All three Penske drivers are worth a look, with Keselowski the best bet of the triumvirate.
Martinsville Speedway prop bets
KESELOWSKI (+100) is a value play over Kyle Busch in head-to-head betting, while BLANEY (-105) is a decent option against his teammate Logano.
You can also bet on the Top Ford Car. Put your money on KESELOWSKI (+250) as he looks to bring his manufacturer another strong finish.
Martinsville Speedway long-shot bets
JOHNSON (+2000) continues to endure the longest win drought of his career dating back to June 2017 at Dover International Speedway. He has racked up nine grandfather clocks for the Hendrick shop and his living room, but No. 10 might be the most special if he is able to bring it home Wednesday night. Give him a look at this price, as he is bound to break through – plus, Martinsville is one of his best tracks.
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