2021 Xfinity 500: NASCAR CUP Picks, Predictions, Odds, Longshots

The NASCAR Cup Series will determine the Championship 4 on Sunday at the Martinsville Speedway in the Xfinity 500. Martinsville is the smallest track on the circuit at .526 mile shaped like a paperclip. Racing at Martinsville is beat em up bang em up and guarantee that every car will have a scratch on it at the end. Martinsville is the perfect spot to determine the Championship 4 and the Xfinity 500 should be exciting. 

Here are a few drivers to consider for the Xfinity 500. 

Martin Truex Jr. +450– Truex will begin Sunday’s journey around the Martinsville Speedway from the 4th position and if the car is set up right should be running for the top spot before the end of stage 1. Truex has the highest average driver rating at Martinsville of any driver in the last 7 races of 117.3. 6 top 10 finishes, including 5 top 5s and 3 victories. Martin led 132 of the 500 laps one year ago in the first Martinsville race of 2020 to win and we should see another solid performance on Sunday. Consider the favorite big time on Sunday.

Chase Elliott +600– Chase will roll off inside row 1 from the 2nd position for Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. Chase dominated the 2020 playoff race at Martinsville leading 236 of the 500 laps to claim victory, no doubt setting up for the 2020 Championship run. Elliott with 6 top 10 finishes in the last 7 races at Martinsville including 4 top 5 finishes. Track position of major importance at Martinsville, Chase is starting up towards the front. Be on the lookout for #9 car at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon. 

Denny Hamin +650– Hamlin fires off from the 3rd position for Sunday’s race at the Martinsville Speedway. Solid 5th place finish at Kansas Speedway one week ago for Denny, and Denny has finished outside the top 10 only 1 time in the last 8 Cup races. Hamlin has 4 top 5 finishes over the last 7 races at Martinsville and an average finish of 8.71. Hamlin didn’t perform well at Martinsville at all in 2020 but did have a nice 3rd place finish in the Cup Series race April of 2021. Hamlin does have a 32-point cushion above the cutline and a win will secure a spot in the Final round of the playoffs at Phoenix next week.

Ryan Blaney+ 700– Blaney will take the green flag on Sunday afternoon from the 8th position in the Xfinity 500. Blaney struggled at Kansas one week ago, started 2nd and finished 37th after being involved in a crash. Good news is Ryan has the 2nd best average driver rating at Martinsville over the last 7 races at 110.7. Blaney has 5 top 5 finishes at Martinsville over the last 7 Cup Series races. Just outside the Final 4 by 1 point, Blaney must have a mistake free afternoon on Sunday in the Xfinity 500, look for a great performance.

Kyle Busch +800- Kyle starts from the 7th position, so track position is automatically built into the advantage on Sunday afternoon. Kyle is 1 point above the cutline heading into Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. Kyle has 5 top 10 finishes, including 3 top 5 finishes over the last 7 Cup Series races at the Martinsville Speedway. Kyle had the 5th fastest green flag speed in the Cup Series event in April here at Martinsville and that will not change here on Sunday afternoon. Nice value here on Kyle to sprinkle some action on.