2015 STP 500 Odds, Free Picks & Predictions: Jimmie Johnson the 7/2 Favorite to Win STP 500: For the first time this year, the Cup Series will visit a short track. Martinsville Speedway will host Sunday’s STP 500, and while the 0.53-mile, paperclip-shaped oval is the shortest and slowest track on the schedule, it isn’t exactly boring. Given its size, Martinsville has relatively long straightaways leading into flat, tight corners. As a result, the track is brutal on brakes, and passing is often so difficult that drivers resort to bumping competitors out of the way, especially in crunch time. With that in mind, here is a closer look at the drivers with the best chance of emerging from Martinsville with a victory this weekend.
2015 STP 500 Odds, Free Picks & Predictions – The Favorites and Contenders to Win at Martinsville
The Favorites
Since joining the Cup Series, no driver has been better at Martinsville than Jimmie Johnson. In 26 starts, he has piled up eight wins, 18 top-five finishes and 22 top-10s. He also owns the best driver rating at the track, and his 6.2 average finish is tops in the series. Johnson has four top-five finishes, including two wins, in his last five starts at Martinsville, and in the last 10 races at the track, he is the only driver to have led more than 1,000 laps.
His dominance at Martinsville has stood the test of time, and in the last 10 races at the track, Jeff Gordon actually leads all drivers with a 7.0 average finish. He has also finished third or better in three of his last four starts. For his career, his 6.8 average finish ranks second in the series, and in 44 starts at Martinsville, Gordon has notched 35 top-10s and has made eight trips to victory lane.
He is one of the top flat track drivers in the Cup Series, and Denny Hamlin has proven on multiple occasions that he knows how to seal the deal at Martinsville. In fact, his four victories at the track since 2008 are tied for the most in the series during that span. Overall, his 8.7 average finish at the track ranks third among active drivers, and in 18 starts, he has finished sixth or better 11 times.
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The Contenders
His victory at Martinsville last fall was an exclamation point on what has been an excellent stretch at the track for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has finished eighth or better in seven of his last nine starts at Martinsville, logging four finishes of third or better. Don’t be surprised if he is celebrating in victory lane at Martinsville again this weekend.
While he has never won a race at Martinsville, Clint Bowyer has certainly been one of the steadiest performers at the track since he joined Michael Waltrip Racing in 2012. In six starts at the paperclip-shaped track with MWR, he has compiled a 6.0 average finish, and he has yet to finish outside the top 10. Bowyer finished second and third at Martinsville in 2013, and it seems like only a matter of time before he breaks through and wins one.
Although his overall numbers at Martinsville aren’t spectacular, Kevin Harvick did score a win at the track in the spring of 2011, and he has finished seventh or better in two of his last three starts. More importantly, Harvick is on an epic run right now, and he has finished either first or second in eight straight races. Only Richard Petty has had a longer streak in the history of the Cup Series, and Harvick is a threat to win at any track right now.
Mechanical issues ruined both Brad Keselowski’s starts at Martinsville last season, but his overall record at the track remains stout. He finished in the top 10 in all four of his starts at the short track from 2012-2014, finishing sixth or better three times. Keselowski is coming off a win last weekend at Auto Club, and he could head right back to victory lane this weekend.
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Odds to win the STP 500 @ Martinsville Speedway
Jimmie Johnson #48
7/2
Kevin Harvick #4
9/2
Jeff Gordon #24
11/2
Denny Hamlin #11
13/2
Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88
10/1
Kurt Busch #41
10/1
Brad Keselowski #2
11/1
Joey Logano #22
12/1
Matt Kenseth #20
14/1
Clint Bowyer #15
16/1
Carl Edwards #19
22/1
Kasey Kahne #5
25/1
Ryan Newman #31
28/1
Martin Truex Jr. #78
33/1
Jamie McMurray #1
40/1
Kyle Larson #42
40/1
Tony Stewart #14
40/1
Chase Elliott #25
66/1
David Ragan #18
66/1
Paul Menard #27
66/1
Greg Biffle #16
75/1
A.J. Allmendinger #47
100/1
Austin Dillon #3
100/1
Brendan Gaughan #62
100/1
Aric Almirola #43
200/1
Brett Moffitt #55
200/1
Danica Patrick #10
200/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17
200/1
Justin Allgaier #51
300/1
Sam Hornish Jr. #9
300/1
Trevor Bayne #6
300/1
Casey Mears #13
500/1
Ron Hornaday #30
500/1
Alex Bowman #7
1000/1
Alex Kennedy #33
1000/1
Chris Buescher #34
1000/1
Cole Whitt #35
1000/1
David Gilliland #38
1000/1
J.J Yeley #23
1000/1
Jeb Burton #26
1000/1
Josh Wise #98
1000/1
Landon Cassill #40
1000/1
Matt Dibenedetto #83
1000/1
Michael Annett #46
1000/1
Mike Bliss #32
1000/1