Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Betting Preview/Prop Picks
08 April 2022
The next Cup Series race for NASCAR takes place in Henry County, Virginia, for the Blue-Emu 400. This road course is another great test for the Next Gen cars and for drivers wanting to steal a victory.
Many of the usual favorites top the board, but a few others have risen to the top for betting options. Below you can see which drivers make a case for victory.
Race Details
Date: Sat, Apr 9, 7:30 PM
Watch on: FS1
Track: Martinsville Speedway
Betting Overview
This year has been wildly unpredictable in the world of NASCAR. Another week went by with another new winner on the season, as Denny Hamlin got his first win this year.
Since this is a road course, a lot can happen with the usual favorites attempting to get a win. Previous success will be key and potentially play a role in the top five finishers.
Head to Head Matchup to Watch
Martin Truex Jr (170.207) and Kyle Busch (170.239) lead the way for the best chances to win this event. With recent success, in addition to how well they both have performed here in the past, it is a great matchup.
Busch has consistently played well here, while Truex has looked more dominant. Look for Truex to have the advantage.
Dunkel Index For This Event
The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following ten are:
1 Martin Truex Jr 170.207
2 Kyle Busch 170.239
3 William Byron 170.508
4 Alex Bowman 170.890
5 Kevin Harvick 172.078
6 Ryan Blaney 172.345
7 Denny Hamlin 172.587
8 Chase Elliott 173.436
9 Ross Chastain 174.330
10 Brad Keselowski 174.534
*index is subject to changes
Drivers That Could Win
William Byron (170.508) is a great value play here and deserves some attention. He has four top-eight finishes over his last five starts in Martinsville. He has a runner-up in 2019, a fourth and fifth-place finish last year, and is coming off of a third-place finish in last week’s race.
For the price, Brad Keselowski (174.534) offers a bit of long shot odds to win but is very appealing. He has six top-five finishes out of seven starts here, which includes 10 out of his last 12 overall in racing. In addition, four of those finishes were the top three performances over his last six here.
Kyle Busch (170.239) had a runner-up finish in the fall race here last year. Looking at his last 13 starts in Martinsville, he has 12 top 10 finishes, making him a consistent pick.
Potential Winning Pick
Martin Truex Jr (170.207) has won three out of the previous five races here. The only races he missed the victory on were the last two consecutive fall races.
In 2020, he led 129 laps but still came up short; but also placed fourth in last year’s fall race. Overall, he has four top-eight finishes over the last five weeks of racing.
Prop Picks
Matchup: Martin Truex Jr. (-115) OVER Ryan Blaney
Truex has been steadily improving from week-to-week capped off with a 4th-place finish last week at Richmond. He has dominated at Martinsville in recent years with three wins in his last five starts.
Blaney has started either first or second in four straight races, but failed to finish inside the Top 5 for the third straight race at Richmond. He’s finished 11th in each of the last two races at Martinsville.
With Truex rated No. 1 in this week’s Dunkel Index and Blaney No. 6, take the No. 19 car (-115) to have the edge in this matchup.
Matchup: Brad Keselowski (-120) OVER Chase Briscoe
After three straight finishes outside the Top 20, Keselowski is beginning to show signs of turning things around after finishing in the Top 15 in the last three races. He’s won at Martinsville twice and finished 3rd in his last start.
Briscoe has slipped following his surprising win at Phoenix and is coming off an 11th-place finish at Richmond. He finished 7th at Martinsville during the Xfinity Series in 2020.
With Keselowski rated No. 10 in this week’s Dunkel Index and Briscoe No. 16, take the more experienced No. 6 car (-120) to get the better of Briscoe.
Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.
