Editor’s Note: Keep tabs on this page for lineup advice following qualifying, including changes you should consider.
After a grueling, old-school 400 miles at Darlington Raceway, the Cup Series heads north to Martinsville Speedway for the first true short-track race of the 2026 season. Many of the usual cast of characters run up front at “The Paperclip,” so expect Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske — with a sprinkle of RFK Racing — to lead the pack on Sunday.
Returning to Fastlane this year is my weekly NASCAR 36 for 36 pick, where you can come play along. It’s a season-long points battle introduced in 2024 where strategy is the primary emphasis. With 36 chartered cars and 36 races on the 2026 schedule, players can choose each car once for the duration of the season.
RELATED: NASCAR Fantasy Live hub | Play 36 for 36
MUST START
Driver: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 7
Comment: With only seven starts remaining for Hamlin over the course of the regular season, I’m debating whether to use him this weekend. He is hard to pass up at Martinsville, leading active drivers in wins (six), top fives (21), top 10s (27) and laps led (2,722) here. He enters with four top-five finishes in the last seven races at the Virginia track, so I think I’ve convinced myself that he needs to be in my lineup.
Driver: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Selections remaining: 7
Comment: Blaney is in the mix for being the new short-track king. He has a pair of victories at Martinsville, with 11 top-five and 13 top-10 finishes, including finishes of seventh or better in seven of the last eight trips to the Commonwealth. He also scored 41 more points than any other driver last year at short tracks.
Driver: William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Selections remaining: 9
Comment: When the Cup Series visited Martinsville in October, nobody could dethrone William Byron, who has won three of the eight Next Gen races at the 0.526-mile venue. His six top-five finishes and 664 laps led at Martinsville are his best at any circuit on the calendar, with nearly half of those laps coming in the fall (304).
DRIVERS TO AVOID
Driver: Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
Selections remaining: 8
Comment: Reddick put it best while departing his post-race press conference at Darlington when he quipped the world would end if he were to win at Martinsville. The four-time 2026 winner has a pair of top-10 finishes in 12 Martinsville starts, with a best finish of seventh. It’s his only track where he hasn’t placed inside the top five with at least 10 starts.
Driver: Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Selections remaining: 8
Comment: Vintage Keselowski was on full display at Darlington, leading a race-high 142 laps en route to a runner-up finish. And while he is a multi-time Martinsville winner, it’s been a dreadful track for the No. 6 team in recent years. The 2012 Cup Series champion has finished 20th or worse in six of the last seven Martinsville races.
SLEEPERS OF THE WEEK
Driver: Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: Expect Preece, who won this year’s Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, to lead the way for RFK at Martinsville. He made a name for himself running short tracks across the Northeast, and it’s led to some success on the big stage. He won the Busch Light Pole Award for this race in 2023 and has a trio of top-10 finishes in the last four races here.
Driver: Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford
Selections remaining: 10
Comment: Like Preece, Berry is another short-track standout who has found success in other divisions of motorsports at Martinsville. In his first attempt with the Wood Brothers, he had a mechanical issue while leading and finished 32nd. He rebounded with a 10th-place effort in October.
FEATURED MATCHUPS
Tyler Reddick vs. Christopher Bell
Pick: Bell
Comment: Expectations are minimal for Reddick at Martinsville, giving Bell plenty of wiggle room. He is a former Martinsville winner and placed runner-up last spring to Hamlin. Bell is always in the mix at short tracks, recording 11 top-10 finishes in the last 15 races.
William Byron vs. Kyle Larson
Pick: Byron
Comment: Because Byron’s highs have been higher at Martinsville, he’s the pick. However, Larson is flirting with must-start territory at Martinsville — something he never thought would be possible. But he’s finished sixth or better in each of the last seven Martinsville events.
Carson Hocevar vs. Brad Keselowski
Pick: Keselowski
Comment: While Keselowski hasn’t had recent success at Martinsville, his 12 top-five finishes at “The Paperclip” are tied for the most at any venue in his career. Meanwhile, Hocevar has a best finish of 17th in five Martinsville attempts, and he completed the hat trick for spins in a single race last fall.
Bubba Wallace vs. Joey Logano
Pick: Logano
Comment: Wallace has steadily improved at Martinsville in Cup, finishing inside the top 10 in four of the last seven races. In those same seven races, plus six before that, Logano’s name was a mainstay inside the top 10 in all of them. His 13 consecutive top 10s at Martinsville is the fourth-longest streak in track history.
MORE: Watch NASCAR video highlights
MY LINEUP
Starting five: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano.
Garage pick: Ryan Preece.
36 FOR 36
Pick: Ryan Preece, No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
Comment: A little humble brag, but by swapping to Keselowski after Darlington qualifying, I now have three consecutive 51-plus point performances. The goal this weekend is to stay clean, something Preece can do. He is an absolute menace at short tracks, with four finishes of seventh or better in the last eight races, and that dominant Bowman Gray showing leaves plenty of optimism.