NASCAR 2010 TUMS Fast Relief 500 Picks & Predictions
By Anthony Rome
NASCAR heads back to its roots this Sunday when the Chase for the Championship stops at Martinsville Speedway for the TUMS Fast Relief 500.
Short-track racing was the norm in the early years of NASCAR and even though we won't see the high speeds we saw last week, exciting racing will be had thanks to plenty of contact between the drivers.
This year’s chase has come down to two drivers: Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, who trails JJ by 41 points. It doesn't look good for other drivers trying to gain ground on these two since both are so dominate at this track. Just like the last few races. it should come down to one of the favorites this week.
Denny Hamlin 3/1
Hamlin needs a win to close the gap on Johnson and what better place than here. Martinsville and Richmond are considered home tracks for Hamlin and he has lived up to the hype since he moved up to this series. In 10 races at this track, Hamlin has only finished outside of the top-10 once with seven top-5 finishes, and is tied with Johnson for the best average finish in the COT car. This race very well could decide the championship and we see Hamlin getting the win and maybe the lead in points for the championship.
Live Longshot
Clint Bowyer 15/1
Clint Bowyer started off the chase with a win but it was taken away due to a small infraction. But he’s followed it up with some very strong runs to show that this team is on the right track, right now. Bower has always done well here and at Phoenix, which is similar to Martinsville in many ways. Back in June, Bower had a good race and came home seventh and also had a top 10 finish at Phoenix earlier this year. If the two favorites don't watch out, Bowyer could be the first driver with two wins in the chase.