Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Expert Picks and NASCAR Bet Slips: Can Truex Repeat?

The NASCAR Cup Series continues with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400. Read on for our top Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 expert picks.

Here are our NASCAR expert picks for the 2022 Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400, including outrights, longshots, matchups, and props (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, FanDuel Sportsbook, and BetMGM).

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Picks

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SEE ALSO: Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400: Favorites and Values

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Picks to Win

Blaney (+900 via BetMGM)

Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. have dominated here and are the two betting favorites, but Blaney actually owns a better average finish at Martinsville than both of them, at least recently. Through the last six Martinsville races, Truex owns an average finish of 6.2, Elliott's is 10.3, and Blaney's is 5.8.

Blaney used to struggle at Martinsville, but he hasn’t finished worse than 11th here since 2019. He also hasn’t won a race at the paperclip-shaped half-mile, but we’re getting good value on him here at this price. With pole-sitter Chase Elliott at +400 and Truex at +700, the extra bit of profit on Blaney is hard to resist.

I’m also a fan of targeting Blaney because of how good he's looked at short tracks this season. Blaney led the most laps at Phoenix and Richmond. It’s only a matter of time before the wheelman brings home his first win of the year, and I expect him to get a grandfather clock on Saturday night. - Sirois

Truex (+550 via FanDuel)

For the last seven seasons, Truex has been on a tear on this track. The No. 19 has taken home the checkered flag from the Martinsville Speedway in three of the last five races. He's riding an incredible streak of 11 top-10 finishes in his last 14 races here. Seven of those have resulted in a top-five finish.

Last week, Truex was a pit call away from winning in Richmond, another track on which he enjoyed some recent success. The Auto-Owners Insurance Camry led a total of 80 laps en route to a fourth-place finish. He made solid calls all day only to watch his teammate make a better one in the closing stage.

Truex has crossed the finish line inside the top 10 in four out of the last five races. His lines are somewhat consistent through the books with a low of +450 on Caesars. - Villagomez

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Longshot Picks

Busch (+5000 via FanDuel)

I've featured Busch as a longshot a few times, but Martinsville is an especially great track to throw a small-unit bet out on the veteran. Busch won his first race for Stewart-Haas Racing here in 2014, so why couldn’t he get his first win for 23XI Racing, too?

Busch owns two wins at this track in his career, which are tied for the third-most among all active drivers. He trails only Denny Hamlin and Truex. Though the first one of those wins came back in 2002, Busch has continued to look solid at this track.

Over the last six races, Busch has four top-10 finishes. He owns an average finish of 10th, which ranks sixth among drivers in this race. His new team, 23XI Racing, hasn’t started off the season well, but we’ve seen them take the late-race risks necessary to get Busch across the line in first. - Sirois

Suarez (+10000 via DraftKings)

Longshots to win are hard to come by on this track. Even a quick glance at the past winners is enough to prove that. Between Truex, Brad Keselowski, and even Kyle Busch, big names take down races here. So, this deep cut comes with even more risk.

Suarez has had his share of ups and downs this season. He’s finished inside the top five twice and as a top-10 driver three times. However, he’s also had four finishes outside of the top 15.

Trackhouse Racing has been fast so far this season. Ross Chastain has been the dominant driver in the garage, but Suarez isn't far behind. His odds are longer on DraftKings than anywhere else. - Villagomez

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Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Matchup Picks

Hamlin (+125 via DraftKings) vs. Elliott

The books are fading last week’s winner, Hamlin, against Elliott for no good reason. Although Elliott will start first in Saturday night’s event, we’re yet to see a pole-sitter actually win this season.

Also, Chevrolets have looked worse on short tracks than either Fords or Toyotas thus far. Bowtie drivers are yet to win at one of these events, and few have done much leading. Elliott led 50 laps at Phoenix but failed to lead at Richmond, and Hamlin finished ahead of him in that event. Elliott beat Hamlin at Phoenix but by only two positions.

This line is way too far in the plus-money for me to pass on it. Hamlin is the winningest active driver at Martinsville and should find a way to finish ahead of Chase tonight. - Sirois

Briscoe (+100 via DraftKings) vs. Keselowski

In any other season before this one, taking the Briscoe end of this matchup would be crazy. Keselowski has piloted his former No. 2 car to 16 career top-10 finishes, 12 top-fives, and two wins at this track. But this season, the veteran driver has struggled to find consistency in his No. 6 Mustang. His only top-10 finish was at Daytona. On top of that, he has three finishes outside of 20th place. He’s averaging a 17.4 place finish through the first seven races.

Briscoe’s Ford, on the other hand, has run well this year. He’s already notched a win in Phoenix and had a third-place showing in Daytona. His average finish comes in at just under 16th place. He’s made only three career starts here between both the Xfinity and Cup Series. His best finish was seventh place in the minor circuit.

Briscoe has had the advantage in this matchup in five out of the seven races already this season. - Villagomez

SEE ALSO: Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Prop Picks

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Top 5 Picks

Hamlin (+175 at BetMGM)

Hamlin has recorded only three top-fives in the last six Martinsville races, but he owns 16 career top-five finishes at this track in 32 starts. That ranks him second among active drivers and gives him a 50% top-five rate. He also leads all active drivers in total laps led here by more than 500.

Hamlin’s recent performances here have been marred by late-race incidents. However, those didn’t keep him from posting dominant driver ratings and leading tons of laps. Hamlin led 37.9% of the laps at Martinsville last season. He had only a single top-five to show for it, but he looked good enough to win both events.

Hamlin hasn’t won here since 2015. Martinsville’s winningest active driver should bring home his No. 11 Toyota Camry in no worse than fifth. - Sirois

Byron (+150 via DraftKings)

Of the three Hendrick drivers, Alex Bowman owns the best average finish of 12th place. Just over three spots behind him is Byron with a 15.9 average finish. The No. 24 car has had three top-five finishes already this season, including a win in Atlanta and third-place finish on last week’s short track in Richmond.

Last week, he was five laps short of winning his second race of the season, as Hamlin managed to pass him in the final moments and hold on for the win.

In his Cup career, Byron has eight career Cup Series starts in Martinsville. He has three top-five finishes in those starts. Two of those came in both outings here last season. - Villagomez

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Prop Picks

Ford winning team (+250 via DraftKings)

This line offers solid value to bettors willing to back Blaney, Joey Logano, and Kevin Harvick. Those three drivers have combined for only two Martinsville wins in their careers, but recent trends suggest Ford is a manufacturer to target at short tracks.

Individual Ford drivers led the most laps at both short-track events this season. They also combined to lead nearly 80% of the laps at Phoenix Raceway and 32.3% at Richmond Raceway. Chase Briscoe brought home the checkered flag at Phoenix, and though Blaney couldn’t get things done at Richmond last week, both he and Logano had cars good enough to win.

Ford’s odds sit at +210 on BetMGM. Let’s take the extra 40 points of value at DraftKings and hope for a Blue Oval to bring home the checkered flag on Saturday night. - Sirois

Joe Gibbs winning team (+170 via BetMGM)

The Gibbs Racing organization had itself a day in Richmond last Sunday. All four of its drivers finished inside the top 10. Its marque name, Hamlin, took home the checkered flag. Together, its drivers led 149 of the 400 laps. It was a big lift for a team that was off to a rough start.

It will look to carry that momentum to yet another track on which its drivers excel. Truex accounts for three of the last five wins on this track, Hamlin has five career victories at Martinsville, and even Kyle Busch has a pair of trips to victory lane.

With a win last week, the Gibbs cars may have found the spark they needed to pick up the pace for their season. Whether it’s Hamlin again or Truex, Busch, or even Christopher Bell, this bet covers enough ground to hit for a second time in as many weeks. - Villagomez

Where to Bet on the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400

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