Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400: Favorites and Values

Once again the track gets shorter as drivers navigate “the paperclip” in Martinsville. Martin Truex Jr. won the last spring race here. Here are our Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 picks.

NASCAR hits its second short track in as many weeks as it travels to Ridgeway, Virginia and Martinsville Speedway. Martin Truex Jr. made the trip to victory lane in this race last spring after battling Denny Hamlin during the final laps for the win. Alex Bowman won here last fall while also fighting Hamlin.

Truex Jr. is unsurprisingly listed as the favorite to win again this week following a solid outing in Richmond. His decision to stay on the track late in the race may have even cost him the victory.

Behind him are the regulars in Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney also enters this week tied for third on the list to win this race. Blaney has produced an average finish of just under 21st place over 12 career Cup Series starts here. However, he's logged two top-five finishes and four top 10s over the first seven races in 2022.

Here are my outright picks for NASCAR’s Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 at Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook and Caesars Sportsbook).

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Odds

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Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Odds Analysis

Truex Jr. sits as the favorite across all the books to win this race again. His best price is offered through both FanDuel and DraftKings at +550. He gets a 50-point dip down to +500 on BetMGM and is even as low at +450 on Caesars. 

Below him on FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM is Chase Elliott holding steady at +700 across the board. Caesars has posted Denny Hamlin in that spot at +600 to win back-to-back weeks.

Ross Chastain is another 2022 winner, and Ceasars interestingly lists him at +3000 to take the checkered flag. The other three books mentioned offer him in the +1600 and +2000 range.

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 Picks

Martin Truex Jr. (+550 via FanDuel)Denny Hamlin (+1000 via FanDuel)Alex Bowman (+1500 via Caesars)

Who Will Win the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400?

Truex Jr. (+550)

Truex Jr. will again visit a track where he's experienced recent success. His No. 19 Toyota has won three out of the last five races on this track. He's also finished in the top 10 during 11 of his last 14 outings at Martinsville. Overall he's logged 15 top-10 finishes at Martinsville, including nine in the top five.

He’s also led his fair share of laps at Martinsville, including 754 since fall 2019. That puts him among the top-three drivers in that category over the last three seasons.

Truex Jr. led 80 laps and looked as if he would win the Toyota Owners 400 this past week. Instead, his teammates on fresher tires caught him. Expect Truex Jr. and his team to learn from that mistake.

Hamlin (+1000)

Hamlin finally produced a good outing last week in Richmond. His No. 11 Camry wasn't the class of the field all day, but Hamlin and his crew made a pit call late in the race that turned out to be a winning one. He led only five laps last Sunday, but the only one that mattered was the last.

Hamlin moves on to another short track with the potential to win. He's taken home the checkered flag in Martinsville five times in his career. It’s been a while though since his 2015 win.

The veteran led 276 laps before finishing third during this race in 2021. He was in the lead with seven laps to go in the fall before colliding with Bowman, forcing Hamlin to settle for 24th.

He’s locked into the playoffs now, and his only goal is to win races. That makes him a solid bet this week.

Bowman (+1500)

The No. 48 car was victorious during the fall 2021 race. Bowman was locked in a battle with Hamlin for the lead with seven laps to go. Bowman tapped the No. 11 just enough to send Hamlin spinning. The Ally Chevrolet held on to the lead after the restart, and the rest is history.

His win was Bowman's best finish and the 28-year-old's first grandfather clock. It came after a disappointing 34th-place result in the Spring.

However, before that he enjoyed a pair of sixth-place finishes in 2020. His 12th-place average finish in 2022 is better than teammate and defending Cup champion Kyle Larson’s 19th-place average.

Bowman has already banked a win in 2022, and he's now trying to pile up the playoff points and more victories. He was denied the chance to properly celebrate after winning at Martinsville in 2021. Expect him to right that wrong this time out.

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

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel SportsbookCaesars SportsbookDraftKings SportsbookPointsBetBetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 picks made 4/6/2022 at 3:15 p.m. ET