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Sean Engel's NASCAR Cup Series DFS picks for the Jack Link's 500. Check out his DFS sleepers and top plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for the Jack Link's 500 (2025).
NASCAR returns to action for the Cup Series for the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway after taking their only weekend off for the 2025 season last week. Talladega is a 2.66-mile Tri-oval course known for being one of the largest tracks on the Cup Series schedule. It is also known for pack racing and drafting, which allows drivers, regardless of equipment level, to keep up with the rest of the field. As a result, this is a track where almost every driver has a legitimate chance to compete for the win as long as they can survive to the end.
Races at Talladega are also known for large-scale wrecks, sometimes nicknamed "The Big One." These crashes can change the outcome of an entire DFS slate in a matter of seconds for better or worse. With how the salaries are sorted out for DFS contests this week and drafting making every team potentially compete for the win, unlike most tracks, there are plenty of available strategies for DFS construction this week.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Jack Link's 500 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 4/27/2025 at 3:18 p.m. EST. If you have further questions or want to discuss racing, you can find me on X at @SeanE247.
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Once you've read this article, be sure also to check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles to help you set your optimal DFS lineups. You should also check out our NASCAR DFS lineup tools for the ultimate combination of DFS resources to help you win big, including our Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheet, Research Station, and more.
Disclaimer: All the drivers presented as picks for this week's race are meant to be some of my top DFS recommendations of the week. They are not originally intended to fit all into one lineup.
William Byron
Starts 16th - DK: $10K, FD: $11K
Talladega has seen nine different winners in each of the last nine Cup races, which is the track's longest streak in Cup Series history. One of the names who is surprisingly not on that list of winners is William Byron. Considering how well he ran in the past few years at the site and is highly successful at drafting tracks, one would think Byron would have a Talladega win by now. Byron also has multiple wins at the closest comparable track to Talladega, Daytona, including the first race at the event, the Daytona 500, earlier this year.
In 14 races at Talladega, Byron has six top-10 finishes and an average finish of 14.4, which ranks second-best of all drivers in the field this week. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver is also the only one to have placed in the top 20 in the last six Cup events at the site. He is also tied for the most top-10 finishes in that span with four.
Back-to-back Daytona 500 champ, William Byron is the only driver in the series who has four straight top tens at Talladega, with his average finish being 5.0 since 2023.
Series best 7.7 average finish in the Next Gen at Talladega.
— Ryan (@ifantasyrace) April 26, 2025
Byron's team, Hendrick Motorsports, generally brings some of the fastest cars in the field for superspeedway events. Byron also has some solid upside from his starting position, which is crucial to consider for DFS lineups at Talladega. Consider Byron as one of the better top-priced options for this week's race.
Chase Elliott
Starts 30th - DK: $9K, FD: $11.5K
The teammate of Byron, Chase Elliott, is a driver that fantasy players should be sure to consider for all DFS formats this week.
"CRAZINESS": @chaseelliott on the thrill of NASCAR’s return to Talladega — this Sunday on FOX. pic.twitter.com/AmuYJWsAYC
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) April 24, 2025
In 18 total starts at Talladega, Elliott has two wins, eight top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.6, which ranks sixth among all drivers in the field this week. Elliott also placed in the top 15 in five of the six Cup events at Talladega since 2022. He also led laps in the last five Cup races at the site.
After nine races so far this season, Elliott has an average finish of 11.6, gained positive PD a total of five times, and has five top-10 finishes, which were all scored in the last seven Cup races this year. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver is the only one to place in the top 20 in all Cup races this season as well.
Elliott will likely carry heavy rostership on Sunday due to his massive upside from his starting position, but it's too great to ignore and makes him worthy of consideration for DFS on top of his favorable history at Talladega.
Alex Bowman
Starts 18th - DK: $7.9K, FD: $7.8K
With Alex Bowman being mentioned now, is it crazy to mention a third consecutive Hendrick driver in this article? Regardless of opinion, it is no coincidence that all four of the team's drivers bring different, compelling cases for rostering in DFS this week. Yes, even Kyle Larson (DK: $9,500 | FD: $10,000), who notoriously has a history of struggling at this type of track, can pay off for DFS this week with where he's starting. It may not be a bad idea to consider stacking all four of the HMS drivers into one lineup.
As for Bowman, his overall history at Talladega has been mixed, with only five top-10 finishes and two inside the top five in 18 starts, However, since the Next-Gen car's introduction in 2022, Bowman has been a productive DFS performer as he scored positive PD and finished 16th or better in four of the last five Cup events at Talladega.
Austin Hill has:
A birthday before the Talladega race weekend
A win at Talladega
Alex Bowman has:
A birthday before the Talladega race weekend
Does this mean… pic.twitter.com/Pei1Kjdcuj— Blistering Bowman (@the_48_fan) April 27, 2025
Bowman may not offer as much upside as some other drivers, but he still has solid upside with equipment capable of placing in the top 10. This makes him a great candidate for all DFS lineup types, but especially for tournaments, especially as he will probably carry the lowest rostership of all four Hendrick drivers this week.
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Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Starts 35th - DK: $7.5K, FD: $6.8K
In case it was not clear by this point, finding success for DFS at Talladega will almost certainly involve capitalizing on PD upside. This means that picking one (or usually multiple) drivers who start in the 20s or 30s will be essential to have a lineup score towards the top of a contest.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s full answer on why he thinks fuel saving is going to just be part of the game at Daytona/Talladega moving forward and how its origins lie in when everyone would ride around the top single-file
Stenhouse said he actually doesn't mind it considering the top… https://t.co/szVFAdKqCh pic.twitter.com/9ENu94rjuN
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) April 27, 2025
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. starts towards the very back of the field this week, but has some of the highest upside of all for Talladega. It also is far from the first time this week for Stenhouse to start in the 30s, but go on to score a quality finish while nabbing a high number of PD. In each of the last four Talladega races, Stenhouse started in the 30s every time, but went on to finish 15th, 22nd, fourth, and secure a victory in the most recent race at the site.
Stenhouse will start 35th for Sunday's race and has finished better than that position in the last eight Talladega races. He also only scored a DNF once in that span, despite his reputation for crashing out of races. Also, Stenhouse has not scored a single DNF this season so far and finished 25th or higher in every race.
Stenhouse is worth it. Roster him in all formats without a second thought.
Erik Jones
Starts 34th - DK: $6.4K, FD: $5K
One of the more underrated drivers at drafting tracks historically has been Erik Jones. In 16 starts at Talladega in the Cup Series, Jones has nine top-20 finishes, with eight of them being inside the top 10. In the last six races at Talladega, Jones has an average finish of 14.0 with four top-10 finishes, which is tied for the most with Byron.
Erik Jones stats at Talladega:
-16 starts
-AVG start: 20th (Best: 6th April 2018)
-AVG finish: 18th (Best: 2nd, October 2020)
-0 wins, 0 pole, 3 top 5s, 8 top 10s, 80 laps led. pic.twitter.com/AQoxxQtfck— Did Erik Jones Win (@diderikwin) April 26, 2025
Earlier this year, Jones placed 12th in this year's Daytona 500. What most might not remember, however, was that earlier in that week, he nearly won the Daytona Duel race by inches to Austin Cindric. It may have been an exhibition race, but it proves his proficiency at this style of racing.
Jones has plenty of upside from his starting position and has a low salary that makes him easy to add to rosters this week. The No. 43 Toyota driver is worth playing in all formats for this week.
Anthony Alfredo
Starts 31st - DK: $5.3K, FD: $3.2K
Xfinity Series regular Anthony Alfredo will be back in the Cup Series for this week's race at Talladega. He will be driving the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports, a team that typically participates in events at drafting tracks and notably has a technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing. RCR has been one of the fastest teams at drafting tracks, and both of their cars qualified inside the top five this week.
Alfredo's last two starts at Talladega were with Beard back in 2024. In both races, he finished 24th or higher and collected positive PD both times. Alfredo also made two Talladega Cup starts back in 2021 with Front Row Motorsports, where he placed in the top 10 at both races. This means he has obtained positive PD in all of his Cup starts at Talladega so far and never finished lower than 24th.
Great p6 finish today. Get another shot in the big show tomorrow! All the glory be to God 🙏 pic.twitter.com/qp3qFKR0ho
— Anthony Alfredo (@anthonyalfredo) April 27, 2025
Considering his high upside, the equipment, and overall history of finishes at Talladega, Alfredo is well worth rostering in all formats, especially since there are very few drivers who are cheaper than him for this week's race.
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