5 days agoCarson Hocevar starts way back in 35th for his first Talladega race as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver, but he did start the second Talladega race last year in the Legacy Motor Club No. 42 car. In that race, he crashed after never really significantly factoring. In his Craftsman Truck Series starts at Talladega, he did a little better. Although he crashed in all three of those races, he still finished two of them and led 17 laps, including impressively leading for 12 laps after he crashed in the 2022 truck race. Hocevar is still very young and inexperienced and this is not his best track type, but he has generally outperformed Corey LaJoie this year and LaJoie has led drafting races before including battling for the win at Atlanta in 2022, so don't be shocked if Hocevar contends. He makes a very safe DFS play because of his deep starting position.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
5 days agoShane van Gisbergen makes his NASCAR Cup Series debut on a drafting track today at Talladega, but he's already shown something of a proclivity in drafting in his Xfinity Series starts, finishing 3rd at Atlanta and running in the top five for large portions of this weekend's Xfinity race, including passing Sammy Smith for the lead before running out of fuel and not getting the finish he deserved. While he'll obviously face more competition in the Cup race and the Kaulig cars usually aren't as strong in Cup races as they are in Xfinity races, the NextGen cars are more similar to the Supercars that SVG previously raced. His 17th-place qualifying run for the GEICO 500 is actually better than his qualifying run for the Xfinity race. When considering his teammate A.J. Allmendinger has led the last three Daytona races on track in that car, SVG might do better than you expect.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
5 days agoRoss Chastain qualified 32nd for this weekend's GEICO 500 at Talladega, but starting positions don't really matter here as long as you miss the wrecks. Chastain has been a solid performer on drafting tracks as he has made an on-track pass for the lead in eight of the fourteen NextGen drafting races to date including a win at this race two years ago, but he isn't likely one of the favorites either as this isn't his best track type. His only win at Talladega was rather lucky as he took over the lead almost by accident when Erik Jones's drafting help crashed behind him and this year his teammate Daniel Suárez has essentially matched him if not bettered him in performance on the drafting tracks in what has not been a good year for him other than his win. Chastain's odds of winning are probably less than you think, but he makes a strong DFS play.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
5 days agoMartin Truex Jr., who currently sits second in the NASCAR playoff standings, will start sixth in Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Heading into a weekend with so much uncertainty given the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing, Truex is perhaps the biggest question mark on the slate. Although
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5 days agoFresh off a second-place finish at Texas, Brad Keselowski will start 22nd in Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite being a former series champion, a perennial title contender, and a future hall of famer, Brad Keselowski has not won since the 2021 Talladega spring race, a drought that has now reached 107 races. While 107 races is a long time, the RFK Racing driver-owner has remained relevant and competitive, earning 39 top-10s, including four second-place finishes. Interestingly, aside from last week's race at Texas, Keselowski's other three second-place finishes over this drought occurred at Atlanta, Daytona, and Talladega, NASCAR's three restrictor plate tracks. With six wins and 14 top-10s in 30 Cup starts at this track, as a driver that is competitive on superspeedways, and given that he has finished in the top-five in 33% of his starts this season, the No. 6 looks like a solid play this weekend in DFS.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Racing-Reference.info
5 days agoOn Saturday afternoon, Erik Jones qualified 28th for Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. On a slate with so much uncertainty, Jones looks to be one of the more reliable plays heading into the weekend. In his four starts in the Next Gen car at Talladega, the Legacy Motor Club star has finished in sixth place three times , has two appearances in the DraftKings optimal lineup, and is averaging 45.79 DraftKings points, which is the third-highest average among full-time drivers in the series. It is also worth noting that while 2024 is not off to a hot start for the 27-year-old, his one top-10 finish this season came at Daytona, NASCAR's other true superspeedway. Because racing on this style of track is so unpredictable, there are no true "core" plays this weekend as you do not want to go overweight on any driver. Having said this, given his past performances on this track, Erik Jones is a driver that you will want to be deliberate about targeting when building your DFS lineups on Sunday.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Racing-Reference.info
5 days agoDaniel Hemric will start 19th in Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite 2024 being a largely disappointing season for Hemric, he did have a solid fantasy performance last weekend at Texas. After starting 38th, the 33-year-old ended the day with a 20th-place finish, earning 41 DraftKings points
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5 days agoNoah Gragson qualified 36th for Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in what will be just his fourth Cup start at the famed track. While his three previous Cup starts here have been largely disappointing, averaging 23.7 for his finishing position, his Xfinity results are much more impressive.
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5 days agoTy Gibbs will start P15 in Sunday's Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Since starting out the season with an impressive five top-10 finishes in the first six races, Gibbs has finished 13th or worse over the last three weeks. Since we know a driver the caliber of Gibbs
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5 days agoOn Saturday afternoon, Austin Dillon qualified fifth for the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. Because of his two Cup wins and his nine top 10 finishes at Daytona, Dillon has earned a reputation for being a solid restrictor plate racer. Despite his impressive performances at The World Center
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6 days agoDon't be afraid to roll the dice with Alex Bowman in your DFS contests this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has posted top-10 finishes in four of his last eleven starts at this track along with 13th- and 14th-place finishes during that same span. He will roll off the grid from 12th in this weekend's GEICO 500, so there is some place differential upside for Bowman in this weekend's race, which is what you should be targeting with your DraftKings lineups. Priced at $7,800 for this slate, Bowman is by no means a core driver pick at Talladega, but he can be sprinkled in for large-field tournaments. Remember, Bowman finished second in this year's Daytona 500, another superspeedway race.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
6 days agoLook for Chris Buescher to potentially be a factor in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. He ended up with a third-place result in this race last season and has finished sixth or better in three of the last eight races at this track. Additionally, Buescher's No. 17 Ford has been strong at superspeedways overall, as he has the fifth-best average running position at Daytona and Talladega since the start of the 2023 season. With a starting position of eighth this weekend, Buescher becomes a relatively risky DFS pick, and his $8,500 salary on DraftKings will likely keep his ownership level low as well. Use Buescher sparingly in your lineups this weekend, but don't avoid him entirely.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
6 days agoLast week's NASCAR Cup Series race winner, Chase Elliott, is looking to go back-to-back this weekend in the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway--and it wouldn't be surprising if NASCAR's most popular driver pulled it off. Chase is a two-time winner at Talladega (2019 and 2022) and has finished seventh or better in three of the four races there over the last two seasons. His career average driver rating of 90.6 is second-best to only Ryan Blaney when it comes to Talladega specifically, and when you look at both Daytona and Talladega (the two big superspeedways on the schedule), Elliott has the sixth-best average running position on them since the start of the 2023 season. This weekend, Chase qualified ninth for the GEICO 500 race, making him a relatively risky DFS option due to his limited place differential potential. However, if he can pull off a third win at Talladega, he will most likely make it into the optimal DraftKings lineup, so he shouldn't be avoided by any means.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
6 days agoSportsbooks have pegged Ryan Blaney as one of the favorites to win the GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend, and for good reason: last year's Cup Series Champion has finished first or second in each of the last three races at this track and has led a total of 283 laps in his career there--which is the fourth-most among active drivers. Specifically at Daytona and Talladega--the two big superspeedways on the schedule--Blaney has the third-best average running position since the start of 2023 and the second-most laps led. This weekend, he qualified back in 21st for the GEICO 500, which gives Blaney solid place differential potential in DFS contests. At $11,000 on DraftKings, he is an expensive option, but the scoring upside is huge. Don't be afraid to roster Ryan Blaney this weekend--although keep in mind that he's likely to be one of the most popular picks on the slate.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
6 days agoChase Briscoe believes that his No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing team is further ahead and they've ever been, and the results point to that being true. Coming off the worst season of his career in 2023, Briscoe currently sits 12th in the points standings with an average finish of
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