3 months agoDespite his fluky Gateway win, Austin Cindric is generally lackluster outside of drafting tracks and to a lesser extent road courses. Since he was well below the cutline and the Penske cars have been so fast on drafting tracks, Cindric likely knew that a win at Talladega would be his best shot at advancing to the Round of 8, especially after his dominant run at Atlanta, and he nearly delivered. He won Stage 2 and made a race-high eight passes for the lead. While alongside eventual winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Cindric's teammate Joey Logano bumped former No. 2 car driver Brad Keselowski into Cindric, triggering a massive 23-car wreck. That wreck essentially ensures Cindric won't advance to the Round of 8, but given his team's lack of speed, even making it this far was miraculous.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoAlthough Chase Briscoe isn't particularly noted as a great driver on drafting tracks, he tried his best and looked poised to have a good run at Talladega on Sunday. After finishing eighth in Stage 1, he emerged in the top 10 on Lap 133 and remained there until he and nearly all the other Fords were taken out in the Lap 185 Big One. Briscoe's only real hope of advancing to the Round of 8 was if other drivers crashed while he didn't. Since that didn't happen, Briscoe sits 32 points below the playoff cut line and is essentially eliminated, but he still certainly overachieved by making the playoffs to begin with when few fans expected him to.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. will start 24th for this week's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. This is the lowest starting position of Truex's cup career at the Alabama track since October 2015 while running for Furniture Row Racing. In 39 races at Talladega, Truex has 18 top-20 finishes, including both of his last two appearances at the site. Through 30 races this season, Truex has 18 top-20 finishes, including three inside the Top 15 at drafting tracks. Truex also captured positive Place Differential in two of the five Cup events at superspeedways so far this year. Considering his favorable upside and recent top-20 results at Talladega, Truex is a usable option for DFS lineups this week, with the capacity to place inside the Top 15.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. will start Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway from the 32nd position. This will be the fourth race in a row at the site where Stenhouse will start lower than 30th in his Cup career. In 22 starts at Talladega, Stenhouse has 14 top-20 finishes, including one win. The No. 47 Chevrolet driver also nabbed four finishes of 22nd or better and gathered positive Place Differential in each of the last four Cup events at the Alabama track. After 30 races in 2024, Stenhouse has 11 top-20 finishes, including three at races with the superspeedway rules package. Stenhouse also collected positive PD in all superspeedway races this season and has fantastic upside this week. With superspeedways being his best track type, Stenhouse is one of the best value options to consider rostering into lineups for Talladega.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoFor Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, 23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick will start 14th after qualifying. This continues a trend as it marks the fourth consecutive race at the site where Reddick will start outside of the Top 10. In nine starts at Talladega, Reddick has three top-10 finishes, including a victory as the track's most recent winner during the spring race earlier in the year. With 30 races completed this season, Reddick has two wins, 19 top-10 finishes (most of all drivers), and an average finish of 12.3, which is second-best of all drivers. At drafting tracks this year, Reddick has two top-10 finishes with positive Place Differential, including a finish of sixth at Atlanta, the most recent race using the superspeedway rules package. Although Reddick does not carry much upside, and his Talladega history is mixed, he still carries some merit as a DFS option due to his equipment and recent win at the site. Reddick is recommended as a tournament pick overall.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoLegacy Motor Club's John Hunter Nemechek will start 29th in this week's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, marking the lowest starting position of his career at the site of his Cup career to date. In three previous races at Talladega, Nemechek has two top-10 finishes with positive Place Differential, but he also led 20 laps during the spring race at the site this year before fading back to 33rd. In 30 races completed this year, Nemechek has six top-20 finishes, with two of them coming at drafting tracks. Nemechek's second-best finish of the season was his seventh-place run during the Daytona 500, and he also gathered positive PD in four of the five races at superspeedways this season. Considering his high upside and overall favorable history at Talladega, Nemechek is a driver who should not be ignored for lineups this week as a DFS bargain value.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoB.J. McLeod will start 38th during Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, which is the worst starting position ever for him during his Cup career at the Alabama track. In eight previous races at the site, McLeod has four top-30 finishes while scoring positive Place Differential in each of the last seven. This week marks McLeod's seventh start of the year on a part-time schedule, which includes three top-25 finishes across two teams. At drafting tracks, McLeod has four finishes with positive PD this season, including a finish of 19th, his best of the year during the summer Daytona race. Expect McLeod to ride around in the back for most of the race to avoid crashes, and with his incredibly high upside, he is worth consideration as a punt play who will provide cap flexibility for DFS lineups, especially in cash games
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoHendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson obtained a starting position of 12th for this week's race at Talladega Superspeedway, the YellaWood 500, marking the second consecutive race where Larson will start outside of the Top 10 at the site. In 19 starts at Talladega, Larson has three top-10 finishes, with his last one being earned during the April 2022 Cup event at the Alabama track. With 29 races completed so far this year, Larson has five wins (most of all drivers), 14 top-10 finishes, and leads all drivers with 1,550 laps led. At superspeedway races this season, Larson's best finish was 11th during the Daytona 500 and remains his only top-20 finish at the track type. Larson is typically not considered a top superspeedway racer and with low upside, he is not an ideal DFS recommendation, especially as he struggled with finishing well at drafting tracks throughout his entire Cup career.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoBrad Keselowski will start 13th in this week's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, marking the fifth race overall since 2022 where he will start outside of the Top 10 at the site. In 31 starts at Talladega, Keselowski has six wins leading all active drivers, 15 top-10 finishes, and 322 laps led, which is third-most of all drivers in the field this week. The No. 6 Ford driver also led in each of the last three Talladega races and collected two top-5 finishes in that span. In 30 races so far through 2024, Keselowski has one win and 12 top-10 finishes, including the summer Daytona race and the spring race at Talladega. Since 2023, Keselowski has led multiple laps in all races involving the superspeedway rules package, except for the second race at Atlanta this season. Based on equipment, track history, and Keselowski's upside compared to most in this price range, he is a top recommendation for DFS, who could compete for the win.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoCup Series rookie Carson Hocevar qualified 37th for this week's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. This marks the third consecutive race at Talladega, where Hocevar will start 35th or worse in his career. In two starts at the site in the Cup Series, Hocevar collected positive PD twice, and his best finish was 17th, which he obtained earlier in the season. With 30 races completed this year, Hocevar has 19 top-20 finishes, including four of the five races that use the superspeedway rules package. Hocevar has high potential in order to surprise the field this week with a solid finish and based on his finishes this year so far, he should be highly considered for all DFS formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoFor Sunday's YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Denny Hamlin will start the race from the eighth position. This is the first time Hamlin will start inside the Top 10 in a race at Talladega since April 2023. In 37 races at the Alabama track, Hamlin has two wins and 16 top-10 finishes, including each of the last eight October races. With 30 races completed in 2024, Hamlin has three wins and 14 top-10 finishes, although none of them have come on superspeedway events. The No. 11 Toyota driver also failed to lead a single lap in each of the last two cup events at drafting tracks. Hamlin's low upside and failure to place in the Top 10 at superspeedway tracks are a cause for concern and make it harder to recommend him as a DFS play this week. However, Hamlin's overall track history is still quite favorable, especially in the October Talladega races, making him one to consider for tournament games only this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
3 months agoDespite never being a very successful driver in NASCAR, J.J. Yeley has had a surprisingly long career in the NASCAR Cup Series and it has continued this year with the underfunded and wildly off the pace New York Racing Team. How far off the pace? He qualified 40th and last for today's Talladega race and was 2.7 mph slower than the next-slowest driver Zane Smith, equivalent to the gap in speed between polesitter Michael McDowell and 27th-place Ross Chastain. Although sometimes backmarkers are worth considering for top ten finishes at drafting tracks particularly given the tendency for these races to devolve into wreckfests, it's inadvisable to do so here both because he is way too far off the pace and because fewer cars have crashed at Talladega than at Daytona and Atlanta in recent years.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoDaniel Suarez was pretty lucky to advance to the playoffs while his teammate Ross Chastain didn't even though Chastain has arguably outrun Suarez even worse this year than in 2022 and 2023, so it shouldn't be surprising that Suarez now sits 14 points below the cutline and is unlikely to advance to the Round of 8. It doesn't help that he only starts 31st at Talladega today. Although he did win at Atlanta early this season and scored enough points at the second Atlanta race to barely advance to the Round of 12, he is nowhere near as strong at Talladega. While he did lead 28 laps in the spring Talladega race in 2022, that was the only time he significantly contended and Trackhouse Racing has had much less speed this year than in 2022. Expect Suarez to have a slightly above midpack run and remain below the cutline.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoZane Smith has definitely had a significant uptick in performance in the second half of 2024, particularly as he sees tracks a second time, although this is overstated to some extent as he is usually finishing better than he is running of late and that is not necessarily sustainable. However, all three Spire cars were dreadfully slow in qualifying and Smith ranked only 39th between B.J. McLeod and J.J. Yeley's backmarker operations and except for Corey LaJoie in the Daytona 500, it hasn't seemed like Spire has had much speed at these tracks at all. While Carson Hocevar has gotten finishes despite lacking speed by dodging crashes, it will likely be harder to do so in this race since Talladega has tended to have fewer crashes lately, so Smith will probably run poorly.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoRyan Preece qualified 18th for what might be his last NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega. Although he is in a Ford and the Fords have had a significant speed advantage, the Stewart-Haas Fords have been nowhere near as fast as the Penske-affiliated Fords and it seems likely the team will be focused on trying to help Chase Briscoe advance to the Round of 8 and Preece will likely fall by the wayside. Preece's finishing record at Talladega actually isn't bad as his average finish of 16.4 is better than you'd expect, but that is more because he didn't crash than because he ran well, and he seemed to run somewhat better with JTG-Daugherty Racing in the Gen-6 car than he has lately. Although he did clear his season goose-egg and finally lead at the last drafting race at Atlanta, he's probably too slow to contend even at Talladega.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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