NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: YellaWood 500 at Talladega

 
Ross Chastain played spoiler last week in an exciting race that had both Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch fans believing that their driver would finally make it to Victory Lane this season. Chastain became the 17th different winner in this unpredictable NASCAR Cup Series season. It was Chastain's first win of the season and his first at Kansas Speedway. He does have a win at Talladega, but I don't think he'll go back to back.

This Week's Pick Strategy:  The drafting tracks can wreak havoc to fantasy rosters. However, there are a handful of drivers who have a knack for this style of racing, and who either push well, or can read the energy of a run, and know instinctively when to bail before the Big One.

I will pick heavy on these aggressive, smart drivers and make my final picks based on those who start up front, and sprinkle in a couple spoiler possibilities like say Todd Gilliland. I will also weight heavy on Chevy and Fords as Toyotas don't run well at Talladega.

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race
Denny Hamlin - 5
Chase Elliott - 4
Both with 3 - Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones 
All with 2 - Austin Cindric, Ty Dillon, Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, William Byron, Corey LaJoie, and Daniel Suarez

By Track
All with 6 - Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and Erik Jones
Both with 4 - William Byron and Michael McDowell
All with 3 - Brad Keselowski, Ryan Preece, Austin Dillon, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, and Daniel Suarez

Last Year's Pole Winner: Aric Almirola
 
Last Year's Race Winner: Ryan Blaney
 
The Likely Suspects: My Talladega go-tos include Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones, Michael McDowell, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, and Corey LaJoie.
 
My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Ryan Blaney and Chase Elliott. My next picks are Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, and Michael McDowell. I will complete my team with Corey LaJoie and Todd Gilliland.

My Final Four: Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, and Todd Gilliland.

Second-Look Driver: My sleeper pick this week is Ryan Preece. In his 10 starts at Talladega, Preece earned two Top 5s, four Top 10s, and led 22 laps, for an average finish of 15.2. In last year's race, Prrece started in 19th, finished in eighth and led eight laps. Rumor has it that RFK Racing is actively courting Kroger as a sponsor, and will be adding a third car in their stable in 2025. And guess who that ride may go to? Yup. Ryan Preece. Now wouldn't another good run (or win) at Talladega look great on his resume?! Stay tuned.
 
Points to Ponder:
  • The outside front row (second starting position) is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Talladega Superspeedway in the NASCAR Cup Series.
  • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Talladega Superspeedway with 14 victories, followed by Richard Childress Racing with 13, and Team Penske with 10.
  • 10 of the 52 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Talladega Superspeedway are active this weekend. They are Brad Keselowski with 6; Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano each with 3; Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin with two each; and Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. with one each.
  • Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Talladega Superspeedway with 13 poles, followed by the Wood Brothers with six, and Richard Childress with five. 
  • Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Kyle Busch lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with two runner-up finishes at Talladega Superspeedway each.
  • Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Joey Logano lead all active Cup Series drivers in Top 5s at Talladega with 10 each.
  •  Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in top 10s at Talladega with 16.
  • Anthony Alfredo (3 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Talladega with a 9.333, followed by Todd Gilliland (5 starts) with 12.800.
  • Since the introduction of the Next Gen car in 2022, the top three in average finish at Talladega (five races) is Ryan Blaney (7.2), Chase Elliott (8.4), William Byron (8.2), Todd Gilliland (12.8) and Alex Bowman (13.2, four races).
  • Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in laps led at Talladega with 490 in 31 starts.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 5th final picks by 2 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, October 6th.
 
Enjoy the race!
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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 17 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.


 
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: YellaWood 500 at Talladega NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: YellaWood 500 at Talladega Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Saturday, October 05, 2024 Rating: 5