The NASCAR Cup Series will travel back to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the second race in the Round of 8. We only have three races left in the regular season and time is running out to extend the streak of 12 consecutive seasons of outscoring 99% of the entries. The picks are currently outscoring 98.4% and we are going to need a lot of luck Sunday to get that number to go up. Grab your rabbits foot, get out your lucky horseshoe and blow on the dice, because we need our luck to turn around at the YellaWood 500 Sunday.
PRACTICE SPEEDS FOR TALLADEGA
NASCAR no longer gives the teams time to shake down their cars for the races on the Superspeedways. The drivers lined up for qualifying to set the field for the YellaWood 500 Sunday. Nothing has changed since I posted the race preview article on Tuesday, so the picks will be nearly the same.
STRATEGY FOR TALLADEGA
This is the most unpredictable race on the schedule. We can try to predict which drivers will finish up front Sunday, but I am simply going to trust the numbers this week. I am using the drivers with the best average finishing position in the Gen-7 car era at Talladega and the drivers with the best average finishing position in the five Superspeedway races (Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta) this year. The drivers who rank the highest in both stat categories get a spot in my lineup. This means I will have some drivers who our competition will not have in their lineups. We cannot climb to the top of our league standings by using the same drivers as everyone else, so we need to take a chance with a few long shots Sunday.
FANTASY LIVE LINEUP FOR TALLADEGA
WILLIAM BYRON (3): Byron had a good chance to win last week in Las Vegas, but the decision by Ty Dillon to slam on the brakes in front of the No. 24 car took Byron out of the race. Now he sits 15 Points below the cutoff for the Championship Four. The good news for Byron is that he is the best driver in the field at Talladega. He finished 3rd, 3rd, 7th and 2nd in his last four races at this track. He also won the last two Daytona 500 races. Byron should be the best pick in Fantasy Live Sunday at Talladega.
CHASE ELLIOTT (2): The race Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway is nearly a home race for Elliott. He won the playoff race at Talladega Superspeedway in 2022. Elliott sits 23 Points below the cut-line for the championship four, so he may need to win again Sunday. Elliott finished 5th at Talladega in April. He should have a good chance to finish in the top-five again Sunday.
ALEX BOWMAN (5): Bowman has been one of the most reliable drivers for your Fantasy Live lineups on the Superspeedway tracks. Bowman has the third-best average finishing position at Talladega in the Gen-7 car era (just behind William Byron and Chase Elliott). His average finishing position over the last two seasons at Talladega Superspeedway is 9th. Bowman finished half of the Superspeedway races this season in the top-seven. He should be a safe pick for your Fantasy Live lineup Sunday.
RYAN BLANEY (2): Blaney blew a tire and hit the wall last week in Las Vegas. Now he sits 31 Points below the cut-line for the championship four. Blaney will still try to score some Stage Points Sunday, but he is nearly in a most win situation. Blaney has six wins on the Superspeedway tracks on his resume, so he has the talent to win this weekend. Blaney finished three of his last six races at Talladega in the top-two. He is just too good to fade at this track.
RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (5): It is typically “checkers or wreckers” for Stenhouse at Talladega Superspeedway, but he has been more consistent lately. Stenhouse won this race last year and he finished 12th at Talladega in April. Most of the drivers in the field do not have anything to race for Sunday. I am not worried able Stenhouse taking the day off. He knows that the races at Talladega are his best chance to win. Stenhouse will be a threat to win the YellaWood 500.
(GARAGE PICK) ERIK JONES (5): I do not think Jones will be in many lineups this week, so he could be our ticket to the top of our league standings. Jones has been one of the most consistent drivers at finishing up front at Talladega Superspeedway. He has finished five of his last eight races at this track in the top-10. That includes a fifth-place finish in the YellaWood 500 last year. Jones finished 5th in the last two Superspeedway races (Daytona in August and Atlanta in June). He is a safe pick for Garage Sunday. .
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.