The Cup Series will travel to Talladega this week for some Superspeedway racing. This will be the third race for the Cup Series on a Superspeedway track (Daytona and Atlanta were the other two). The Fords have had the advantage so far, but the chance for a big wreck at the end of the race does not guarantee that the Fords will finish up front. It should be fun to see how it all plays out this weekend. The GEICO 500 can be seen Sunday at 3 pm ET on FOX.
The One & Done continued to score well, but it could have been a lot better. Martin Truex Jr. rallied last week to a third-place finish. Denny Hamlin also had a good run when he finished fourth. Ryan Preece was the pick in games where you can only use a driver once. He won the pole, led every lap in Stage 1, but a speeding penalty coming out of the pits sent Preece to the back. He had a fast car and finished 15th. Not too bad.
ONE & DONE CONTESTS
This pick is for games where you can only use a driver once throughout the season.
ZANE SMITH will be my pick in games where you can only use a driver once. This is one of the only races of the season where a driver who typically finishes outside the top-25 has a good chance to finish in the top-10. We know there is going to be at least one and more likely a lot of wrecks at the end of the race. For that reason I will take a chance with Smith. He will be behind the wheel of the No. 38 car for Front Row Motorsports. I expect Smith to work with Michael McDowell and Todd Gilliland in the race. Smith started 17th and finished 13th in the Daytona 500. I will gladly take a top-15 finish from Smith Sunday.
ONE & DONE (REGULAR SEASON/PLAYOFF GAMES)
This pick is for games where you are allowed to use a driver once in the regular season (the first 26 races) and then you can use them again in the playoffs, if your team advances in the playoffs. We only need 26 drivers in these games so we can be a bit more aggressive with our picks. Here are my picks for games that reset at the end of the regular season…
ERIK JONES will be my pick in games where you can only use a driver once in the regular season and then the game resets for the playoffs. Jones has been one of the best drivers at Talladega. He has finished 6th, 6th, 9th, 27th, 2nd and 5th in his last six races at the track. That is the best average finishing position in the field over the last six races at Talladega. Jones also finished 8th at Atlanta last month. It does not matter where Jones qualifies for the race. He has a history of finishing up front and that is why I will play the No. 43 car Sunday.
ONE & DONE (USE A DRIVER MORE THAN ONCE)
I play in a game where I can use a driver three times throughout the season. I know some of you have told me you can use your drivers twice. We will only need 18 drivers in these games, so we do not need to dig too deep with our picks. Here is my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once….
BRAD KESELOWSKI will be my pick in games where you can use a driver more than once. The best driver this year on the Superspeedways has been Joey Logano. I already used the No. 22 car twice, so the next best driver has been Keselowski. He had the second-best Driver Rating and Keselowski led 42 laps at Daytona. He also had the second-best Driver Rating and led 47 laps at Atlanta. Keselowski has a series-high six wins at Talladega. I would not be surprised to see him in Victory Lane again this week.
Good luck Sunday!
Follow me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR
If you like Fantasy NASCAR, LIKE my Fantasy NASCAR Tips Page on Facebook