Talladega Geico 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Jamie McMurray – If you feel like rolling the dice you should consider Jamie McMurray. At Talladega he’s a two-time champion but he’s proven himself to be a high risk / high reward driver. Since October 2008 he has three top tens and those are finishes of 1st, 1st and 2nd. He has two other quality results over this stretch and those are both results of 11th. In the other 10 races over this stretch he has a 32nd place average finish. Last fall at Talladega he looked like a top five contender but his engine blew up with 5 laps to go. That caused him to finish 39th. In spring 2015 he had a quality showing. He was able to drive up towards the front when he wanted to and ran as high as second. At the end of the race it looked like he would finish around 20th but he benefited from the last lap carnage. When the checkered flag waved he finished 11th and earned the 11th best driver rating. 2014 was a brutal Talladega year for him. In fall 2014 he had an oil leak, a cut tire and spun. He just some damage from the spin that his team didn’t fix correctly the first time and it led to him pitting again. When that race reached its conclusion he finished 35th. In October 2013 Jamie McMurray got his first Talladega win. (Yahoo B Driver / DraftKings – $7,900)

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Kasey Kahne – Talladega hasn’t been a friendly track to Kasey Kahne. In fact, a solid case could be made it’s his worst venue. There’s 23 tracks on the schedule and this is home to his worst average finish (21.5). Over the last six Talladega races Kahne has three finishes of 34th or worse. One recent strength of Kahne’s at Talladega is his qualifying prowess. In 2015 he started in 2nd both races. Last fall at Talladega Kahne ran well but finished 19th. He had solid top ten potential but was caught up in the late carnage. In addition to finishing 19th Kahne earned the 5th best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position and led 18 laps. Kahne looked like he had potential last spring. He started in 2nd and through the first 46 laps I would estimate he had about a 6th place average running position. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 47 while he was running around 10th he got caught up in the “Trevor Bayne Big One”. That caused him to finish 30 laps down in 34th. In 2014 he had a good year at Talladega. In fall 2014 he ran up front nearly all race long and when the checkered flag waved he finished 12th. Also in that event he earned the 4th best driver rating, had a 10th place average running position and led 12 laps. In spring 2014 he survived the carnage and came home with an 8th place finish. (Yahoo B Driver / DraftKings – $8,000)

Further Recommended Reading – Talladega Top Tier Elite Picks, Talladega Front Runner Rankings, Talladega Scouting Report, Talladega Fall 2015 DraftKings Points, Talladega Loop Data Box Score

Greg Biffle – Greg Biffle isn’t a bad option at Talladega, but he’s been a little down on his luck lately. In four of the last six races he’s finished 20th worse. Prior to that stretch he had success here. Between 2012 and 2009 he finished in the top 19 every race and had a series best 9.9 average finish. Last fall he ran a “desperate man’s” race and was out of sync with the field when he attempted to win on fuel mileage. In the race he led 18 laps and finished 20th. In spring 2015 he really didn’t get to show his hand because he was a victim of the “Trevor Bayne Big One” on lap 47. At the time of the wreck he was running in the low teens. When the checkered flag waved he finished 37th. In fall 2014 he was on pace to have a solid race and potentially finish in the top ten but the end of the race didn’t play out favorably for him. He was burned by Larson’s late spin caution and then was caught up in the “Big One” during the first Green-White-Checker. In spring 2014 he had a strong car. He finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 10th place average running position and led the most laps (58). Over the final 48 laps about the lowest he got in the running order was around 5th. In fall 2013 at Talladega Biffle had a solid afternoon. He started 6th, finished 11th and had a 13th place average running position. (Yahoo B Driver / DraftKings – $6,600)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our 2016 Talladega Geico 500 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

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