Talladega Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Joey Logano – Joey Logano is an elite performer at Talladega who’ll be tough to beat. He’s a three-time winner who’s finished in the top five in 5 of the last 7 races. In the two races he finished outside of the top five, he wrecked. Last fall at Talladega, Logano had a strong showing. He finished 5th, finished 5th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. Last spring, Logano had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. In the race he earned the best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and led 70 laps. Additionally, he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and 2nd in Stage #2. In fall 2017, Logano had a strong showing and finished 4th despite being involved in a wreck that damaged his car. Additionally, he earned the best driver rating and led a race high 59 laps. In spring 2017, he ran well but finished a misleading 32nd after getting collected in the late “Big One.” Two laps prior to the “Big One” with 22 laps to go he was running in 5th. In fall 2016, Logano had a great car and raced his way to victory lane after leading the final 45 laps.

[themify_box]Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our full exclusive week to weekend content. Join Now![/themify_box]

Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin is one of the premiere Super Speedway racers in NASCAR and at Talladega he’s a driver who you should strongly consider. When he brings his “A Game” on this track type he’s one of the best in the business. Earlier this year at Daytona he led 30 laps and raced his way to victory lane. At Talladega, Hamlin is a former winner and over the last five races he has the 2nd best average finish (7.6), the 3rd best driver rating and the 5th best average running position (11.0). Last fall at Talladega, Hamlin had a strong showing and finished 4th. Additionally, he finished 8th in Stage #1 and 5th in Stage #2. Last spring, he had a solid showing despite being involved in the “Big One” with 23 laps to go, getting a speeding penalty, and also getting a penalty while serving his penalty. When the checkered flag waved he earned the 8th best driver rating, had a 12th place average running position and finished 14th. In fall 2017, Hamlin had a strong showing. He finished 6th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had an 11th place average running position. At the end he worked with Ryan Newman and raced his way to the front, but Keselowski reeled them in and passed them for the win. In spring 2017, he finished 11th, earned the 9th best driver rating and led 43 laps. In fall 2016, Hamlin had a very strong showing and was a consistent front runner. He earned the 2nd best driver rating, finished 3rd, had a 3rd place average running position and led 12 laps.

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski is an elite performer at Talladega who’ll likely be the man to beat. He knows how to race his way to the front, and once he gets there he’s hard to get around. At Talladega, he’s a five-time winner who’s finished in the top five 35% percent of the time and in the top ten 55% percent of the time. Last fall he had a great car, but had nothing for the Stewart-Haas Racing entries. If the race would’ve stayed green at the end he would’ve likely in the top seven. Unfortunately, a late caution came out and as the race was going back to green he had to come to pit road for fuel which led to his 27th place finish. With 6 laps to go before the final caution came out he was running in 8th. In the race he led 21 laps, had a 12th place average running position, earned the 11th best driver rating and finished 10th in Stage #2. Last spring he had a great car, but finished 33rd after getting collected in a wreck with 23 laps to go. From the race it should be noted he won Stage #1, finished just outside the top ten in Stage #2 and led 21 laps. In Stage #2 on lap 68 he was caught speeding on pit road under green. In fall 2017, he had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. In the race he won Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2 and led 7 laps. In spring 2017, Keselowski had a strong showing. He finished 7th, earned the 2nd best driver rating, won Stage #1 and led 31 laps. In fall 2016 his car was exceptionally strong and if he didn’t have an engine failure while leading he was going to be the driver beat. Prior to his engine failure he led 90 laps. In spring 2016 he had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. In addition to finishing first he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps (46) and had a 5th place average running position.

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

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier