Talladega Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Driver Breakdowns
On Sunday, NASCAR will be rolling into Talladega for what promises to be the one true wildcard race of the 2021 Playoffs. NASCAR will try to brand every race as a “Wild Card”, but nothing stacks up to this 2.66 mile beast where drivers can get wiped out while leading, or running near the back. Over the last three Talladega races there’s been a last lap pass for the win!
In terms of variables I want in a fantasy pick at Talladega I want …
- Drivers who have a good recent track record
- Drivers who’ve been good overall at superspeedways
- A driver starting relatively near the front (Talladega Starting Lineup). 4 of the last 5 Talladega races have been won from a driver starting between 9th to 12th. Over the last 14 races the lowest a winner has started was 16th.
Talladega Fantasy NASCAR Rankings!
1) Denny Hamlin (Starting – 1st)
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is the premiere superspeedway racer in NASCAR and at Talladega where his only goal is to win, you know he’ll be tough to beat. Hamlin’s also the defending fall Talladega winner and in 4 of the last 6 races at this “Wild Card” track he’s finished in the top 4. Since 2020 at superspeedways minus this spring at Talladega where he subjectively had the best car but had a ton of problems, Hamlin has 2 wins, a 4.7 average finish, he’s had a result in the top 14 every race and he’s averaged leading 39.5 laps per race. On Sunday, look for Hamlin to race aggressively and be the driver to beat.
Talladega Track History – Denny Hamlin is a two-time winner at Talladega who’s consistently performed at an elite-level. This spring, Hamlin had a great car and in our member exclusive PROS Rankings he ranked #1. That said, Hamlin had a ton of problems which led to his asterisk mark 32nd. In the race, Hamlin led a race high 43 laps (all before lap 92 where he had problems), finished 4th in Stage #1 and was the leader shortly before “Manufacturer pit stops” in Stage #2 where his downfall began. Around lap 92 when he came to pit road, Hamlin was caught speeding. Then when he was serving his penalty, Hamlin was caught speeding again. Then on the last lap of Stage #2, Denny Hamlin crashed which marked the end of his race. Last fall, Hamlin had a stellar showing and raced his way to victory lane after making a last lap pass for the win. In addition to finishing 1st, Hamlin led 26 laps. In spring 2020, Hamlin finished 4th and led 18 laps. Whenever Hamlin wanted to get to the front, he was there. With 8 laps to go before the late cautions came out he was running in 2nd. In fall 2019, Hamlin had a great car and made a hard charge for the win late, but came up short. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 3rd. In spring 2019, Hamlin was involved in an early wreck just after lap 10 and that pretty much so doomed his afternoon and led to his 36th place finish. In 2018, Hamlin had results of 4th and 14th.
DraftKings $10,500 / FanDuel $14,000
2) Ryan Blaney (Starting – 4th)
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Ryan Blaney is an elite superspeedway performer who should be near the top of your fantasy NASCAR radar. Blaney’s won 2 of the last 4 Talladega races, and every time the series shows up here he’s a force to be reckoned with. At Daytona in August, Blaney raced his way to victory lane. Overall at superspeedways over the last eight races, Blaney has five results in the top 6 and only two results south of 9th. There’s no such thing as a safe pick at superspeedways, but Blaney is about as safe as they come and on Sunday look for him to be a factor to win.
Talladega Track History – Ryan Blaney has been elite at Talladega and since 2019 minus last fall where he was caught up in the late carnage, Blaney has a 6.5 average finish, an 8.2 average running position and he’s averaged leading 28.3 laps per race. This spring, Blaney was strong. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, led 11 laps and then finished 9th overall. With 5 laps to go until the scheduled distance he was running in 2nd. Last fall, Blaney was fast but finished a misleading 25th after getting caught up in late carnage. In the race, Blaney led 10 laps, finished 7th in Stage #2, was running in 9th with 2 to go (scheduled distance) but was caught up in a late crash. In spring 2020, Blaney was the class of the field and raced his way to victory lane. In the race he finished 6th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2 and led 63 laps. In fall 2019 en route to victory lane, Blaney finished 10th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2 and led 35 laps. What makes his win a little more impressive is that on lap 34 while leading coming to pit road he spun and got a speeding penalty. In spring 2019, Blaney had a good car but finished a slightly misleading 15th after fading back a little at the end. In the race his average running position was 9th and he earned the 9th best driver rating. With 4 laps to go he was running in 10th.
DraftKings $10,700 / FanDuel $12,500
3) William Byron (Starting – 10th)
Talladega Fantasy Spin – William Byron is emerging into one of the best superspeedway performers and at Talladega, he’ll be a factor. Over the last three Talladega races, Byron has a series best 5.7 average finish and he’s had a result in the top 11 every race. At Daytona, the other superspeedway on the schedule he had tough luck in both races there this year, but last August when he needed to be clutch he raced his way to victory lane. Have high expectations for Byron on Sunday.
Talladega Track History – William Byron has been solid at Talladega and has ranked among the best in recent races as you just read. This spring, Byron finished 5th in Stage #1, 2nd overall, led 12 laps, had a 12.4 average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. His afternoon looks even more impressive when you take into account on the last lap of Stage #2 he was involved in an accident. Last fall, Byron finished 6th in Stage #2, 4th overall and had an 11.5 average running position. In spring 2020, Byron finished 10th in Stage #1, 10th in Stage #2, led 11 laps and finished 11th when the checkered flag waved. In 2019, Byron was good in both races, but walked away with a pair of misleading results. In fall 2019, Byron won Stage #1 but on lap 164 while running near the front he wrecked. Shortly before that he was leading and for the afternoon he led a total of 13 laps. In spring 2019, Byron had a fast car, but finished a misleading 21st. In the race he finished 7th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and was running in 9th with 4 laps to go until he wrecked on the last lap.
DraftKings $9,800 / FanDuel $12,000
