Talladega Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Ryan Blaney
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Ryan Blaney is an elite superspeedway performer who’ll be a favorite at Talladega. Blaney’s one of the premier drafters in NASCAR, and there’s no question he can get the job done. Blaney’s always a threat at Talladega, and he’s raced his way to victory lane in 2 of the last 5 races. This year at Daytona in the Next Gen, Blaney was strong. In his Duel 150 he led 22 laps and finished 3rd, and in the Daytona 500 he finished 4th and paced the field for 36 laps. Overall, at “Big Superspeedways” (Daytona and Talladega) over the last 10 races, Blaney has 3 wins, 5 top fives, a 9.4 average finish and only three results south of 9th.
Talladega Track History – Ryan Blaney has been elite at Talladega and since 2019 minus fall 2020 where he was caught up in the late carnage, Blaney has an 8.2 average finish, an 8.4 average running position and he’s averaged leading 22.6 laps per race. Last fall at Talladega, Blaney had a strong showing and was better than his 15th. In the race, Blaney finished 6th in Stage #1, had a 9.8 average running position and then finished 15th. Blaney was just back in mid-pack when the race reached its early conclusion. In spring 2021, 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. In fall 2020, 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.

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Joey Logano
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Three-time Talladega winner, Joey Logano is one of the best superspeedway racers in NASCAR and on Sunday, he’ll be a factor. When it comes to pure superspeedway racing talent, I’ve long viewed Logano as the perfect combination of being smart and aggressive. Recently at superspeedways, Logano’s looked great, but he’s had a ton of problems along the way so hopefully there out of his system. This year at superspeedways, Logano has looked strong. He nearly won his Duel 150 (wrecked on the last lap while leading), he looked solid in the Daytona 500 (crashed) and at Atlanta he finished 9th. If Logano can have an incident free race, look for him to finish up front and be one of the top contenders.
Talladega Track History – Joey Logano has been elite at Talladega, but he’s been down on his luck in many of the recent races. Last fall when Logano finally had an incident free race, Logano finished 2nd in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2, had the 3rd best driver rating, led 9 laps and finished 3rd when the checkered flag waved. In spring 2021, Logano had a great car but was wrecked on the last lap of Stage #1 while running in 3rd. Prior to his demise he led 10 laps. In fall 2020, Logano had a great car that I thought was subjectively the best (PROS Rankings), but he finished an asterisk mark 26th. In the race, Logano had the best driver rating, led a race high 45 laps, but unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. Logano paced many of the closing laps and was the leader with 2 to go (scheduled distance), but then later that lap he crashed which led to his poor finish. In spring 2020, Logano was a standout performer but finished 17th. In the race he finished 3rd in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, led 33 laps, had a race best 4.2 average running position but finished a misleading 17th. Fuel mileage came into the equation at the end, and that really hurt him since he had to pit for it which dropped him deep in the field late. With 8 laps to go he was running in 3rd. In the five Talladega races prior to that, Logano had 1 win and a 5th place average finish.

Denny Hamlin
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is the premiere superspeedway racer in NASCAR and at Talladega, he’ll be tough to beat. Hamlin’s got a knack for the draft which is second to none. He knows how to race his way to the front, and once he’s there, Hamlin’s tough to get around. At Talladega, Hamlin’s a recent winner (fall 2020), and in 5 of the last 7 races he’s finished in the top 7. In the two he didn’t, Hamlin wrecked. Over that stretch minus the two races he crashed, Hamlin’s average finish is an impressive 3.8. This year at the two superspeedways visited, Hamlin looked competitive in both, but he also wrecked in both (29th-Atlanta and 37th-Daytona).
Talladega Track History – At Talladega, Denny Hamlin has thrived in recent races and over the last five minus last spring where he had a great car but made dumb moves his average finish is 3.8. Last fall in the rain shortened event which had an abrupt ending, Hamlin finished 7th, led 6 laps and had a 13.1 average running position. In spring 2021, Hamlin had a great car and, in our member, exclusive PROS Rankings he ranked #1 despite 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. In fall 2020, 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. In fall 2019, Hamlin finished 3rd.

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