Talladega Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Brad Keselowski
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Brad Keselowski is one of the premiere superspeedway racers in NASCAR and at Talladega, the #6 will be tough to beat. At Talladega, Keselowski is a 6-time winner but what I really like about him is his prowess at superspeedways in 2023. This year at big superspeedways, Keselowski has been a fantasy ace. Keselowski was a standout performer in the Daytona 500 (crashed) and then in the two other races he’s come home with results of 2nd (Daytona #2) and 5th (Talladega). When you include Atlanta into the superspeedway mix minus Daytona #1 where he crashed, Keselowski has a 3.8 average finish in 2023.
Talladega Track History – At Talladega, Brad Keselowski is one of the best in the business. He’s a 6-time winner and in 3 of the last 5 races he’s finished in the top 5. If he didn’t get a speeding penalty last fall, he could easily be 4 for 5. This spring, Keselowski drove to the front when the trophy was on the line and finished 5th. Last fall, I think Keselowski was poised to walk away with a great result but during the final green flag pit cycle, he was caught speeding on pit road which led to his 24th. With 30 laps to go until the end and before he was caught speeding, Keselowski was running in 2nd. Last spring, I think the #6 was primed to run well, but Keselowski got two speeding penalties and you can’t overcome that, and it led to his 23rd. One was early and the other was late. In 2021, nobody was better than Keselowski. In fall 2021, Keselowski finished 3rd in Stage #1, led 13 laps and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. In spring 2021, Keselowski finished 2nd in Stage #2 and for the afternoon he only led 1 lap, but it was the final one and he emerged victorious. Also in the race, Keselowski earned the best driver rating and had the best average running position (8.5).

Chris Buescher
Talladega Fantasy Spin – At Talladega, Chris Buescher will be tough to beat. Buscher has long had a knack for the draft and in 2023 at big superspeedways, nobodies been better. Buescher’s the most recent winner on this track type and for the season, Buescher has a 2.7 average finish having gone 3 for 3 at finishing in the top 4. “Performance Wise”, Buescher could’ve easily have won 2 of the 3 races.
Talladega Track History – At Talladega, Buescher has been strong and in 4 of the last 7 races he’s crossed the finish line in the top 6 (was penalized in one of them). This spring, Buescher maneuvered his way to the front and finished 3rd. I’ll note, with 6 laps to go until the scheduled distance he was in 21st, and at the start of overtime he was in 18th. Last fall, Buescher finished 8th in Stage #2 but then 25th when the checkered flag waved. With 30 to go he was in 7th, but then following the final pit cycle he was back in 26th. I don’t know if it was a slow stop or low effort, but it wasn’t good. Last spring, Buescher finished 38th after crashing shortly before the end of Stage #1. In fall 2021, Buescher had a strong showing. In the race, Buescher won Stage #1, led 7 laps and then finished 6th. In spring 2021, Buescher finished 6th in Stage #1, 7th in Stage #2 and was running in 6th with 5 laps to go until the scheduled distance. On the last lap while running in the top ten, Buescher wrecked which led to his 21st. In fall 2020, Buescher won Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2 and led 15 laps. On the final lap he was battling for a top five, but then he bounced off a few cars and NASCAR penalized him for forcing Elliott below the yellow line which led to his 22nd place finish. Technically speaking though, Buescher crossed the finish line in 6th. In spring 2020, Buescher finished 6th.

Denny Hamlin
Talladega Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is one of the premiere superspeedway racers in NASCAR and at Talladega, he’ll be tough to beat. Hamlin knows how to race his way to the front, and once he gets there, he’s always tough to get around. At Talladega, Hamlin is a two-time winner and in 5 of the last 8 races he’s finished in the top 7. Over those combined races minus spring 2021 where he led 43 laps and I think subjectively had the best car but ruined his own afternoon (32nd), Hamlin has a 7.6 average finish.
Talladega Track History – Denny Hamlin has been one of the premiere performers at Talladega, and he’s been especially strong in fall races. Over the last seven fall Talladega races, Hamlin’s 7 for 7 at finishing in the top ten and his average finish is a series best 4.1. This spring, the #11 was fast but Hamlin finished 17th. In the race, Hamlin finished 8th in Stage #2, led 7 laps, had a 10.9 average running position and was running in 5th with 10 laps to go. Late in the race, Hamlin was low on gas and he even had to come in for a splash and go during an over-time caution. Last fall, Hamlin led 20 laps, finished 2nd in Stage #1 and then finished 5th when the checkered flag waved. In spring 2022, Hamlin was strong in the final quarter of the race. He was the leader with 20 to go (led 9 laps) but then with 4 laps to go while running in 8th, Hamlin had some apparent fuel situation and slowed on the track which led to his 18th. “Performance wise”, I have no doubt he likely had one of the best cars. In the fall 2021 rain shortened race, Hamlin finished 7th and led 6 laps. In spring 2021, Hamlin ranked #1 in our PROS Rankings 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, Hamlin crashed. In the three races prior to that, Hamlin had results of 1st, 3rd and 4th.

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