Talladega YellaWood 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – 2-time and defending fall Talladega winner, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is a strong superspeedway performer whose proven he can come up big. Stenhouse raced his way to victory lane last fall and overall, on this track type, Stenhouse is a 4-time winner. Stenhouse is always looking to make big moves, but it’s also often led to his downfall. At Talladega over his 24 starts, Stenhouse has 2-wins, 8 top fives (more than anywhere), 11 top tens (more than anywhere) and his average finish is 14.4 (best of any track). Over the last three, Stenhouse has a 5.6 average finish, highlighted by his win last fall.
Talladega History – At Talladega, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is elite when he dodges trouble and going back to fall 2016 minus the six races he has an accident DNF, his average finish is 9.0. This spring, Stenhouse finished 12th and earned the 12th best Driver Rating. Last year, Stenhouse swept the top five with a 2.5 average finish. Last fall, Stenhouse started way back in 32nd, led 19 laps, earned the best Driver Rating, had an 11.3 average running position and of course raced his way to victory lane, out dueling Brad Keselowski at the end. Last spring, Stenhouse ran well and finished 4th. I will note, he benefited from the carnage coming to the finish line and on the last lap on the last straightaway before the crashing ensued, he was running in 10th. In fall 2023, it’s hard to say how good Stenhouse really was. In the race he led 14 laps in Stage #1, was running in 2nd on the last lap of Stage #1 but then he stumbled on fuel and was involved in an accident. When the checkered flag waved, he finished 22nd.

Erik Jones
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – Erik Jones is always a quality mid-tier dark horse fantasy pick at Talladega. Jones nearly raced his way to victory lane in spring 2022, and in 4 of the 7 Next Gen races, he’s finished in either 5th or 6th. Overall in the Next Gen at Dega, Jones has the 5th best average finish (14.6) and the 16th best Driver Rating. Since 2024 at big superspeedways over the combined races, Jones ranks 6th in terms of average finishes (14.3). This year over the three, Jones has a 12.3 average finish.
Talladega History – Talladega ranks as one of Erik Jones better tracks. Since 2020, Jones is 7 for 11 at finishing in the top ten and minus last spring, fall 2023 and spring 2021, his average finish is 7.1. This spring, Jones had a quiet mid-pack afternoon. In the race, Jones finished 18th, earned the 26th best Driver Rating and ranked 29th in terms of Average Running Position. Last fall, the carnage rate was high, but Jones dodged it and finished 5th. Last spring, Jones looked good at times but crashed in the Toyota mini-draft on lap 156. “Performance Wise”, I would say he looked about mid-teens good, but the crash caused him to finish 35th. In fall 2023, Jones was just never a factor and he finished 26th. I’ll note, he got penalized for his pit crew going over the wall too soon during the opening green flag pit cycle during the lap 40’s, but there was plenty of time to salvage his afternoon. In spring 2023, Jones drove to the front at the end and finished 6th. In fall 2022, Jones finished 10th in Stage #1, 5th in Stage #2, led 23 laps and then finished 6th. In spring 2022, Jones nearly raced his way to victory lane but made a bad block while leading on the last lap which led to his 6th. In the race, Jones finished 8th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2, led 25 laps, had a 5.9 average running position and earned the 2nd best driver rating. In fall 2021, Jones finished 9th. In spring 2021, Jones was the leader with 12 laps to go until the scheduled distance and was running near the top five on the final lap before crashing (finished 27th). In the two prior races, Jones had results of 2nd and 5th.

Todd Gilliland
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – Todd Gilliland is a strong superspeedway racer down the depth chart who shouldn’t be overlooked. Gilliland’s been great here and over the last six races, he’s 5 for 6 at finishing between 7th to 16th and his 12.6 average finish over that stretch ranks as the 3rd best. At Daytona #2 in the most recent race on this sub-track type, Gilliland finished 11th in August.
Talladega History – Todd Gilliland has typically been a solid performer at Talladega and in the Next Gen he ranks 6th in terms of average finish (14.7) and he’s 5 for 7 at finishing in the top 16. This spring, Gilliland finished 16th, earned the 11th best Driver Rating and had a 15.7 average running position. Last fall, Gilliland had a tough race and finished 23rd but I’ll also note he was listed for being involved in both “Big One’s” and got a speeding penalty while running in 9th around lap 170. Over the four races prior to that, Gilliland had a 9.5 average finish. Last spring, Gilliland had a strong showing, finishing 8th, earning the 2nd best Driver Rating and having a 13.3 average running position. In fall 2023 en route to a 12th, Gilliland drove up to the front at the end to notch his good result. In spring 2023, Gilliland piloted the #36 and raced his way to a 10th. In fall 2022, Gilliland finished 7th.

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