Talladega YellaWood 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Joey Logano
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – 3-time Talladega winner, Joey Logano is one of the premiere big superspeedway performers in NASCAR and on Sunday, look for him to race with an intensity second to none. When it comes to superspeedway racing, I’ve long viewed Logano as the perfect combination of “Smart and aggressive.” That said, things have gone south for Logano on this track type when it comes to the results column and since 2024 at these venues, Logano has the best Driver Rating and the best average running position, but his average finish is a down the depth chart 23.5. This year at big superspeedways, Logano finished 3rd in the Daytona 500 but over the last two he’s wrecked. At Talladega, I think Logano may very well be the class of the field, but he’ll be ultra risky.
Talladega History – Joey Logano has been elite at Talladega, but times have been tough and in 12 of the last 13 races, he’s finished 16th or worse. In the Next Gen among tracked drivers, Logano’s 28.8 average finish is tied for being the worst but despite all of those really bad finishes, his Driver Rating still ranks as the 8th best, so he certainly hasn’t lacked when it comes to performance. This spring, Logano looked great but had a short race and finished 39th. In the race, Logano finished 3rd in Stage #1, was the leader on lap 114 but then the next lap he wrecked when Wallace crashed at the front of the field, ending his afternoon. Last fall, Logano was stout but finished 16th. In the race, Logano led the most laps (35), earned the best Driver Rating, had the best average running position but late in the race during the last green flag run, Logano was just stuck running the bottom groove and he slowly faded back in the running order to his 16th. Last spring, Logano looked great and actually avoided trouble for once but in post-race inspection, he was DQ’ed which led to his 39th. In the race, Logano crossed the finish line in 5th, had the best average running position (7th), led the 2nd most laps (24) and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. In fall 2024, Logano looked great but crashed and finished 33rd. In the race, Logano led 19 laps, was running in 5th with 5 to go but then that very lap he crashed in the “Cindric Big One.” In spring 2024, Logano was strong but finished 19th. In the race, Logano won Stage #2, led the 2nd most laps (22) but was then just a non-factor late.

Carson Hocevar
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – Spring Talladega winner, Carson Hocevar should be high on your radar and be a factor. Hocevar was impressive this spring en route to victory lane and at big superspeedways in 2026, I would argue nobodies been better and he’s been in contention to win every single race, but he’s also 2 for 3 at wrecking. If Hocevar can avoid trouble, look for him to finish up front and be a serious factor to win.
Talladega History – At Talladega, Carson Hocevar has performed at an elite level and over the last three races his average finish is 4.3. For his career minus a pre-rookie start his average finish is 8.8. This spring, Hocevar ran out front throughout the last Stage, led 19 laps and earned the 8th best driver rating. Last year, Hocevar went 2 for 2 at finishing 6th. Last fall, Hocevar finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, was running in 3rd to begin overtime and then finished 6th. Last spring, Hocevar finished 4th in Stage #2 and then finished 6th overall. In fall 2024, Hocevar wasn’t seen for much of the race, but he dodged the mayhem and finished 14th. In spring 2024, Hocevar finished 17th.

Ryan Blaney
Talladega Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney’s a super-elite performer at Talladega who’ll be tough to beat. Blaney’s arguably the premiere big superspeedway racer in NASCAR, and he’s more than proven he can get the job done. At Talladega in the Next Gen, Blaney has 1-win, the 3rd best Driver Rating but his average finish is 19.1. This year at big superspeedways, nobody has had worse luck than Blaney and for the season his 32.3 average finish ranks last. Hopefully that’s also a sign he’s due for a little good luck. If Blaney can avoid trouble, look for him to run up front and be a factor.
Talladega History – Ryan Blaney is one of the premier performers at Talladega. Blaney’s a 3-time winner and in 3 of the last 8 races he’s finished in the top two. The bad news is that over the last five, he’s finished 20th or worse with a 31.2 average finish. Overall in the Next Gen, Blaney is 4 for 9 at finishing in the top 11, has the 3rd best Driver Rating and the 18th best average finish (19.1). This spring, Blaney looked good, finishing 5th in Stage #1, was in 3rd on lap 114 but then the next lap he was caught up in the “Big One”, leading to his 37th. Last fall, Blaney ran well but finished 23rd. In the race, Blaney finished 4th in Stage #1, finished 8th in Stage #2, was the leader as late as 18 to go but then over the last short run to close out, he just kind of got boxed in on the bottom lane and dropped back to his poor result (23rd). Additionally, Blaney led 3 laps, was tied for the 5th best average running position (12.9) and earned the 6th best Driver Rating. Last spring, Blaney finished 37th but I have no real takeaways for his race. During green flag pit stops in Stage #1, Keselowski crashed him coming to pit road, leading to his DNF 37th. In fall 2024, Blaney looked great, but he finished an asterisk mark 39th. In the race, Blaney finished 10th in Stage #1, consistently ran near the front in Stage #2 but then coming to the finish line to end Stage #2 while running in the top five, Blaney was crashed. In spring 2024, Blaney had an afternoon to forget and finished 20th. In the race, Blaney finished 4th in Stage #1, but then in Stage #2 during green flag pit stops he got a speeding penalty. Then early in the last Stage, Blaney was damaged in a multi-car wreck and went on to finish 20th. In 2023, Blaney went 2 for 2 at earning the best Driver Rating and had results of 1st and 2nd. In 2022, Blaney had finishes of 2nd and 11th.

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