This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
YellaWood 500
Location: Talladega, Ala.
Course: Talladega Superspeedway
Format: 2.66-mile tri-oval
Laps: 188
Race Preview
Ross Chastain locked the 12 playoff contenders out of Victory Lane a week ago at Kansas, heaping even greater pressure on the championship field this week at Talladega Superspeedway as they try to advance to the penultimate round of eliminations. All 12 of those contenders would have been hoping to get the job done last week versus leaving their chances up to an unpredictable Talladega visit. Tyler Reddick came out on top of a battle with Michael McDowell to win at the track in April after two multi-car crashes in the final stage set up a 27-lap run to the finish. It was Toyota's first win at the track since Reddick's teammate Bubba Wallace scored a victory in 2021, and it was also the seventh straight time a driver started 10th or lower and won. Reddick enters this weekend needing to make something happen again. He sits ninth in the standings, four points out of the transfer positions. Daniel Suarez, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric join him in the danger zone, but they all could turn that picture around this week at Talladega where anything could happen.
Key Stats at Talladega Superspeedway
- Number of races: 110
- Winners from pole: 14
- Winners from top-5 starters: 56
- Winners from top-10 starters: 75
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 8
- Fastest race: 188.354 mph
Previous 10 Talladega Winners
2024 spring - Tyler Reddick
2023 fall - Ryan Blaney
2023 spring - Kyle Busch
2022 fall - Chase Elliott
2022 spring - Ross Chastain
2021 fall - Bubba Wallace
2021 spring - Brad Keselowski
2020 fall - Denny Hamlin
2020 spring - Ryan Blaney
2019 fall - Ryan Blaney
The fast and unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway presents challenges at the best of times, but adding playoff implications to the 500-mile affair makes it an even more difficult puzzle for teams. The 2.6-mile oval's high banking and wide racing surface encourages three-wide racing, sometimes growing to four-wide, throughout the afternoon as drivers jockey for position. Due to the intense traffic, minor mistakes can collect several cars and bad luck can be as much of a factor as speed. Manufacturers will band together, especially early in the afternoon, to work with one another to increase safety and ensure smooth pit stops with minimal time lost coming back up to full speed. Given the importance of staying the draft, mistakes on pit road under green are some of the biggest that can be made. Losing the draft means losing laps to the leaders and a long afternoon of hoping to get those laps back, which is why manufacturers will strategically pit together. Staying out of trouble until the final laps of stages and the race itself can often produce a top finish, but winning these races tends to come down to decisive moves in the final moments. A difference of inches could mean the difference between victory and crashing. Starting position isn't a big factor at this track, but drivers need a car that they can make passes with. If not, they could find themselves stuck in turbulent traffic all afternoon.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the YellaWood 500 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ryan Blaney - $10,000
Joey Logano - $9,800
Brad Keselowski - $9,600
Chase Elliott - $9,500
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Tyler Reddick - $9,000
Kyle Busch - $8,800
Chris Buescher - $8,600
Bubba Wallace - $8,500
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Austin Cindric - $8,100
Christopher Bell - $8,000
Michael McDowell - $7,700
Alex Bowman - $7,600
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Daniel Suarez - $7,400
Chase Briscoe - $7,300
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - $7,200
Todd Gilliland - $6,700
NASCAR DFS Picks for the YellaWood 500
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Joey Logano - $9,800
Chase Elliott - $9,500
Kyle Busch - $8,800
Christopher Bell - $8,000
Alex Bowman - $7,600
Carson Hocevar - $6,100
Joey Logano (DK $9,800, FD $13,000) enters this weekend in the last transfer spot of the playoff standings. His gap to the danger zone is just four points, which means he needs to grab as many points as possible this week at Talladega. For Logano, that usually isn't hard at a superspeedway. He and his Team Penske Ford always seem to be at or near the front in these races. He won one of the stages at Talladega earlier this season and led 22 laps. He is a three-time winner at the track, too. Chase Elliott (DK $9,500, FD $11,500) has also delivered remarkably consistent results at this unpredictable track. The former series champion has two Talladega wins and led laps in each of his last four races there. He scored stage points in both segments earlier this season and hasn't finished lower than 18th since the 2021 spring race. Another driver that can get the job done is Kyle Busch (DK $8,800, FD $12,000). His Richard Childress Racing team is always one to keep an eye on at superspeedways, and Busch is a two-time Talladega winner. His latest win here was with RCR in the spring of 2023.
With two top-fives and another top-10 from the first four playoff races, Christopher Bell (DK $8,000, FD $7,500) is hoping his run of top finishes continues this week. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is third in the standings, but crashed out at Talladega earlier this season. He has one top-five at the track but started inside the top 15 in seven of nine series tries. Bell has the speed but needs to be careful and make it all the way to the finish to capitalize on his potential. Alex Bowman (DK $7,600, FD $7,200) also started the playoffs well. He sits sixth in the standings and has three top-10s from the first four knock-out races. At Talladega, he has two top-fives and five top-10s from 17 tries. Most importantly, he finished fifth there earlier this season. While not in the playoffs, Carson Hocevar (DK $6,100, FD $4,000) has also been turning in impressive finishes recently. His best-ever series finish of third came just a few weeks ago at Watkins Glen. He finished 17th at Talladega in April and has been scoring regular top-15 finishes the second half of the season. Another top finish should be within his grasp again this week.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Ryan Blaney - $10,000
Brad Keselowski - $9,600
Austin Cindric - $8,100
Michael McDowell - $7,700
Chase Briscoe - $7,300
Todd Gilliland - $6,700
Through the past few years, Ryan Blaney (DK $10,000, FD $14,000) has established himself as one of the favorites on superspeedways. At Talladega, he won three times from 20 starts. He isn't immune to the unexpected trouble that strikes, though. Earlier this season he finished 20th after a crash. He is the defending winner of this week's race, though. Another consistent favorite at superspeedways is Brad Keselowski (DK $9,600, FD $13,500). The former champion has won an incredible six Talladega races in his career and was the runner-up finisher there earlier this season. Keselowski is also unburdened by the weight of the playoffs this week, too. That means he will only be focusing on winning the race, which could make him tough to beat Sunday. While Austin Cindric (DK $8,100, FD $9,500) is also generally one to watch at superspeedways, he hasn't quite quite hit his stride at Talladega yet. He does have two top-10s from five tries and finished in the top 10 in four of six Xfinity Series starts at the track, though. He led 31 combined laps in his last two Talladega appearances, and his best Cup finish at the track was fifth in this race last season.
Another driver without playoff pressure is Michael McDowell (DK $7,700, FD $8,200). This will be his last superspeedway race with Front Row Motorsports, and these tracks are where the pairing have found some of their greatest successes. They had the pole at Talladega earlier this season but crashed out. However, McDowell led 36 laps that afternoon before the incident took him out of contention. He has three top-fives and one other top-10 from his last 10 starts at the track. Chase Briscoe (DK $7,300, FD $6,000) seeks a return to playoff form this week after a 24th-place finish a week ago at Kansas. Talladega is a place he could make an impact at, though. Briscoe was 12th there earlier this season and has only finished outside of the top 15 once in his seven Talladega starts. On a day when some playoff contenders are bound to encounter trouble, an average Talladega day from Briscoe could be enough to move him up the standings. Finally, an eighth-place finish at Talladega in April continued demonstrating what Todd Gilliland (DK $6,700, FD $6,200) could be capable of. That finish was one of his four top-10s so far this season. When looking just at Talladega, he has three top-10s from five series starts. Despite an average start of just 22.8 from those five tries, his average finish is impressive at 12.8.
