This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
The Noah Gragson Show, I mean the NASCAR Xfinity Series, heads to Talladega this week for the second stop in the playoffs. Gragson has been in a class of his own in recent weeks, winning four straight times dating back to Darlington. This will be the second stop of the year for the Xfinity Series at Talladega with none other than Gragson winning back in April. This is a race with a lot of variance and even more so in the playoffs with some teams pushing the issue.
Previous 10 Talladega Winners w/ Starting Position
2022 spring - Noah Gragson (19th)
2021 fall - Brandon Brown (19th)
2021 spring - Jeb Burton (9th)
2020 fall - Justin Haley (8th)
2020 spring - Justin Haley (1st)
2019 - Tyler Reddick (2nd)
2018 - Spencer Gallagher (3rd)
2017 - Aric Almirola (23rd)
2016 - Elliott Sadler (9th)
2015 - Joey Logano (16th)
Superspeedway racing is unique to what we see most of the season at other tracks. You will see teams and even whole manufacturers working together in the draft and on strategy. The goal behind this is that if you can get into a groove with people around you that you are comfortable with then you have a better chance of surviving potential wrecks that will happen throughout the race. As you can imagine, at a track where everyone is full-throttle for most of the race and tightly packed together in the draft, small missteps create big consequences. It sounds simple, but being around at the end is the key to any superspeedway race. What does all this mean for DFS lineups? At superspeedways lineup construction is the key to any race. I limit my exposure to the top qualifying positions due to the downside they have with so much variance. This is not a race where we will see any drivers rack up lots of laps led or fastest laps, as it will be spread throughout the field. You want to build with place differential in mind, even if that means leaving salary on the table.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Justin Allgaier - $10,700
Noah Gragson - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Brandon Jones - $9,700
AJ Allmendinger - $9,500
Trevor Bayne - $9,300
Riley Herbst - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Austin Hill - $8,800
Daniel Hemric - $8,600
Landon Cassill - $8,400
Myatt Snider - $8,200
DraftKings Tier 4 Values
Ryan Sieg - $7,900
Brandon Brown - $7,300
Anthony Alfredo - $7,200
J.J. Yeley - $5,900
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Sparks 300
Noah Gragson - $10,100
AJ Allmendinger - $9,500
Riley Herbst - $9,100
Ryan Sieg - $7,900
Anthony Alfredo - $7,200
J.J. Yeley - $5,900
Noah Gragson kicks off our DFS picks for the week, going for his fifth win in a row. When you're hot you're hot, and that bodes well coming to a race you will need a little luck to get to the end. To go along with his stellar recent form, he was the winner here back in the spring which also brings his record to six top 11s in seven tries. A.J. Allmendinger is another guy who will always be a factor when we come to superspeedways. Not only is his form here good in the past with 3 top 10s in his last five tries, he is also riding four straight top 5s at Daytona in the Xfinity Series. Both of these drivers obviously become better plays if they somehow struggle in qualifying and start mid pack or so. Our next two could have a little more added risk with the fact that they straddle the cut line for the round of 8, but also increased upside because of this. They need to be aggressive to secure themselves a spot in the next round with a top finish or even a win. Herbst has been decent on superspeedways including a 7th here in the spring. He has shown definite improvement at this kind of racing since he entered the Xfinity Series. Sieg has been able to accomplish something that very few have in superspeedway racing and that is to be consistent. He has three top 5s in his last four Talladega races and the one that wasn't was 11th. Anthony Alfedo is another driver with strong track history as his three tries in the Xfinity series have resulted in no worse than 13th including a 6th in the spring. Adding on, during his time with Front Row Motorsports in the Cup Series in 2021, Alfredo posted a 10th and 12th here at Talladega. J.J. Yeley is a guy who has been around a long time and understands the importance of being around at the end of these races. He has decent history here and I like targeting drivers that don't push the issue early in a race.
