RADIO
The 12 remaining drivers in the Chase enter the second elimination this Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway. Going in to the CampingWorld.com 500, only Joey Logano has safely advanced into the next round. He picked up his second straight win last weekend after bumping Matt Kenseth out of the way on the final lap. This will force Kenseth and a few other drivers (Earnhardt, Newman, K. Busch) outside the bubble to be very aggressive and push for the win. Talladega is home to the "big one" and any driver can be involved at any time. Early on in the race we may see some drivers hang out near the back to avoid the early wreck and then work their way forward to be in position in the closing laps. Other teams will try and run up front. Either way, their will be a lot of crew chiefs and car owners holding their collective breath for a long period of time Sunday.
Choosing drivers for DraftKings cash games will be more difficult than usual as this is a track where almost any driver has a chance at a big finish. Most weeks we see the lower end drivers around 1001-1 when looking at Vegas odds. This week the lowest drivers sit around 151-1 making this more of a crap shoot. It will be a great week for multiple lineups on larger field tournaments as you can take more risks rostering lower end guys and picking up big bonus points for place differential if they get a top 15 or top 10 finish.
The two practice sessions will take place on Friday with qualifying taking place on Saturday at 4:15 pm et. The article will be updated following this qualifying session with my final thoughts going into the race.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - $11,200
When talking speedway racing, Earnhardt is always one of the favorites. He comes to Talladega needing to win to control his destiny in the Chase and thrives under pressure. He has five career wins here and if he can avoid the "big one" will be there at the end with a chance to win.
Matt Kenseth - $9,900
He was a great pick last week leading 153 laps. The key word here is "was" as Joey Logano got into the #20 on the final lap, pushing him out of the way and stealing the win. He will be in a must win situation Sunday and the team won't hold back in its attempt at a win and advancement into the next round.
Joey Logano - $9,100
He has won the previous two races and and will be going for the hat trick this weekend at Talladega. His price has dropped $1,500 making him a great play here where anyone can win. He will have the advantage over every other driver Sunday as he will have nothing to lose. Safe in all formats.
Paul Menard - $7,900
He comes back to Talladega this week with a pretty good track record. In the last five races here he has two top 5's, three top 10's, and a 13.0 average finish. He always seems to stay out of the big wrecks and finish the races. If you are making multiple cash game lineups this week Menard is a guy you will want to be using.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - $6,000
He has been a tremendous play week in and week out during the Chase. He has finished 13th or better in four straight races and comes in at a great value at $6,000. He has raced here four times and has a top 5, two top 10's and a 13.0 average finish. He is safe in all formats.
Ryan Blaney - $5,800
He remains at a salary below $6,000 and presents great value this week. He has raced here at Talladega twice in his young career and has a top 5 and a 13.0 average finish. He has been trending in the right direction lately with a 14th place finish at Charlotte to open round two and followed that up with a 7th at Kansas last weekend.
Post Practice & Qualifying Update
Qualifying Top 10
- #24 Jeff Gordon
- #5 Kasey Kahne
- #48 Jimmie Johnson
- #20 Matt Kenseth
- #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- #6 Trevor Bayne
- #4 Kevin Harvick
- #11 Denny Hamlin
- #21 Ryan Blaney
- #22 Joey Logano
Jeff Gordon won the Coors Lite Pole award and will be starting up front for the start of the race Sunday. This race is a crap shoot and there will be multiple guys who lead laps. Most teams strategies will be stay clean and be in a position near the closing laps to contend for the win. When cretaing cash game lineups look for good drivers who are starting near the back. They will pick up place differential points needed to cash. The #1 driver in almost all your lineups should be Martin Truex Jr. as he will be starting 43rd after going below the yellow line in his first qualifying run. Other drivers with possible place differential value are Jamie McMurray(starting 24th), AJ Allmendinger(starting 31st), and Aric Almirola(starting 25th). Multiple lineups is the way to go this week at Talladega where one wreck can clear out an entire team.
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