NASCAR Cup Series Talladega DFS Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway this weekend for the second race of the Round of 8, and it's one of the biggest wildcards in the playoffs. This 2.66-mile track delivers constant pack racing, surprise winners, and multi-car wrecks that can wipe out even the best cars. With just 188 laps in the race, dominator points are limited with lap leaders and fast laps being spread throughout the field, so DFS success will come down to finding drivers who can avoid the chaos and gain the most spots. Place differential is the top priority this week, and avoiding overexposure to drivers starting up front is usually the safest approach.

Fades

Michael McDowell

Chase Briscoe

Kyle Busch

Austin Cindric

Ryan Preece

Josh Berry

Christopher Bell

Riley Herbst

These drivers start too far forward and don’t have enough place differential upside to be worth using in your DFS lineups.

Top Place Differential Plays

Chase Elliott

Brad Keselowski

Ricky Stenhouse

Ross Chastain

Daniel Suarez

Carson Hocevar

These are the top drivers with the most place differential upside that will be some of the most popular place for the slate today. All of these drivers start outside the top 20 and should race towards the front. If they stay out of trouble, they could be some of the top points scorers today in the race.

Cheap Options

Todd Gilliland

Noah Gragson

Erik Jones

AJ Allmendinger

John Hunter Nemechek

Ty Dillon

Shane Van Gisbergen

Austin Hill

Anthony Alfredo

Cody Ware

BJ McLeod

Casey Mears

These are the top cheap drivers for the race today. All of these drivers have huge place differential upside as they all start outside the top 25. Most of them should race towards the front, but guys like Alfredo, Ware, McLeod, and Mears I expect to ride in the back for a lot of the race to miss the wrecks. Today will be all about wreck avoidance so whoever can do that and finish top 10 with the big place differential is likely to end up optimal.