This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Ag-Pro 300
Location: Talladega, Ala.
Course: Talladega Superspeedway
Format: 2.66-mile tri-oval
Laps: 113
Race Preview
The NASCAR Xfinity Series took last week to rest while the Trucks and Cup competitors battled it out on the dirt. This week the series returns to action at NASCAR's biggest track, Talladega Superspeedway. Brandon Brown is the most recent winner at the 2.66-mile oval, while Jeb Burton is the defending winner of this week's race. The prior 32 Xfinity Series races at Talladega produced 26 different winners. Burton and Brown are the only two prior victors entered this weekend, though. Ty Gibbs leads the series winners into this week's contest with three trips to Victory Lane already this season. AJ Allmendinger sits atop the point totals, though. This week's race will be the first superspeedway visit since Daytona in February when Austin Hill drove to Victory Lane.
Key Stats at Talladega Superspeedway
- Number of races: 32
- Winners from pole: 3
- Winners from top-5 starters: 11
- Winners from top-10 starters: 16
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 168.937 mph
Previous 10 Talladega Winners
2021 fall - Brandon Brown
2021 spring - Jeb Burton
2020 fall - Justin Haley
2020 spring - Justin Haley
2019 - Tyler Reddick
2018 - Spencer Gallagher
2017 - Aric Almirola
2016 - Elliott Sadler
2015 - Joey Logano
2014 - Elliott Sadler
The unpredictable Talladega Superspeedway looms ahead for the Xfinity Series this week. Drafting through the pack and avoiding trouble will be the aim of every team as they work to come out on top in Saturday's race. Qualifying and track position isn't as big a factor in this style of racing as at other tracks. Fantasy players should look to build their rosters from drivers with past superspeedway success. February's Daytona results should be a decent early approximation for fantasy players to analyze when making selections. Horsepower is key to being able to move to the front but doing so requires partnership with other cars. Manufacturers will try to get their drivers together on the track so that they can work together to climb higher in the running order. Doing so also gives them the chance to keep the other contenders at bay. The close pack-style racing throughout the field can easily trigger crashes that collect innocent bystanders. Avoiding those pileups and being in position to push or be pushed to the front in the final laps is what drivers will spend the day trying to achieve, and they will spend much of the race trying to learn what works and what does not in order to make a charge for the lead at the finish. Both races last season featured more than 20 lead changes, which indicates almost anything can happen.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ty Gibbs - $10,500
Noah Gragson - $10,300
Josh Berry - $10,100
Daniel Hemric - $9,900
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
AJ Allmendinger - $9,700
Justin Allgaier - $9,500
Austin Hill - $9,300
Brandon Jones - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Landon Cassill - $8,800
Sheldon Creed - $8,600
Riley Herbst - $8,500
Jeb Burton - $8,400
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Myatt Snider - $7,900
Anthony Alfredo - $7,500
Ryan Sieg - $7,400
Kyle Sieg - $6,600
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Noah Gragson - $10,300
Landon Cassill - $8,800
Jeb Burton - $8,400
Myatt Snider - $7,900
Ryan Sieg - $7,400
Kaz Grala - $7,200
Noah Gragson's consistent record at one of NASCAR's most unpredictable circuits makes him a safer option than most this week. He has four top-10s from six Talladega starts and has led laps in five of them. His best finish was a third-place run in 2020. Another top drafter in Landon Cassill. He was 11th or better in three Xfinity starts at this track and was also one to watch on superspeedways when he was in the Cup Series. Former Talladega winner Burton adds even more strength to the lineup with three top-10s from four starts at the track. This style of racing should also give him a better chance to be on a level playing field as the front runners unlike other weeks. Myatt Snider may have only finished one of four Xfinity starts at Talladega but it was a ninth-place finish in this race last year. He also led three laps that afternoon. Ryan Sieg's best Talladega finishes have come in the most recent seasons. He finished 11th or better in the last three Talladega visits, including a runner-up finish in 2020. Kaz Grala has made just one series start at Talladega. That was in 2018 when he started 33rd and climbed to the 20th finishing position. He will be behind the wheel of the No. 48 this week and will be aiming to make his case to drive that car each week.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Justin Allgaier - $9,500
Brandon Jones - $9,000
Sheldon Creed - $8,600
Riley Herbst - $8,500
Anthony Alfredo - $7,500
Kyle Sieg - $6,600
Justin Allgaier has proven to be adept at getting top results from draft-style racing despite having not yet won at Talladega. He has 13 Xfinity starts at the track with seven of those resulting in top-10s, though. He started from pole and finished third at the track last fall. The driver who finished second in that race, Brandon Jones, makes another reliable choice this week. He has three top-fives from eight series starts and led 12 laps in the fall race last season. This week's race will be Sheldon Creed's first visit to Talladega in Xfinity equipment. Creed was sixth at Daytona in February and could be expected to repeat or improve that result this week. Similar to Creed, Riley Herbst finished fourth at Daytona in February. He was also fourth in this race last season and led 26 laps before crashing in the fall race. Anthony Alfredo is yet another top-10 Daytona finisher to include in this lineup. He finished seventh in the season opener and has an average finish of ninth from his two 2020 Talladega Xfinity appearances. Kyle Sieg nearly scored a top-20 at Daytona in February, climbing from the 36th starting position to finish 21st. This will be his first series start at Talladega and he should be capable of a top-20 finish or better, regardless of where he starts.
