This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Unhinged 300
Location: Talladega, Ala.
Course: Talladega Superspeedway
Format: 2.66-mile tri-oval
Laps: 113
Race Preview
Harrison Burton and Chase Briscoe both added wins to their season tallies in last week's double-header weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Briscoe's win on Sunday put him atop the Xfinity series standings with three wins in 2020, while Burton's win on Saturday gave him two wins for the year. This week the championship battle focuses on Talladega Superspeedway. The track has a tendency to produce some wild races due to the crashes that tend to take out a number of competitors. Tyler Reddick won the series visit to the track last season with Gray Gaulding taking the runner-up spot. This year Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain enter this round still searching for their first wins of the season.
Key Stats at Talladega Superspeedway
- Number of races: 28
- Winners from pole: 2
- Winners from top-5 starters: 10
- Winners from top-10 starters: 13
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 168.937 mph
Previous 10 Talladega Winners
2019 - Tyler Reddick
2018 - Spencer Gallagher
2017 - Aric Almirola
2016 - Elliott Sadler
2015 - Joey Logano
2014 - Elliott Sadler
2013 - Regan Smith
2012 - Joey Logano
2011 - Kyle Busch
2010 - Brad Keselowski
Races at Talladega tend to be more about avoiding trouble than choosing a particular strategy. Racing in the pack requires horsepower and partners to move forward in the order to move into position to challenge for the win in the final laps. Last season's race had eight caution periods for nearly a third of the race distance. Only 25 of the 37 starters were classified as finishers, but 21 of those finishers finished on the lead lap. Superspeedway racing is a delicate art that these drivers will have to master as they look to move up to the Cup series. Chevrolet and Ford have won six of the last seven races at the track, but fantasy owners should look for values this week as superspeedway races can often come down more to luck than strategy.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
AJ Allmendinger - $10,800
Justin Allgaier - $10,500
Harrison Burton - $10,300
Chase Briscoe - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Noah Gragson - $9,800
Austin Cindric - $9,600
Brandon Jones - $9,400
Josh Williams - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Jeb Burton - $8,800
Myatt Snider - $8,600
Jeremy Clements - $8,500
Anthony Alfredo - $8,200
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Riley Herbst - $7,600
Justin Haley - $7,400
Ryan Sieg - $7,300
Gray Gaulding - $6,300
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Justin Allgaier - $10,500
Noah Gragson - $9,800
Michael Annett - $8,300
Justin Haley - $7,400
Ryan Sieg - $7,300
Gray Gaulding - $6,300
Justin Allgaier will start Saturday's race in 12th and has six top-10 finishes from nine series starts at Talladega. Noah Gragson finished second in this race last season, and he has also finished in the top five in four of the last five races this season. He will start Saturday's race in fifth position and will be aiming to finish just one place better than he did last year. Michael Annett may only have one top-10 Talladega finish, but he started from pole in this race last season and has two top-10 finishes in the last five races heading into this weekend. Justin Haley is another driver without a win so far this season, but he finished seventh in this race last season and has two top-10 finishes from the last five races this season. Ryan Sieg started fourth and finished 16th at Talladega last season and could be a bargain this week as he looks for his first top-10 since visiting Darlington last month. Finally, fantasy owners should not overlook Gray Gaulding this week. He finished second in this race last season and will roll off 21st this weekend with a good opportunity to add finish differential points.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
AJ Allmendinger - $10,800
Austin Cindric - $9,600
Myatt Snider - $8,600
Brett Moffitt - $8,000
Riley Herbst - $7,600
Mason Massey - $5,400
With such strong runs the past few weeks from AJ Allmendinger, it is hard for fantasy owners to ignore him this week. He has multiple top-10 finishes at the track in the Cup series and starts 34th on Sunday. He is poised to add finish differential points to lineups this weekend at a minimum. Austin Cindric is awaiting his first win of the 2020 season and there is no reason it couldn't come at Talladega. Cindric finished fifth here last season and led three laps in the 2018 race. He starts seventh, which could give him a leg up on the competition. Myatt Snider heads to Talladega out of the playoff standings by a mere 19 points. He finished seventh in the second Homestead race and a top-10 on Saturday would be his third top-10 finish in the last five races and fourth in the last six. Brett Moffitt has one Talladega start in the Xfinity series, but it resulted in a sixth-place finish. That was last year and he starts 20th on Saturday. He started 16th when he grabbed that sixth-place finish. Finally, Riley Herbst and Mason Massey round off the higher-risk lineup option Herbst will be making his Xfinity debut at the track, but he was second there in ARCA competition and has truck experience there, too. Mason Massey only has one truck series Talladega start, which was last season, that ended with an engine failure. Massey could threaten for a top-20 finish Saturday with a starting position of 35th, but even a finish inside the top-25 would be a good return for his basement salary this week.
