Pearce Dietrich gives his picks and ranks his top drivers for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega.

The NASCAR season is revving up and DraftKings is shifting into high gear with an assortment of fantasy NASCAR contests. Dive into the best fantasy racing picks for the NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte.

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Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $111K Talladega Drive [$25K to 1st] (Cup)

Fantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings: Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega

1. Ryan Blaney ($10,500) — A wreck at Las Vegas has turned Blaney from favorite to long shot. The good news is that Talladega and Martinsville are two of his best tracks. The bad news is that most of the remaining playoff drivers are also strong at Talladega and Martinsville. Blaney needs a top-5 finish at Talladega.

2. Denny Hamlin ($9,100) — The No. 11 JGR Toyota is focused on the championship at Phoenix. Hamlin won the crucial opening race of the Round of 8, so he’s playing with house money after his win at Las Vegas. The typically methodical and conservative plate racer can afford to be aggressive at Talladega.

3. William Byron ($10,000) — He’s on the outside looking in, but Byron is only 15 points out. With stage points and wrecks taking out contenders, Byron could be in second in the standings by Sunday evening. The concern is that racing for stage points at a super speedway is a recipe for disaster.

4. Joey Logano ($10,200) — A 24-point deficit isn’t much. It’s almost irrelevant with Talladega being a race in the Round of 8. Any of the seven remaining drivers could wreck at Talladega. It’s likely that at least three earn a DNF. Logano just needs to finish — and that’s not hard for a Team Penske Ford at a super speedway.

5. Chase Elliott ($9,800) — The strategy is simple for the No. 9 Hendrick Chevy: don’t wreck — win. Elliott could point his way to the championship, but it’s going to be tough. The playoff contenders are as good as it gets. His best route to the championship is a Talladega win.

6. Kyle Larson ($9,500) — It’s better to be 35 points to the good than not. That 35-point cushion could disappear in a split second. Larson lacks luck at super speedways. If he ever needed a safe top-10 finish, it’s at Talladega on Sunday afternoon.

7. Christopher Bell ($9,000) — Talladega has not been kind to Bell. He needs an uneventful day. A top-20 finish will do. It’s likely that Bell runs passively in this race. He could lack upside, but it’s a super speedway — and passivity could result in a win if everyone else wrecks.

8. Chase Briscoe ($7,900) — Hamlin is in, and Ty Gibbs is out. JGR could use Hamlin and Gibbs to protect Briscoe at Talladega. Briscoe isn’t the greatest plate racer, but a little help from his friends could go a long way.

9. Justin Haley ($6,500) — The Spire Motorsports driver has Xfinity and Cup Series wins at super speedways. He’s finished seventh in two of the last three races at Talladega.

10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($8,500) — The numbers don’t lie. Stenhouse is one of the best super speedway drivers in the Cup Series. He has a top-10 finish in four of the last five races at Atlanta, with his worst finish being 14th. In the last three races at Talladega, he’s finished 14th, first, and fourth.

11. Noah Gragson ($6,400) — It’s a super speedway; everyone’s on the table. Gragson has won multiple plate races in the Xfinity Series. He hasn’t yet won a Cup Series plate race, but he’s earned impressive finishes driving inferior equipment (Beard Motorsports). Front Row Motorsports has always had a strong plate-track program. Gragson finished sixth at Talladega in the spring and third for SHR in the spring of 2024.

12. Erik Jones ($6,300) — In the last 10 Talladega races, Jones has seven top-10 finishes. He finished fifth in the second race at Atlanta and at Daytona.

13. Chris Buescher ($8,000) — Are Daytona and Talladega different? Yes — but are they really? For whatever reason, some drivers are successful at one but not the other. Buescher is better at Daytona, but is that just luck?

14. Cody Ware ($5,300) — There are plenty of sub-6K options. They’re all in play and two or three could be optimal with their assumed starting position being in the back of the field. Ware finished 13th in the summer race at Atlanta and 20th at Daytona.  

15. Austin Dillon ($7,000) — In the last 20 races at Talladega, Dillon has 13 top-20 finishes. It doesn’t sound great, but that’s great. Spreadsheets and results drive ownership. Dillon isn’t good enough to be popular, but he’s good enough to earn a top-5 finish.