🔥Written by 2020 FBWC and 2021 KoS qualifier @joejets19

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YellaWood 500 🏁

Hello and welcome to this week's edition of the Weekly Pitstop. We survived the mundane race of this playoff segment and now get to watch everything get blown up as NASCAR visits Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, AL for the YellaWood 500. The track is a 2.66 mile steeply banked tri-oval and is one of the two Superspeedways on the circuit. What makes Talladega (and Daytona) different than every other track on the schedule is the incredible speeds these cars can generate on the track. NASCAR introduced various measures such as a taper spacer (and previously a restrictor plate) to prevent the cars from going too fast, essentially making every car run the same speed. The throttling of the cars has significant DFS implications, and will be explained further in the Lineup Construction section. The race is currently scheduled for 2pm ET on Sunday but there is projected to be weather in the area, be on the lookout for a possible early or late start. Early starts need 24 hour notice but late starts can happen at any time, be diligent.

On to Talladega!

Scoring Breakdown

At this point, we know how the DK scoring system works, so let's see how many points are available this week:

Laps Led Points =0.25 points per lap led. This week, 188 laps will be run this and 47 DK points will be awarded (plus any overtime laps).

Place Differential Points = 1 point per position gained or -1 point per position lost.

Fastest Lap Points = 0.45 points per lap not run under caution (roughly 150 laps should run under the green flag for a total of 67.5 possible DK points).

Finishing Position Points: The 40th place driver receives 4 points, and for each position gained, another point is awarded (39th=5, 38th=6…) and the winner gets 46 points.

Lineup Construction 🏁

Superspeedways are a unique beast in the NASCAR DFS world because they break all of the rules. If you are a veteran feel free to skip this section if you are a newcomer or want a refresher to read on. Since the cars all have about the same top speed the on-track racing is different at Talladega and Daytona. Cars will generally travel in large packs of one, two, or three lanes. Single file racing is boring and it is nearly impossible it pass anyone but the drivers sometimes need to catch their breath and chew some laps so we could get some single file stretches on Sunday. When the second and third lanes form, things get exciting and chaotic. There can be as many as 25 cars racing within inches of each other at any given moment and if one driver makes the smallest hiccup, a chain reaction crash known as "the Big One" can occur, eliminating a significant number of drivers (as many as 50% of drivers will be involved in an incident during the race). These Big Ones happen so frequently that we have to completely alter our approach to how we construct our lineups. There is a high likelihood of several drivers posting negative scores by starting toward the front of the field and finishing worse than the 30th, so we want to construct lineups full of drivers that start in the rear of the field and will put up massive scores by simply surviving. The other benefit of rostering drivers starting towards the back is that if they do get caught in the wreck, their scores can't go as low as drivers starting ahead of them. This is the closest NASCAR DFS ever gets to PGA DFS because all we will need is 6 drivers to complete the race (make the cut if you will) to end up cashing. Don't be surprised if you find yourself rostering drivers you never considered before, starting position is much more important than name recognition. Also, don't be afraid to leave a ton of money on the table, the last 11 perfect lineups have cost between $41,300-$47,9000.

Now some race specific suggestions. Perfect lineups at Talladega tend to be slightly riskier than Daytona so rostering the last 6 drivers and calling it a day doesn't generally work here. If you are going for the all or nothing approach you will want between 1-3 drivers starting 20th or better. The most common construction had one driver starting in the low teens and another driver starting closer to 20 but there have been drivers starting as far forward as 3rd in the perfect lineup. Everything depends on your objective for that specific lineup, I wouldn't get anywhere close to the top 20 drivers in a cash lineup but for top-heavy tournaments, you will have to take some shots if you want to hit the perfect combination.

Stage 1: 60 laps, Stage 2:60 laps, Stage 3: 68 laps

Competition Caution: Lap 25

Lineup Foundation Targets

Justin Haley ($9,400 DK, $7,700 FD)

Haley is as close to a superspeedway specialist (we miss you Brendan Gaughan) as we have in the field these days. He has a giant price tag this weekend but that won't really matter, his 38th place starting position is what we are really interested in. Haley has posted a positive place differential in every superspeedway race he has had in the Cup series and even has a win and 6th place finish at Daytona. His Talladega history is not nearly as good but he did finish 11th here last Fall which is very encouraging. Haley will be popular, which will make for an interesting tournament discussion, but cash games lock him in.

Corey Lajoie ($6,900 DK, $4,000 FD)

Lajoie gets a modest price increase this weekend but he is well worth it starting 29th. The algorithm set lineups force all of the terrible cars to the rear which hurts Lajoie's ceiling a little bit because he won't have as many junkers in front of him but his floor remains solid for cash. He has a positive place differential in each of his last 11 superspeedway races including four top 10 finishes, which is insane. Lajoie will be another popular option this weekend which is not a problem in cash but could be a pivot point in tournaments.

Tournament Targets

Michael McDowell ($6,100 DK, $7,000 FD)

As we start looking for tournament targets closer to the front of the field, McDowell is the first place my eye goes. He is starting 22nd on Sunday, sandwiched between Stenhouse Jr. (21st) and Chastain (23rd). All three drivers will be in my player pool but I will have the most exposure to McDowell because he is a fantastic superspeedway racer and the defending Daytona 500 champion. He has a positive place differential in 8 of his last 11 superspeedway races with three top 10 finishes including a win. I believe McDowell has slightly more upside than Stenhouse/Chastain and a much safer floor.

Tyler Reddick ($6,400 DK, $5,900 FD)

This is where the Pitstop starts getting a little wacky. Reddick is starting 13th on Sunday which is way outside of our cash comfort zone but is still a playable spot in tournaments. Reddick has been fairly consistent recently at superspeedways with three top 7s in his last four races. Reddick is always thought of as a steep track specialist, which Talladega definitely qualifies as, and I think he could possibly continue his hot streak on Sunday. Another 7th place finish would score him 43 DK pts which could put him in the running for the perfect lineup so we would really need a top 5 for this to work.

Ryan Blaney ($10,700 DK, $12,500 FD)

I feel dirty even suggesting Blaney on Sunday. He starts 4th, which is asking for trouble, but there have been 10 drivers in the last 11 perfect lineups that have started in the top 10 so we need to take some risks if we want to win it all. Blaney has won two of the last four Talladega races and has a knack for managing a good starting position. While I will not be looking for any dominators specifically, I think Blaney can add a significant amount of laps led to make up for the place differential potential he is lacking. Overall this is not a high percentage play but it could pay off if it hits.

Bargain Basement

Bubba Wallace ($5,900 DK, $3,500 FD)

I usually write up an expensive driver in this spot at superspeedways but DK actually did a decent job adjusting prices for this race. Wallace is starting 19th on Sunday and is incredibly cheap. Considering his price tag, I expect many people to look at safer options starting deeper in the field which makes Wallace a nice tournament option. He has not been able to crack the top 10 at Talladega yet but has had some success at Daytona which suggests he can run well at superspeedways.

Other Drivers To Consider

Here are 3 more drivers I like at Talladega that have a chance to make some noise in no particular order:

Ryan Preece ($6,700 DK, $7,500 FD)

Austin Dillon ($7,100 DK, $9,200 FD)

Ryan Newman ($7,500 DK, $6,000 FD)

Top Driver to Avoid

Kyle Busch ($8,200 DK, $9,800 FD)

Full disclosure, I am going to fade the front row but I am done writing up Hamlin as a fade because that pretty much guarantees him a win. Busch, however, is starting second and terrible at superspeedways. Kyle has zero top 10 finishes in his last 9 superspeedway races and is starting 2nd which is not something you want to mess with. Another thing going against Busch, there have been exactly zero drivers in the last eleven perfect lineups that started on the front row.

Thanks for reading and good luck this weekend! Be sure to join me in the LineStar NASCAR chat!

Be sure to download the YellaWood 500 cheatsheet and find me on Twitter Good Luck!