Home Articles NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 YellaWood 500
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NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 YellaWood 500

by Andrew Yu

Stock car racing’s premier series makes it to the final superspeedway race of 2024, Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. Please make the most of the Yellawood 500 with our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers.

We reveal our “Tire Tiers” and betting cards live every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST on our YouTube series, “The Backroad.” Be sure to tune in, enjoy the race, and reach out if you have any questions.

(DFS prices are courtesy of DraftKings)

NASCAR DFS CTA

2024 YellaWood 500: NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings

Talladega Tiers

Note: This is before qualifying, based on those who can survive Talladega and have run well in the pack. The strategy for this weekend and every superspeedway race is to stack in the pack with 80-100% of your roster, starting drivers from 20th on back.

Driver As | The Elites

There are only three drivers who are good at ‘Dega and expensive are William Byron ($9,400), Ryan Blaney ($10,000) and Chase Elliott ($9,500). All are top three in average finishing position at Talladega in the Next-Gen era and can get you at least a few laps led. These three have also finished on the lead lap in every Next-Gen Dega race.

Driver Bs | Point-Getters

While the superspeedway performance of Denny Hamlin ($9,100) has been terrible this year, he has figured out the ‘Dega playoff race in the past two years. Hamlin’s NASCAR DFS score for both races is over 40 points, and he has had at least some fast laps and some laps led. Hamlin’s price tag feels a bit expensive, as he has not performed well on plate track this year, but look for him to survive Dega and move into the Round of 8.

The other five drivers in this tier are the top value drivers, and the most expensive is $8,100. These five have had the most consistent fantasy scorers, scoring over 35 fantasy points in both Next-Gen Talladega races. Austin Cindric ($8,100) and Daniel Suarez ($7,400) are my favorites because both have wins at superspeedway and performed better than the other three. Their fantasy score averages were at least 40 points, and both scored well in Atlanta, with two of the top-five fantasy scores.

Driver Cs | In the Mix

This tier comprises of drivers that run well at superspeedway but have not gotten the finishes or have had at least one good fantasy score between the two fall Next-gen Talladega races.

Alex Bowman ($7,600) and Brad Keselowski ($9,600) are sneaky good plate racers. In the spring Talladega race, both finished in the top 10 and gained positions from their poor qualifying results. In the Fall, both drivers have not shown much, but maybe this time around, they can change that. Bowman is looking to make the next round of the playoffs, while Brad is looking for his first plate race win in the Next-Gen era.

Driver Ds | Could Do Worse

Michael McDowell ($7,700) has been known to be good on superspeedway, as he won the Daytona 500. However, at Talladega, he has struggled to score over 30 fantasy points. Chase Briscoe ($7,300) needs a good points day after a terrible one at Kansas as he also tries to make the Round of Eight. Ryan Preece ($6,600) ran the Wonder Bread throwback car to “Talladega Nights” last year and finished with 50 fantasy points. All three should work together to finish well. However, what worries me is how high they qualify, with all three qualifying at least twice in the top 10, which does not bode well for NASCAR DFS points.

Corey Lajoie ($5,700) and Erik Jones ($6,200) are the best cheap options, as both have run well at ‘Dega. Jones had three straight 50-point fantasy performances until last year’s race. Meanwhile, Lajoie had a massive 70-point performance at last year’s fall Talladega race. Still, both have had different cars than last fall’s Talladega race. Jones is now in a Toyota, and Lajoie switched to a Rick Ware Racing (RWR) Ford just a few weeks ago. Even with these changes, both should be racing in front or staying in the back until a late charge is warranted.

Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer

Tyler Reddick ($9,000) had a massive first win of this season at Talladega, but before that, he only scored at best 30 points at “The Big One.” This shows how random these superspeedways are and that anyone with a competitive engine could win. Reddick has not done well at Daytona but had a good run at Atlanta recently. For Reddick’s price tag to pay off, he must qualify poorly and move up massively through the field.

Harrison Burton ($6,000), Daniel Hemric ($5,900) and Anthony Alfredo ($5,400) are my favorite NASCAR DFS plays under $6K, and all three had a good run in the spring. All three qualified worse than 16th and would finish in the top 10. Burton might be hit or miss at superspeedway races, but his last recent win at Daytona showed that Wood Brothers Racing remains a force on superspeedways.

Check out all of our content for the 2024 YellaWood 500:


Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2024 YellaWood 500. Check out more of our racing content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to our YouTube channel to get your fix via video.

For more fantasy NASCAR content, find me on Twitter @NASINF1Fantasy.

*Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports*

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