Daily Fantasy Nascar Picks
CampingWorld.com 500

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CampingWorld.com 500

Talladega Superspeedway - Talladega, Alabama
Track Type/Length - 2.66 Mile Tri-Oval Superspeedway
33° Banking in the Turns
Another exciting finish Sunday at the Hollywood Casino 400 as Joey Logano bumped race leader Matt Kenseth on the final lap to take his second win in a row. Of course, both seen the incident differently but even NASCAR chairman Brian France backed Joey and said it was a racing move. I have to agree as Kenseth spent most of the final lap blocking the #22 all over the track. No matter how you view the incident it is now over and Kenseth is faced with a win or go home scenario this week. Rounding out the top 5 were Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kane and Kyle Busch. As it stands right now Kyle Busch(-6), Ryan Newman(-8), Dale Jr(-31), and Matt Kenseth(-36) sit outside the the top eight, the position needed to advance into the Eliminator Round.

The second elimination race in the Chase for the Sprint Cup will take place at the world famous Talladega Superspeedway this weekend. Tension will be high as only Joey Logano and the winner of the race will be automatically advancing into the next round. Talladega is a super fast track where we see a lot of drafting and tons of lead changes. Drivers will be trying to keep their cars in tact until the final few laps where they can make their moves and work their way to the front for a shot at the win. The "big one" can happen at any time and can threaten the chances of any driver moving on so expect full concentration along with some aggressive, desperation moves from some drivers. This is going to be an exciting elimination race.

As there is no such thing a safe option this week I would suggest putting together multiple cash game lineups if you are playing cash games this weekend.

Upper Tier Targets

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
DraftKings - $11,200
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 6/1
Chase Standings – 11th
Practice #1 - 23rd
Final Practice - 3rd
Qualified - 5th
He is in a must win situation and no better track for Dale to get that win than Talladega. He has 5 career wins here including the race here back in May where he led 67 laps. He is a terrific superspeedway racer and thrives when faced with pressure or adversity. He will be a popular play this week and it might be smart to make one cash game lineup that includes the #88.

Kevin Harvick
DraftKings - $9,700
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 13/1
Chase Standings – 5th
Practice #1 - 18th
Final Practice - 6th
Qualified - 7th
When was the last time you could own Harvick for under $10K? Ya I don't remember either. He was runner up in Charlotte to start this round followed by a 16th last week after a near catastrophe that turned out to be a minor issue. The #4 team could present us with some added value this week in place differential. Why? Since joining Stewart Haas team in 2014 he has had an average starting position of 23.7 while having an average finishing 8.0 on average. For some reason they have trouble qualifying here at Talladega. Safe in all formats.

Brad Keseowski
DraftKings - $9,200
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 16/1
Chase Standings – 7th
Practice #1 - 19th
Final Practice - 1st
Qualified - 11th
He has started this round with back to back 9th place finishes and sits just inside the bubble to advance. He is an aggressive driver which will be needed near the end of this race where anything can happen and points can change in a blink of an eye. He has 3 career wins here including the win here last October. Look for another strong finish from Keselowski and a trip inside the Eliminator Round.

Also Consider - Denny Hamlin(DK-$9,000)

Middle Tier Targets

Martin Truex Jr.
DraftKings - $8,400
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 19/1
Chase Standings – 8th
Practice #1 - 13th
Final Practice - N/A
Qualified - 43rd
He has been a great under the radar consistent option in the Chase and will be a nice value play again this week. He is the 13th most expensive driver and 2nd cheapest Chase driver. He doesn't qualify well here but does have a nice track record here most recently. In his last five races here he has a top 5, three top 1's and a 13.0 average finish. He sits right on the bubble in 8th and should be safe with a top 10 finish this week.

Ryan Newman
DraftKings - $7,700
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 41/1
Chase Standings – 10th
Practice #1 - 32nd
Final Practice - N/A
Qualified - 18th
He is the cheapest Chase driver and sits in 10th in the standings coming in to Talladega. In his previous five races here he has a top 5, three top 10's, and a 14.0 average finish. He will need a really good effort this week if he wants to advance into the Eliminator round and should be 100% focused after failing to record a top 10 in the previous 3 races. He comes in under $8K and makes a nice option in any format.

Low End Target

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
DraftKings - $6,000
Fantasy Feud - $
Vegas Odds - 76/1
Chase Standings – Not in Chase
Practice #1 - 25th
Final Practice - 21st
Qualified - 17th
He is making himself a permanent home here in the lower tier targets section in the Chase. He has not finished worse than 13th in the last 4 races and has a nice track record here at Talladega. He has raced here in the last 4 races and has a top 5, two top 10's and a 13.0 average finish. If he, like every other driver, can avoid a wreck this week he provides tremendous value.

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

Qualifying Top 10:
1. #24 Jeff Gordon
2. #5 Kasey Kahne
3. #48 Jimmie Johnson
4. #20 Matt Kenseth
5. #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6. #6 Trevor Bayne
7. #4 Kevin Harvick
8. #11 Denny Hamlin
9. #21 Ryan Blaney
10. #22 Joey Logano

Jeff Gordon won the Coors Lite Pole award in his final race at Talladega. Teammate Kasey Kahne will be starting alongside Gordon and Jimmie Johnson will start 3rd and Dale Jr. 5th. Look for the Hendrick cars to get into a group and ride together in a pack as long as possible. The important thing for the teams to do during the race will be to stay out of trouble and be there at the end to have a shot at winning. We will want to look for value with good drivers in situations where they start outside their expected finish thus gettign those bonus points for place differential. Martin Truex Jr. dipped below the yellow line on his first qualifying run(not allowed) and will start 43rd for the race. This is great value on the #78 as he should be able to pick up some bonus points for place differential. Other drivers who should hold similar value are AJ Allmendinger(31st), Clint Bowyer(29th), and Austin Dillon(26th). Good luck this week and be sure to get the cheatsheet for every drivers data.

Want to see how these picks and more fit into lineups for the CampingWorld.com 500? Chris is selling a cheatsheet and lineups for DraftKings and FantasyFeud for $5. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership. Head over to our PayPal payment page, if that's more your bag.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.