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Superspeedway results this season point fantasy NASCAR players toward Carson Hocevar, Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Alex Bowman for Sunday’s YellaWood 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and away from several of the Chase favorites.
The 188-lap race starts at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, October 25, on NBC. With no practice this weekend, the best guides are the two drafting-track races run since April: the spring Talladega race and the August race at Daytona.
What the last two superspeedway races showed
Hocevar won the spring Talladega race on April 26, ahead of Chris Buescher, Bowman, Chase Elliott and Zane Smith. Stenhouse finished sixth and Cindric eighth. A 27-car crash that brought out a red flag on Lap 116 ended the day for Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace, who all finished 36th or worse.
Ryan Preece won at Daytona on August 29, his first Cup win, ahead of Daniel Suárez, Tyler Reddick, Michael McDowell and Stenhouse, according to NASCAR.com. Cindric was sixth and Bowman eighth. Blaney won Stage 2 but wrecked on the final lap and finished 33rd.
Only three drivers finished in the top 10 in both races: Stenhouse, Cindric and Bowman.
Analysis: Drivers to start
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Sixth at Talladega in April and fifth at Daytona in August. He is a two-time Talladega winner.
Austin Cindric. Eighth in April and sixth in August. He won the spring Talladega race in 2025 and the 2022 Daytona 500, and he opened at +1500 to win Sunday.
Alex Bowman. Third at Talladega in April and eighth at Daytona in August. Only Stenhouse matched that combined result across the two races.
Carson Hocevar. The defending spring winner. His August Daytona race ended in a Lap 155 crash he started, so there is risk, but he led at the end the last time the series raced at Talladega.
Analysis: Sleepers
Chris Buescher. Runner-up in April after a close finish with Hocevar. He opened at +1800.
Daniel Suárez. Second at Daytona in August and 12th at Talladega in April.
Zane Smith. Fifth in the spring Talladega race. He was involved in the late crashes at Daytona in August, which makes him a higher-risk pick.
Analysis: Drivers to sit
Kyle Larson. The points leader finished last in the spring Talladega race after the big crash. Fantasy players chasing points have safer options at a drafting track.
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. Both are three-time Talladega winners and co-favorites at +1100, but both were wrecked out of the spring race, and Blaney’s August Daytona race ended with a last-lap crash. In formats that reward finishing position, their recent superspeedway results don’t match their odds.
Denny Hamlin. Fifteenth at Talladega in April after starting third. He opened at +2000.
Strategy notes for Sunday
The first stage runs 98 laps, longer than the two 45-lap stages that follow, which means more fuel saving early. Chase drivers are expected to race for stage points, and Denny Hamlin predicted crashes at the ends of stages earlier this week.
Drivers who start deep in the field and finish in the top 10 can score big place-differential points in daily fantasy formats. Cup qualifying is Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on truTV, so check the starting lineup before locking in picks.
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