This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Talladega this week for the fifth playoff race and the second in the Round of 8. Ty Majeski was the first driver to punch a ticket to the Championship 4 with his win last Thursday at Bristol. This was quite the way to make a statement with his first career win having such implications. This will be the second superspeedway race of the season for the Truck Series and provides some unique challenges for teams.
Previous 10 Talladega Winners w/ Starting Position
2021 - Tate Fogleman (20th)
2020 - Raphael Lessard (15th)
2019 - Spencer Boyd (25th)
2018 - Timothy Peters (3rd)
2017 - Parker Kligerman (14th)
2016 - Grant Enfinger (2nd)
2015 - Timothy Peters (1st)
2014 - Timothy Peters (26th)
2013 - Johnny Sauter (24th)
2012 - Parker Kligerman (9th)
Drivers always joke that superspeedway racing is like rolling the dice and seeing how you come out. This is because of how much variance there is between being involved or missing a wreck at these tracks. Trucks will be so compact drafting at full speed throughout the race that anything can happen. With the playoffs winding down and teams making last ditch efforts to secure a spot in the final round, we will see patience running short and even more chaos. For DFS, the main thing this week revolves around lineup construction. This is not a race that will have dominators who rack up a bunch of laps led and fastest laps. We will see most of those points spread throughout the field. At superspeedways I build lineups in a way that allows me to capitalize on the most important thing, which is place differential. In short, this means limiting my exposure to the front starting spots and loading up on drivers who start mid pack or even farther back, even if that means leaving salary on the table.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
John Hunter Nemechek - $10,800
Zane Smith - $10,600
Parker Kligerman - $10,400
Johnny Sauter - $10,200
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Stewart Friesen - $9,800
Christian Eckes - $9,600
Ryan Preece - $9,400
Ty Majeski - $9,200
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Matt Crafton - $8,800
Grant Enfinger - $8,600
Ben Rhodes - $8,200
Carson Hocevar - $8,100
DraftKings Tier 4 Values
Matt DiBenedetto - $7,900
Kaz Grala - $7,100
Timmy Hill - $6,800
Jordan Anderson - $5,800
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Chevy Silverado 250
Parker Kligerman - $10,400
Matt Crafton - $8,800
Grant Enfinger - $8,600
Ben Rhodes - $8,200
Kaz Grala - $7,100
Jordan Anderson - $5,800
It is always good to rely on experience in these types of races and therefore our selections this week start with Parker Kligerman. He has a long history of solid results on superspeedways including this year at Daytona finishing fifth. He also has wins here in 2017 and 2012. Matt Crafton is another veteran I am keen to side with this week. He has loads of experience and some solid finishes over the years. Three straight top 15s at Talladega for Crafton and has reeled off eight top 15s in his last 10 tries at Daytona. Grant Enfinger was a winner here back in 2016 and also has a very strong record at Daytona, including a win in 2020. Ben Rhodes has improved here since his debut in 2016, and his superspeedway form reads fourth, first, 13th, second in the last four. One thing I mentioned earlier was how teams will work together as much as they can, so you even have a bit more added correlation if you combine Rhodes and Crafton. Rhodes is eighth in the playoff point standings, so he must feel like he needs a win to advance to the Championship Four. This is a great opportunity for him to do so. Rounding out our selections this week are value plays Kaz Grala and Jordan Anderson. Grala has proven to be a very good superspeedway racer in his time in NASCAR, which was highlighted by his win at Daytona in 2017. He also added another top 10 in 2020. When given a chance in the Cup Series, he has performed as well finishing sixth here last spring with Kaulig Racing. Anderson has notched two straight runner-up finishes at Daytona to go along with three top 11s in his last four tries at Talladega, making him a strong candidate for success.
