DFS NASCAR: Alabama 500 Track Breakdown

It’s ‘Dega week again. The Alabama superspeedway comes roaring up on the schedule with it’s 2.66 mile circuit and the highest-banked turns of any track. Due to the speeds that are always carried at the track, restrictor plates are in play again this week, just like at Daytona, which means pack racing and accidents will rule the day. There is always a “big one” at the monster track and this week should be no different. If you’ll notice in the data, positional differential numbers will be huge here, due to drivers having big swings based on accidents and avoiding them.

A note to budgeting for this race, and how to do it. You may have noticed that I rarely fill up all $50,000 of the budget for any lineup, just as a way of differentiating the roster from others, and allowing for the subbing of pricier pivots. However this week, leaving $12,000-$15,000 in the budget, isn’t necessarily a horrible idea. Playing the guys that sit in the back of the field and hope to avoid the accidents is a great way to capitalize on PD points while also playing lower-owned guys. Sure playing a few of the top-five or top-10 drivers gets you points too, but if they slip back at all, they can easily been taken out in the “big one.”

Track Data

Top-15 Drivers Historically at Talladega Superspeedway

Top-15 Drivers at Restrictor Plate Tracks (Since Feb. 2015)

Drivers to watch this week:

Normally I list five drivers to pay attention to based on previous history at the given track, but this week something different.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the best driver on the track this week with six wins at Talladega in his career, and two in the last 10 restrictor plate races as well. The Governor has declared this coming Sunday to be Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day in the state of Alabama, plus his wife Amy will be driving the pace car. All of this could add up to a special day at the big tri-oval.

Other drivers who have shown well here are Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Jamie McMurray. All of those drivers have multiple wins in either recent history or in their careers here and all but one are still in the Chase.

With every spot on the track getting you one more point towards your total, and fifth through 12^th in the standings right now only separated by 22 points total, 10 between 8^th and 12^th, you better believe they will be driving for every spot, meaning more risky passes are possible and more crashes.

Drivers like Chris Buescher, Ty Dillon, Cole Whitt, and Matt DiBenedetto maybe worth a longer look than usual this week given there prior history of moving up through the field and posting top-20s for cheap price tags.