With the short tracks now behind us, the wildest track on the Sprint Cup circuit is up next on Sunday for the Geico 500 at Talladega. Key stats to look at this week are DNFs and laps led. DNFs are important since Dega is known for the “big one” in which numerous cars are involved in a crash when they inevitably go four-wide. Here are how active drivers have performed at the track in the last two years.

*Track type data represents races run on Restrictor Plate tracks and not 2.5-mile layouts since the setup of the car is different.

 AvgAvg     Laps HighLow AvgDiffLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPointsPointsPts/Race
Dale Earnhardt Jr.16.815.004122218501310104.11.8046.2511.56
Brad Keselowski11.016.2541222130138084.4-5.253.250.81
Denny Hamlin24.316.2541123230137192.18.055.751.44
Joey Logano21.819.2541112450133183.22.5511.252.81
Clint Bowyer24.811.004023320330073.913.800.500.13
Paul Menard10.512.7540133120336187.0-2.253.000.75
Ryan Newman13.310.5040124120518060.32.803.000.75
Martin Truex Jr.33.514.004012310527082.819.500.250.06
Jimmie Johnson7.516.754011217002240109.0-9.2542.5010.63
Greg Biffle24.521.0040112770237074.23.5019.254.81
Landon Cassill35.322.004011220439160.513.300.500.13
A.J. Allmendinger17.020.254011200536059.1-3.250.000.00
Ryan Blaney5.323.0030111150443176.9-17.703.751.25
Matt Kenseth11.522.504011150237074.3-11.001.250.31
Carl Edwards15.522.004011160532162.6-6.501.500.38
Kevin Harvick19.59.7540034220715099.89.755.501.38
Kurt Busch15.015.504002320733190.9-0.500.500.13
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.23.715.003002230926065.08.700.750.25
Kasey Kahne13.518.2540013330834091.4-4.758.252.06
Kyle Larson26.823.004001200942181.93.800.000.00
Casey Mears15.520.7540012401031065.1-5.251.000.25
Josh Wise36.321.7540012101029050.914.550.250.06
Austin Dillon18.819.2540003001335169.5-0.450.000.00
Aric Almirola21.320.7540003001339065.80.550.000.00
Kyle Busch25.321.00300021201140075.84.303.001.00
Cole Whitt32.017.7540002301322064.414.250.750.19
Michael Waltrip29.522.5040002301336054.37.000.750.19
Danica Patrick19.822.25400011301927072.2-2.453.250.81
David Gilliland34.530.2540001602040265.14.251.500.38
Jamie McMurray28.528.5040001301139164.50.000.750.19
Reed Sorenson29.024.0020001101434164.35.000.250.13
Michael Annett22.327.3330001001637160.0-5.030.000.00
Tony Stewart16.830.25400011101943258.2-13.452.750.69
Matt DiBenedetto39.529.0020001001840046.610.500.000.00
Trevor Bayne17.833.7540000602141272.0-15.951.500.38
David Ragan23.833.2540000403038160.2-9.451.000.25
Chris Buescher38.024.0010000002424056.014.000.000.00
Michael McDowell15.735.0030000102841255.2-19.300.250.08
Bobby Labonte33.525.0020000102327051.08.500.250.13
Brian Scott8.542.5020000014243243.8-34.000.000.00

Key Drivers on Restrictor Plate Tracks

 AvgAvg     Laps HighLow AvgDiffLaps LedLaps Led
DriverStartFinishRacesWinsTop 5'sTop 10'sTop 20'sLedPolesFinishFinishDNFRatingPointsPointsPts/Race
Dale Earnhardt Jr.10.012.789355638211361104.0-2.7895.5010.61
Denny Hamlin25.19.009257814801371104.216.1037.004.11
Joey Logano21.414.8992236780133189.36.5119.502.17
Brad Keselowski22.119.5691335270141181.22.546.750.75
Aric Almirola24.020.4491116190139170.33.564.750.53
Jimmie Johnson11.915.22904462770242198.0-3.3269.257.69
Kevin Harvick20.311.2290368220239091.99.085.500.61
Clint Bowyer21.816.119026640342169.95.691.000.11
Kurt Busch18.012.6380256530333194.15.3713.251.66
Martin Truex Jr.23.618.009024640243279.75.601.000.11
Carl Edwards15.923.4490223170541268.7-7.544.250.47
Austin Dillon16.913.4490148101535175.93.462.500.28
Casey Mears22.216.229014660432068.75.981.500.17
Paul Menard15.017.5690136410336181.6-2.5610.251.14
Ryan Newman18.816.1190136140538058.02.693.500.39

Dale Earnhardt Jr.-Junior is the king of Restrictor Plate tracks with 10 wins all-time in that setup and six on Talladega alone. He is the most expensive driver this week at $10,300 but that’s still $700 less than last week’s top price of $11,000. He has been incredibly solid all season with just two weeks less than 44 points.

Denny Hamlin-While he has been a bit up and down of late, his best week came at the Daytona 500, a fellow Restrictor Plate track. He also has a win at Talladega in the last two years and has the biggest positive position differential amongst active drivers on this type of track. All of this and a relatively cheap price tag of $10,000 make him an intriguing play in both cash and GPP formats.

Brad Keselowski-Brad has been a bit hit and miss this season but has registered two races with better than 70 points. He does have a win at Talladega in the last two years and has two top-5 finishes. His price tag makes him palatable in a GPP format given his irregular finishes, but depending on qualifying position a chance in a cash game might make sense.

Martin Truex Jr.-Truex’s best races this season have come on the longest and fastest tracks, which is exactly the description on Talladega. He is a top-10 driver on the track in the last few years having finished solidly every time and not registering a DNF, which is more important here than anywhere else, and also has the best position differential on this specific track. The $8,900 price tag this week is right in the middle of where he has been this season and makes him a worthwhile play in both formats.

Paul Menard-He is coming off three down weeks but is capable of scoring in the 40’s as he has done twice this season with two others in the mid-30’s. That may not sound great but Menard does have a good history at Talladega as well as running well in Restrictor Plate races. He is fairly inexpensive at $6,800 this week and offers a driver who has a solid floor and a bit of an upside.