The High Line – Cup Series – Geico 500 – Talladega Superspeedway – April 24, 2022

Overview

Yesterday’s XFINITY race was about as exciting as you could ask for yesterday and today’s Cup race should be right on par. The Cup drivers will turn 188 laps to cover the 500-lap event. Talladega Superspeedway is a 2.66-mile asphalt superspeedway with high-banked turns which, in case you’re unaware creates a pack-racing atmosphere requiring precision driving, more so than usual. Brad Keselowski won the first race here last season while Bubba Wallace in a rain-shortened event took home the trophy in the Fall. Virtually everyone has a chance to win this race which makes it one of the more unpredictable events on the schedule.

Most comparable tracks: Daytona

*Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused

Top Drivers

Ryan Blaney ($10,500), Starting 22nd

He isn’t starting WAY deep in the field which is where everyone usually looks but Blaney starting 22nd is in a good spot to pick up place differential at lower ownership with a good chance to finish in the top three. Blaney has won here at the Cup level twice and overall has five top-fives in 15 career runs at ‘Dega. Outside of the first Talladega race in 2018 when he started 23rd, this is the deepest in the field that he’s started here. With five top-15s and three top-10s in his last six races here, it’s clear that the driver of the 12 car can keep it clean and navigate this track.

Chase Elliott ($9,900), Starting 28th

This is the furthest back in the field that Elliott has started any race this season and his salary is the cheapest it’s been since the Daytona 500. This is where the chalk plays begin for Sunday. Elliott is a one-time winner at Talladega and has an average finish of 16th in 12 races there.

Alex Bowman ($9,200), Starting 27th

Bowman is yet another Hendrick Motorsports driver (Elliott) starting 27th or worse on Sunday. Despite not having a great track record at Talladega, Bowman has never started deeper than 19th in a Hendrick car and typically has been in the top-11 at the drop of the green flag. STarting deeper in the field helps Bowman avoid the typical skirmish that occurs at the front of the field and offers some solid P.D. points.

Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($7,600), Starting 26th

Stenhouse’s two wins have come at superspeedways in his career as a Cup driver and one of those came right here at Talladega. This season has been bad for Ricky as he’s been absolute shit, there’s no way to avoid saying it. However, for whatever reason when he comes to these tracks he tends to perform his best. In his career in the 47 car he has a second-place finish and a 16th. Overall he has nine top 10s, six top-fives, and that aforementioned win.