NASCAR DFS Fantasy Picks 2025 Talladega Superspeedway: Top Drivers, Sleepers, and Strategy

Modified Apr 23, 2025 16:00 GMT

After a week off for Easter Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series is back on track this weekend at the biggest and baddest track. The Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, is the site for this weekend's Jack Link's 500.

The unpredictable nature of the 2.66-mile track makes this week interesting for fans making their daily fantasy sports lineups (DFS). For instance, according to DraftKings Sportsbooks as of Wednesday morning EST, Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski are the early favorites to win. Because of the drafting and threat of "The Big One," both favorites are at a whopping +1000 to win.

Blaney is a three-time Talladega winner who last won at the track in the fall of 2023. Keselowski, meanwhile, is a six-time Talladega winner, which is tied with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon for the second most all-time. The driver of the #6 has also finished second in the last two NASCAR Cup Talladega events.

Kyle Busch and Joey Logano aren't far behind at +1100 odds to win. Busch is a two-time Talladega winner who last won at the track in the spring of 2023. The two-time NASCAR Cup champion has a recent record of strong runs on drafting tracks, as he also finished second last fall at Daytona. Logano is a three-time Talladega winner but hasn't posted a top-10 finish at the track in the NextGen era.

Bubba Wallace comes in at +2000 odds to win, which could be a solid sleeper pick for bettors this weekend. The driver of the #23 won at Talladega in the fall of 2021, finished ninth last fall, and has consistently run up front. Wallace also led at the white flag in the spring of 2023 until crashing out in the end.

Michael McDowell is another great sleeper at +2200 to win. The driver of the #71 swept the pole positions at Talladega last year and was leading as the field came to the checkered flag last spring before crashing. McDowell is also a former Daytona 500 winner, so he knows how to get to the front at superspeedways.

The best strategy for this week is to keep bets at a sprinkle. With Talladega being so unpredictable every year, you can make a case that anyone in the field can win. However, as we see by the oddsmakers, some stand out among the rest.

When does the NASCAR Talladega Cup race begin?

After hitting the high banks of the Bristol short track two weeks ago, the NASCAR Cup Series circuit now hits the high banks of Talladega Superspeedway. The green flag for the Jack Link's 500 is set to drop on Sunday at 3 p.m.

The race is set to be 188 laps for 500 miles. The race can be watched on FOX or listened to on the Motor Racing Network.

Tyler Reddick enters as the defending winner of the Talladega spring race, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is the defending winner at the 2.66-mile track. Stenhouse won at Talladega last fall in a photo finish over Brad Keselowski.

About the author

John Breeden is a NASCAR content writer at Sportskeeda with over three years of sports journalism experience. His career began back in 2021, when he started writing for The Breeze - a student-run publication at James Madison University that covered a wide variety of collegiate sports. He graduated from JMU in May 2022 with a degree in media arts and design concentrating in journalism. He currently writes for his local publication, the Daily News-Record, in Harrisonburg, VA, where he covers a variety of sports at the high school and collegiate level.

John has been a lifelong NASCAR fan and has followed the sport closely since 2005. He stays informed on motorsports developments through social media, NASCAR.com, and NASCAR podcasts, which help him craft unique and engaging stories. Interviewing Hendrick Motorsports Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon at Martinsville Speedway was a career highlight for John, where he wrote about William Byron taking the famed No. 24 car back to the Championship 4.

Beyond motorsports, John enjoys writing about other sports such as football, baseball, and basketball. He believes that NASCAR could reach the global popularity of Formula 1 by expanding its audience with more international races and enhancing its mainstream appeal, just like F1 has done.

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Edited by Rupesh