Love's RV Stop 225
Location: Talladega, Ala.
Course: Talladega Superspeedway
Format: 2.66-mile tri-oval
Laps: 85
NASCAR Trucks Love's RV Stop 225 Race Preview
Corey Heim became the first driver to seal a spot in the championship finale in Phoenix with a comeback win at the ROVAL. That victory also earned him the most NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series victories in a single season (10). Now just two races remain for drivers to wrap up one of the three remaining finalist spots that will race Heim for the title at the end of the season. This week the test is Talladega Superspeedway and the Love's RV Stop 225. The big superspeedway is all about power and speed, and drivers will need to work well in the draft to make their way to the front. Anything can happen at this unpredictable venue where the entire field runs nose to tail from first to last throughout the afternoon. As if the track alone didn't ratchet up the nerves, the miniscule points margin in the playoff battle is enough to give contenders nightmares. Behind Heim, only five points separate Tyler Ankrum in second to Kaden Honeycutt in eighth. With the points battle tighter than ever, every position at Talladega will matter. That added pressure is likely to raise the temperature as everything is on the line for the playoff contenders this week at Talladega.
Key Stats at Talladega Superspeedway
- Number of races: 19
- Winners from pole: 3
- Winners from top-5 starters: 7
- Winners from top-10 starters: 10
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 5
- Fastest race: 145.513 mph
Previous 10 Talladega Winners
2024 - Grant Enfinger
2023 - Brett Moffitt
2022 - Matt DiBenedetto
2021 - Tate Fogleman
2020 - Raphael Lessard
2019 - Spencer Boyd
2018 - Timothy Peters
2017 - Parker Kligerman
2016 - Grant Enfinger
2015 - Timothy Peters
Talladega is a 2.66-mile superspeedway where drivers must work together to get to the front. Trucks run the entire wide and long oval at full throttle, dragging the brake or slightly lifting the throttle only to get as close to drafting partners as possible to ensure maximum speed. With vehicles bunched closely together throughout the field, mistakes can be major. Part of Talladega's unpredictability comes from the act that accidents typically collect many trucks with drivers racing so closely together. For that reason, some drivers will opt to run at the back of the field for safety should an accident occur before moving forward for the stage and race finishes. Playoff drivers may not have that luxury this week with the points battle as close as it is, though. Instead, drivers will have to be on their toes and do their best to survive until the finish in order to race for the victory. Unlike other tracks, starting position isn't a big concern. Winners of this race have come from outside of the top 20 five times in the 19-race history and only four times has the winner started on the front row.
RotoWire NASCAR Truck Series DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Love's RV Stop 225 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Corey Heim - $11,000
Layne Riggs - $10,500
Ty Majeski - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Corey Lajoie - $9,800
Grant Enfinger - $9,500
Chandler Smith - $9,300
Daniel Hemric - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Tyler Ankrum - $8,800
Ben Rhodes - $8,700
Kaden Honeycutt - $8,500
Rajah Caruth - $8,300
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Gio Ruggiero - $7,800
Jake Garcia - $7,600
Andres Perez de Lara - $6,600
Josh Reaume - $5,400
NASCAR Truck Series DFS Picks for the Love's RV Stop 225
Ty Majeski - $10,000
Grant Enfinger - $9,500
Tyler Ankrum - $8,800
Ben Rhodes - $8,700
Jake Garcia - $7,600
Josh Reaume - $5,400
A stop at Talladega Superspeedway afford fantasy players a chance to look further down the price sheet for driver options given then unpredictability of superspeedway racing. Near the top of any list should be Ty Majeski. The ThorSport Racing driver started second and finished third at Daytona in February and scored his best Talladega finish in this race last season. He frequently qualifies inside the top 10 at superspeedways and, with a little luck, could be a reliable top-five finisher again this week. He also has extra motivation to win this week with a spot among the final four championship contenders on the line.
Grant Enfinger is also one not to ignore at superspeedways. He is a two-time Talladega winner with four top-10 finishes from 11 starts at the track. In February, he started ninth, led seven laps, and finished fourth. Enfinger is a driver that knows how to work the draft and typically runs among the leaders in these races. Again, if he has a clean race this week and avoids trouble, Enfinger should be able to grab a top finish for fantasy rosters. Like Majeski, a win for Enfinger would also earn him a championship opportunity.
McAnally-Hilgemann Racing's Tyler Ankrum is also worth looking at this week. He has two top-10 finishes from six Talladega starts with a best finish of seventh back in 2019. Like the first two selections, he has a spot in the championship finale awaiting him if he were to win, which should offer some extra motivation. Ankrum was forced to start at the rear of the field at Daytona in February but quickly moved forward. An engine failure later on ended his race prematurely, though. However, the early-race speed he showed in that race bodes well for what he might be capable of this week at Talladega.
Ben Rhodes started on pole at Daytona in February, leading 22 laps and winning the first stage. At this track, he has three top-five finishes from nine series starts, and he was the runner-up finisher in two consecutive Talladega races before crashing out of last year's race early. Rhodes is a consistent and reliable driver in the draft with a win at Daytona and top-five finishes at this track. His price this week is a relative bargain, too.
While Jake Garcia only has two prior Talladega starts with an average finish of 29th, fantasy players should look a little deeper at those numbers. His average start in those races was 6.5 and he was involved in incidents both times. At Daytona, he has fared a little better with a 12th-place finish at the track back in February. He started that race fifth, too. Garcia clearly has competitive speed at superspeedways, and if he can survive until the finish this week at Talladega, he should reward fantasy players with a respectable points haul in comparison to his relatively inexpensive price tag.
Finally, Josh Reaume is one of the least expensive options available this week. That isn't bad considering he scored a top-20 finish at Daytona in February and has an average finish of 22nd from two Talladega tries. Reaume also finished 18th at Atlanta, another draft-style race track, earlier this season, which suggests he should be in contention for a top-20 finish again this week. A finish like that would be good production from him and on the top side of his average finishes so far this season.
NASCAR Truck Series Best Bets for the Love's RV Stop 225
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 3:30 PM ET Thursday
Race Winner - Ty Majeski +1000
Top-Five Finish - Parker Kligerman+180
Matchup - Corey Lajoie -125, Layne Riggs -105
Ty Majeski may not have a win yet at Talladega, but his success at sister-track Daytona and his qualifying numbers at Talladega show that the potential is there. At Daytona in February he landed his best finish at the track (third) while extending his streak of qualifying on the front row there to four straight races. His pace at Talladega has been similar with an average starting spot of 4.7 from three tries. He picked up his best Talladega finish in this race last season (12th), and is capable of even more with a trouble-free race. With his superspeedway momentum on the rise and a spot in the championship finale on the line, this could be the week to put some chips on Majeski.
Wagerers may also want to consider taking Parker Kligerman for a top-five finish. This week's race will be his eighth series start of the season and it comes at a track he won twice at. His last two Talladega starts ended in ninth-place finishes and he has five total top-10 finishes from nine series tries. His best results so far this season have been a trio of 14th-place finishes, but his history at Talladega indicates his potential to do better than that this week. He led two laps at Daytona after starting 23rd and bringing that same speed this week while avoiding crashes would put him in contention for a top finish.
On the matchup front, one potentially worth wagering on is Layne Riggs versus Corey Lajoie. Being near the top of the playoff battle with such a narrow margin means Riggs must fight for every point and make smart moves to get to the finish this week. He came home 13th at Daytona a few weeks ago while this will be Lajoie's first superspeedway outing in the series this season. Riggs has been behind the wheel all season, which gives him an advantage, and he has everything to play for as far as the championship goes. That motivation, coupled with his strong races on the back half of the season, and you have the makings of what could be a top superspeedway finish for Riggs this week.
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