NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Talladega Superspeedway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
- Steve Luvender: 757
- Dustin Albino: -45
- r/NASCAR Community: -79
- Cameron Richardson: -144
Race 31 of 36: Talladega
Last week’s race at Kansas tightened up the battle at the top of the season-long standings. Cameron Richardson’s string of dreadful luck continued, earning just 12 points from defending race winner Tyler Reddick. Steve Luvender’s pick of new dad Bubba Wallace earned 20 points from a 17th-place finish, opening the door for second-ranked Dustin Albino to lop off 16 points following Denny Hamlin’s eighth-place day. The r/NASCAR community scored a respectable 30 points from selecting Chase Elliott, who finished ninth.
Talladega is bound to excite and shake up not only the playoffs but 36 for 36. It’s the final draft-heavy superspeedway of the year, making for perhaps the last chance for an underdog to put up a solid day, while playoff drivers will likely focus on exiting the 2.66-mile track with their cars in one piece.
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 31, Daniel Hemric
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 11, Denny Hamlin (36 points)
Total season points: 716 (second place)
Dustin: At this point, I’m starting to feel like I’ve cursed drivers and teams this season with my picks. While I chipped 16 points off of Steve’s lead at Kansas, the No. 11 team had its roughest day of the year on pit road. This week, I’m leaning towards Hemric, who needs a signature moment after Kaulig Racing announced last weekend that it would replace him with Ty Dillon in 2025. The number to watch here is nine. All four of Hemric’s top 10 finishes in 2024 have been ninth-place results, including Talladega in the spring. I’ll take a ninth this weekend and get out of dodge.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 15, Cody Ware 
Steve’s pick last week: No. 23, Bubba Wallace (20 points)
Total season points: 757 (first place)
Steve: Cody Ware has a knack for getting to the end of chaotic superspeedway races with a car intact, and that’s what I need this weekend to protect my slimming points lead. Ware drove the No. 15 to a fourth-place finish at Daytona in August, where I considered picking him but ended up looking elsewhere.
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 15, Cody Ware
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 45, Tyler Reddick (12 points)
Total season points: 613 (fourth place)
Cameron: I just don’t know anymore. I have to be cursed at this rate with the results of my picks throughout the season. With this being the last drafting track of the season, I have to go with the No. 15 here. These races are always a toss-up for smaller teams but Ware survived an attrition-filled summer race at Daytona to finish fourth and completed every lap at Talladega in the spring.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 10, Noah Gragson
r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 9, Chase Elliott (30 points)
Total season points: 678 (third place)
The NASCAR subreddit voted Chase Elliott as their Kansas pick in this week’s voting thread. Here’s what Redditors had to say:
u/Dont_hate_the_8: “We’ve got a few A-tier drivers left. The only ones I wouldn’t put in that category are Preece and Gragson. Between them, I think their best bet for a good run is Preece at Martinsville, so I say we use Gragson here.”
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “The races we have left are set, and Gragson goes here”
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!