Fantasy Update: Is Jordan Taylor worth sticking in your lineup?

With NASCAR‘s first visit to a road course in the 2023 season, the stars have come out to play. With arguably the greatest NASCAR driver to ever live (Jimmie Johnson) and two former Formula One champions in the field, Sunday’s Cup race at Circuit of The Americas (3:30 p.m. ET FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is among the most diverse fields in series history. Oh, and four-time IMSA Series champion Jordan Taylor has shined in his debut weekend, replacing Chase Elliott, who is still out due to injury. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick still looks bad fast on road courses, despite switching teams and manufacturers over the offseason.

Dustin Albino‘s race-day lineup:

Starter 1: Tyler Reddick
Starter 2: AJ Allmendinger
Starter 3: Austin Cindric
Starter 4: Kyle Busch
Starter 5: Daniel Suárez
Garage pick: Jordan Taylor

NEXT IN LINE: Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, Kyle Larson, William Byron.

RELATED: Set your lineup | Odds for Sunday’s race

RISING: For having never turned laps in the Cup Series before Friday, Taylor is having about as smooth of a weekend as one could expect. He said on Saturday that getting up to speed on Friday wasn‘t seamless, but the No. 9 car was still 10th in practice. He qualified the car in fourth position, one second off Byron‘s fast lap. Using Taylor has a lot of upside this weekend — it‘s his only scheduled start of the season — but it‘s understandable to be hesitant, given he hasn‘t experienced race conditions.

Not sure how many industry folks thought Legacy Motor Club would get two of its entries into the final round of qualifying, but Erik Jones led the way in Group A. Noah Gragson was strong, too, as both drivers have their best starting positions of the 2023 season. Johnson, the team‘s co-owner and third driver this weekend, will start 31st.

FALLING: The driver with the most consecutive top-10 finishes on road courses entering COTA is Chris Buescher. However, the No. 17 Ford has been down on the speed chart thus far this weekend. He ranked 31st in practice and dropped to 32nd in qualifying. He was optimistic following his qualifying run, believing that the car has more potential to showcase in the race.

Christopher Bell carried the Toyotas on road courses in 2022 with a pair of top-five finishes. He‘s also the most recent victor on a road course at the Cup level. The No. 20 car has been average this weekend and will take the green flag from 14th position. Thinking ahead, I dropped Bell from my lineup, believing he will add more value to my lineup at different points of the regular season.

FEATURED MATCHUPS

Michael McDowell vs. Daniel Suárez: Of the three Trackhouse Racing entries this weekend, Suárez has displayed the most speed. Unlike last year when he led the duration of the opening stage, he doesn‘t believe the No. 99 car is the best in the field. Compared to McDowell‘s No. 34 car, he should get the advantage, even though they were fifth and sixth, respectively, in practice.

Kyle Busch vs. Tyler Reddick: By making the jump to Richard Childress Racing and Chevrolet, Busch has upped his road course speed compared to 2022. In Reddick‘s jump to Toyota, he helped elevate the manufacturer‘s road course program. With how fast the No. 45 car has been throughout the weekend, it was a big surprise to see Byron win the pole. Sunday, though, could be Reddick’s show.

AJ Allmendinger vs. Kyle Larson: It‘s hard to gauge where Larson is entering Sunday as he ranked second in practice (a half-second behind Reddick) and qualified 13th. Meanwhile, Allmendinger found speed in his No. 16 Chevrolet on Saturday and will start seventh in the race. Based solely on his road racing expertise and being in contention for the win on the final lap last year, Allmendinger gets my vote.

Austin Cindric vs. Ty Gibbs: Quietly, Cindric is having a solid weekend. The No. 2 car looks to be the most consistent Ford in the field, with top-10 times in practice and qualifying. Gibbs has been respectable, with the 11th-best time in practice. The difference is, Cindric is among the top threats to win the race, while Gibbs would be happy to get his second straight top-10 finish of the season.