The Cup Series will compete in a points paying race at North Wilksboro for the first time in 30 years. The Cup Series held their All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year, but the race this weekend will have 450 laps and plenty of action. It should be fun to see how these new-school drivers take on this old-school track. The Window World 450 can be seen Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
STRATEGY FOR NORTH WILKSBORO
We are quickly approaching the end of the regular season. There are only six races left on the schedule (North Wilksboro, Indianapolis, Iowa, Richmond, New Hampshire and Daytona). Four of the six races are on short tracks and require drivers with the skill-set to post fast laps on tracks similar to North Wilksboro. It is going to be tough to navigate the rest of the season, but I have a plan. I just need the drivers to cooperate J.
Here are the picks for the race at North Wilksboro Speedway…
RYAN BLANEY (4): Blaney is always at his best on the short tracks, similar to North Wilksboro. He won the last two races at Phoenix Raceway and the No. 12 car has some speed again this weekend. Blaney posted the 11th-fastest speed in practice and the No. 12 car starts on the pole for the race. Blaney is just too fast to fade Sunday night.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (3): Bell started on the front, led 28 laps and went to Victory Lane at North Wilksboro last year. He also finished 2nd at Phoenix and 7th at Martinsville this year, so Bell has been good on the short tracks. The No. 20 team showed up with some speed again this weekend. Bell posted the fastest speeds on all of the long-run speed charts in practice and he starts 3rd for the race. I will take a chance with Bell and hope this is the race he finds Victory Lane.
TY GIBBS (2):Gibbs destroyed the field in the Open Race at North Wilksboro last year. He led 153 of the 200 laps. He should be a great pick Sunday night if the No. 54 team can bring that same speed to the track this weekend. Gibbs has been one of the best drivers this year in the short track aero package. He won the race at Bristol and he finished 4th at Phoenix and Martinsville. Gibbs is fast again this weekend. The No. 54 car posted top-10 speed in practice and Gibbs starts 2nd for the race. Gibbs should score well for your Driver Group Game lineup Sunday night.
JOEY LOGANO (5): Logano dominated the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year. The No. 22 led 139 of the 250 laps and Logano finished 2nd in the race. The most similar track to North Wilksboro on the 2026 schedule is Martinsville. Logano finished 3rd in the race at Martinsville in March. The No. 22 car has the speed to finish up front Sunday night and be a great pick for your Fantasy Live lineup.
CHASE ELLIOTT (6): Elliott was good but not great in the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year. He started 5th, had the 3rd-best Driver Rating, had an average running position of 4.2 and he finished 5th. The most similar track to North Wilksboro on the 2026 schedule is Martinsville. Elliott won that race and the No. 9 car has a good chance to finish up front again Sunday night.
(GARAGE PICK) WILLIAM BYRON (4): Byron was the best short track driver last year and he was pretty good in the All-Star Race last year at North Wilksboro. He started 5th, led 12 laps, had the 3rd-highest driver rating and finished 6th. The most similar track to North Wilksboro is Martinsville and Byron finished 5th at the paper-clip shaped track this year. Byron has the speed and the track position to score well for your Fantasy Live lineup Sunday night. I will have Byron in the Garage as an insurance policy at North Wilksboro.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.