NASCAR will go back to its roots when the Cup Series races at North Wilksboro this weekend. It has been 30 years since the Cup Series had a points paying race at this iconic short track. The teams did compete in the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year, but the race this weekend will be different. The drivers have to make 450 perfect laps around this .625-mile, asphalt, short track. It should be fun to watch. The Window World 450 can be seen Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
Here are my picks for your season long Fantasy NASCAR games…
DRIVER GROUP GAME PICKS FOR NORTH WILKSBORO
GROUP A DRIVERS
DENNY HAMLIN (5): I just cannot fade the Toyota’s right now. They have been the most dominant cars and I doubt that will change at North Wilksboro. The most similar track to North Wilksboro on the schedule this year is Martinsville. Hamlin won the pole, led 292 laps and finished 2nd at the paperclip-shaped track. He should be one of the highest scoring drivers in the Driver Group Game if he brings that same speed to the track Sunday.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (7): Bell was awesome in the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year. He qualified 2nd, had the second-best Driver Rating (127.3) and Bell took his No. 20 Toyota to Victory Lane. He also ran every lap in the top-10 and 95% of the laps in the top-five. Bell led 172 and finished 2nd on the short track at Phoenix earlier this year. I thought about pairing Ryan Blaney with Denny Hamlin in Group A, but I just cannot fade the speed Bell had at this track last year.
GROUP B DRIVERS
TY GIBBS (4): 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 should continue to roll on this short track Sunday night.
JOEY LOGANO (6): Could this be the race when Logano gets back to Victory Lane? He dominated the race at North Wilksboro last year. Logano led 139 of the 250 laps, had the best Driver Rating (146.4), ran every lap in the top-five and finished 2nd in the race. Logano also tested at North Wilksboro in January. The track will be much different this weekend from what they had in January, but Logano is going to be tough to beat if they learned anything from the test that they can add to their 2025 speed at North Wilksboro.
RYAN PREECE (9): Preece is a short track expert and he was pretty fast in the All-Star Open Race last year at North Wilksboro. Preece came back to the track in January and tested for RFK Racing. He should be faster this weekend than he was last year if he learned something from the test. I will take a chance with Preece this weekend at North Wilksboro.
TYLER REDDICK (3): Do you want to chase bonus points for qualifying or do you want another option for the race. I only have three allocations left with Reddick so there is no way I can use him in the race. I can use the No. 45 car for qualifying points. Reddick has been good a putting down a fast last in qualifying, so I will try to get some bonus points from the No. 45 car this weekend. If you want another bullet to use in Group B, pivot from Reddick to Brad Keselowski. He led 62 laps at North Wilksboro last year and he crashed while leading the race. The No. 6 car should be fast again Sunday night.
GROUP C DRIVERS
DANIEL SUAREZ (5): The choices in Group C are not great. Suarez did not finish well in the All-Star Race last year, but that is because he was involved in an early race accident. Suarez did come back to North Wilksboro in January and tested for Spire Motorsports. Combining that information with the data from his teammate (Carson Hocevar), should give Suarez a good chance to run well Sunday night.
CARSON HOCEVAR (3): Hocevar is by far the best pick in Group C. He started 21st and finished 11th in the All-Star Race. He posted some of the fastest laps at the end of the race, so he had a good chance to finish in the top-10 if the race was a bit longer. I am hoping I do not have to play Hocevar Sunday night, but I will have him as an insurance policy for his teammate, Daniel Suarez.
* Be sure to check back Sunday morning for my starting lineup.
SPEEDWAY COLLECTIVE PICKS
GROUP A DRIVERS: My picks for Group A in the Speedway Collective game will be CHRISTOPHER BELL and DENNY HAMLIN. Bell won the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro. I am no longer concerned with his wrist. Bell should have a good chance to run up front Sunday night. Hamlin is almost a lock to run up front. He will be my insurance policy for Blaney. I am quickly running out of allocations with Hamlin, so I am hoping that I do not need to use him Sunday.
GROUP B DRIVERS: My picks for Group B will be TY GIBBS and JOEY LOGANO. Gibbs dominated the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year and he won on the short track at Bristol using the current aero package. He should be the best pick in Group B. Logano is at his best on the short, flat tracks and he needs as many points as possible to make the playoffs. I expect a good point’s day from Logano Sunday.
GROUP C DRIVERS: My picks for Group C will be RYAN PREECE and CARSON HOCEVAR. Preece has been pretty good on the short, flat tracks in his career and he was fast in the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year. I plan to use him in the race Sunday and keep Hocevar on the team as an insurance policy.
GROUP D DRIVERS: This is a tough group. I am already out of allocations with JOHN H. NEMECHEK and RILEY HERBST. I like Nemechek in the Driver Group Game and he is a good pick in this format too. You really cannot go wrong with the Toyota drivers right now, so I will pair Hebrst with Nemechek. I expect both of these Toyota’s to finish inside the top-20, with top-15 upside.
* Be sure to check back Sunday morning for my starting lineup.
FANTRAX PICKS
* Each league in Fantrax is different. Some leagues have bench drivers and award qualifying points and others do not. The two leagues that I am playing in do not have bench drivers. Also, most leagues (including mine), do not require your lineup to be set until minutes before the race starts. My picks will change after practice and qualifying for most races. If you need bench drivers, you can use my picks from the Driver Group Game.
* Be sure to check back Sunday morning for my starting lineup.
Good Luck Sunday!
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