The NASCAR Cup Series will make the trip to one of the most historic short track in NASCAR history. The Cup Series competed in the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year, but they have not had a points-paying race at this track in 30 year. North Wilksboro is .625-mile, short track with progressive banking. Most up the drivers say it is like riding a roller coaster because the backstretch goes uphill and then the drivers dive downhill on the front-stretch. There really is not track like North Wilksboro on the schedule. The Truck Series will join the Cup Series at North Wilksboro. The O’Reilly Series has the weekend off.
Here is the schedule for the on-track activity at North Wilksboro Speedway this weekend…
Friday (July 17th) 2 p.m. ET: Truck Series Practice
Friday (July 17th) 3 p.m. ET: Truck Series Qualifying
Saturday (July 18th) 12:30 ET: Truck Series Race
Saturday (July 18th) 5 p.m. ET: Cup Series Practice
Saturday (July 18th) 6 p.m. ET: Cup Series Qualifying
Sunday (July 18th) 7 p.m. ET: Cup Series Race
FANTASY STATS FOR NORTH WILKSBORO
This is the first full race at North WIlksboro, but the Cup Series did have the All-Star Race at this track in 2025. I used the stats from the All-Star Race last year and my primary data point for the picks. Martinsville is the closest track in size and speed to North Wilksboro, so I used the data from the race at Martinsville this year too. Phoenix is larger and shaped different from North Wilksboro, but both tracks are short tracks and the same aero package is used. I used the stats from Phoenix too. Richmond is also similar to North Wilksboro, so I used the stats from the race at Richmond last year to help handicap the race Sunday night.
Here are the stats from the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro last year and similar tracks to North Wilksboro, sorted by Driver Rating…
EARLY WEEK DRIVER RANKINGS
The Cup Series had a tire test at North Wilksboro in January. The track temperatures will be much different from what they had in January, but the teams did have an opportunity to figure on the bumps and their ride-heights for the race. The drivers who competed in the tire test includes: Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing, Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports, Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports), Joey Logano (Team Penske), Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing), Chris Buescher (RFK Racing), Cole Custer (Stewart‑Haas Racing), Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing), Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing), Michael McDowell (Front Row Motorsports), John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) and Ryan Preece (RFK Racing). I gave a slight bump in the rankings to these drivers.
Most of the driver rankings were based on the All-Star Race at North WIlksboro last year and the races at Martinsville and Phoenix earlier this season. The drivers who race well in all of these races are ranked highly in the Window World 450.
Here is the early week Driver Rankings for the race at North Wilksboro Speedway….
* These rankings will be updated after the qualifying session is completed Saturday.
STRATEGY FOR NORTH WILKSBORO
SEASON-LONG GAME STRATEGY: We are in the second-half of the season, so we are quickly running out of allocations with our top drivers. I am not too worried about saving allocations with my top drivers in Group A of the Driver Group Game, FanTrax and Speedway Collective. There is plenty of talent in Group A to get us through the season. We will have to save our allocations in Group B and Group C. Ty Gibbs is the exception to the run in Group B. He dominated the field at North Wilksboro last year. You are least need to have him in your lineup this weekend. Carson Hocevar is also a driver we are running out of allocations with. You can still use Hocevar for qualifying points and leave him on the bench during the race.
DFS GAME STRATEGY: The race at North Wilksboro will be the highest scoring race of the season. The race is scheduled for 450 laps (281 miles). That means there are 112.5 points available for leading laps and 202.5 points available for fastest laps (315 dominator points). That is the most dominator points this year.
I looked at the races at Martinsville and the other short tracks to see how the dominator points may play out. One driver will likely lead 50% of the laps (225 laps), another will likely lead 25% of the laps (110 laps), a third leads 15% of the laps (66 laps) and a third driver should lead 10% of the laps (45 laps). We MUST have the top-two dominators in our lineup Sunday night. They are likely to score 138 dominator points.
EARLY WEEK BEST BETS FOR NOTH WILKSBORO
Each week I like to look at the odds when they are released to see if any of the drivers seem to be mispriced compared to the stats. I picked the drivers I like the most right now because their odds will not be as good as they are now if they unload with a lot of speed in practice and they qualified up front.
Here is my early week Best Bets for the Window World 400…
JOEY LOGANO (10-1): 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.
CHASE ELLIOTT (14-1): 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 win Sunday night if the No. 9 team brings the same speed to the track at North Wilksboro.
RYAN PREECE (35-1): 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 at 35-1 odds.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (50-1): North Wilksboro is an old school track and Keselowski is an old school driver. The race Sunday night should set up well for the No. 6 team. Keselowski won the pole in the All-Star Race last year. He led 62 laps before being wrecked while leading the race. Keselowski has been tough to trust this year, but we do not need to bet a lot to win a lot at 50-1 odds. I will put some pizza money on the No. 6 car Sunday night.
* I will add a driver or two the odds are updated Sunday morning.
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