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 Window World 450 can be seen Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT.
Here are my Driver Rankings for the race at North Wilksboro Speedway Sunday night…
Need to know which driver would be the best pick for your Fantasy NASCAR lineup Sunday? Simply play the driver highest in the rankings.
UPDATED BEST BETS
I like to look at the odds early in the week to see if there are any drivers who are mispriced and provide some value. It is always a good idea to bet on these drivers now, because if they unload with a lot of speed, their odds will drop like a rock.
Here is the early week Best Bets for the Window World 450 at North Wilksboro Speedway…
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.
The Cup Series had a 50-minute practice session Saturday. Qualifying was canceled because of rain, so the field was set “per the rule book.” The odds have been updated and I added two more drivers to my card thi week.
*CHRISTOPHER BELL (3-1): I typically do not like to bet on drivers with odds at 3-1, but I need to get some of my money back that I wasted on Brad Keselowski (He looked like crap yesterday). Bell clearly has the fastest car. He posted the fastest speed in practice and he was fastest on nearly every log-run speed chart. Bell also got some extra laps since he competed in the Truck Series race yesterday. He is going to be tough to beat Sunday night.
*KYLE LARSON (10-1): Larson had the second fastest car in practice. He starts deep in the field, but I am not worried about it. There are 450 laps in the race tonight, so there is plenty of time for Larson to make his way to the front. I do not have any shares of Larson in my season-long fantasy games, so I will get some exposure to the No. 5 car through a wager on Sunday night’s race.
* These odds are from FanDuel since DraftKings hasn’t posted updated odds yet. Be sure to shop around for the best odds, especially on Christopher Bell.
Good Luck tonight!
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