North Wilkesboro Window World 450 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Christopher Bell
North Wilkesboro Fantasy Outlook – Defending North Wilkesboro All-Star Race Winner, Christopher Bell is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer and on Sunday night, look for him to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. At shorter-flat tracks since last year, Bell ranks 3rd for Speed and 4th for average finish (9.3). This spring at Phoenix to start the shorter-flat track racing season, Bell had the best Total Speed Ranking and finished 2nd. Heading into the weekend, Bell is red hot and has back-to-back 2nd’s and over the last three races his average finish is 3rd.
North Wilkesboro Track History – At North Wilkesboro since the repave, Christopher Bell ranks among the best and over the combined races he ranks 2nd for Driver Rating, 3rd for Speed but has a 9.0 average finish due to a misleading result in 2024. Last year, Bell had a rocket and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Bell started 2nd, had a 2.9 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and led 28 laps. I’ll note, Bell was in 2nd on lap 210 and then during a caution a few laps later, he was the first driver who pitted, so he had a tire advantage at the end which allowed him to prevail against Logano. In terms of Speed Stats, Bell had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run. In terms of speed by segment, Bell ranked 5th, 2nd, 2nd and 1st over the four quarters of the race. In 2024, Bell finished 17th but make no mistake he was one of the best and that’s an asterisk mark result. In the second half of the race, Bell did some beating and banging near the front and as a result he just wasn’t at his best to close out and faded. In the race, Bell had the 6th best Total Speed Ranking but take note his speed over the segments were 5th, 4th, 4th and then 18th. Additionally, Bell earned the 6th best Driver Rating and had a 7.0 average running position. In 2023 on the old surface, Bell finished 12th.

Ryan Blaney
North Wilkesboro Fantasy Outlook – At North Wilkesboro, look for the #12 to be a rocket and for Ryan Blaney to be tough to beat. At shorter-flat tracks going back to last year, Blaney has won the last three races and minus Phoenix #1 2025 where his engine blew up, he’s finished in the top 4 every race and has a 2.3 average finish. In terms of Shorter-Flat Track Total Speed Rankings since 2025, Blaney also ranks #1, with a 3.1 average Speed Ranking. Heading into the weekend, look for Blaney to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
North Wilkesboro Track History – At North Wilkesboro since the repave, Ryan Blaney has run well and is 2 for 2 at being top five good, “Performance Wise.” In terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings over the last two, Blaney ranks 2nd with a 3.5 average Speed Ranking. Last year, Blaney was stout but finished a misleading 16th. In the race, Blaney started 7th, had a 6.4 average running position, was in 5th on lap 210 but shortly after that there was a caution and he elected not to pit and that decision worked out horribly for him and had him dropping back like a rock to his 16th after a really bad restart. In terms of Speed stats, Blaney ranked 5th for Total Speed Rankings and then 8th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2024, Blaney started deep in the field in 17th, had a 4.0 average running position and finished 5th. In terms of speed stats, Blaney had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 3rd for Speed Late In A Run. In 2023 back on the old surface, Blaney finished 6th.

Denny Hamlin
North Wilkesboro Fantasy Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at shorter-flat tracks and at North Wilkesboro, there’s no doubt he’ll be a factor. At shorter-flat tracks since last year, Hamlin ranks 2nd for average finish (8.6) and 4th for Speed. When you take away Iowa from the mix where he was just uncharacteristically bad last year, Hamlin’s average finish jumps to 6th, and his average Speed Ranking is 4.6. At North Wilkesboro, Hamlin was a dud last year but a stud in 2024. Heading into the weekend, look for Hamlin to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
North Wilkesboro Track History – At North Wilkesboro over the last two races since the repave, Denny Hamlin has had two very different races. Last year, Hamlin was just not good. In the race, Hamlin started 20th, ranked 19th for Driver Rating, had a 17.2 average running position and then finished 12th. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked 16th for Speed Late In A Run and then 19th for Total Speed Rankings. In 2024, Hamlin was impressive. In the race, Hamlin started 11th, had a 5.7 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and finished 2nd. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023 on the old surface, Hamlin finished 13th. In the race, Hamlin ran great early, logging laps in the top five but in the second half of the race he just hovered within a few deviations of 10th. Additionally, Hamlin had a 7.5 average running position, earned the 10th best Driver Rating and had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking.

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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier