North Wilkesboro Window World 450 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday night, get ready for the North Wilkesboro Window World 450. North Wilkesboro is no longer an exhibition; it’s now a points paying race under the lights and we’re in store for some beating and banging action at this historic .625-mile oval. I view North Wilkesboro as a shorter-flat track. Here’s a look at Shorter-Flat Track Average Finishes Since 2025 and Shorter-Flat Track Total Speed Rankings Since 2025.
On Saturday, practice was held for North Wilkesboro. Teams had 50 minutes, and keep in mind teams have different agendas. Make sure you check out our North Wilkesboro Practice Notes, North Wilkesboro Practice Speeds and 10-Lap Averages and North Wilkesboro 10,15,20,25 and 30 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet.
Here’s the North Wilkesboro Starting Lineup (set by the metric).
North Wilkesboro Window World 450 Fantasy NASCAR Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Christopher Bell
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
North Wilkesboro Outlook – Christopher Bell is red hot and on Sunday night at North Wilkesboro, the road to victory lane might very well go thru the #20. Bell is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer and he’s also the defending North Wilkesboro All-Star Race winner. Over the combined North Wilkesboro Races since the 2024 repave, Bell ranks 2nd for Driver Rating, 3rd for Speed and has a 9.0 average finish which underrates him. 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. In terms of Speed Stats, Bell had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run. In 2024, Bell was one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 17th. 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. 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. In practice, Bell was a stopwatch standout, ranking #1 for 10,15,20,25 and 30-lap averages. Earnhardt Jr. also thought that Bell was the best in practice.
DraftKings $10,200/ FanDuel $13,000
2) Ryan Blaney
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – High
North Wilkesboro Outlook – Fresh off a win at EchoPark, don’t be surprised if Ryan Blaney gets back-to-back wins. Blaney’s been the premiere performer at shorter-flat tracks and he’s been top five good over the last two North Wilkesboro All-Star Races, despite what you’ll see in the results column. 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. At North Wilkesboro over the last two races on the new surface, Blaney ranks 2nd for Total Speed Rankings but has a misleading 10.5 average finish. 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 and had him dropping back like a rock to his 16th after a 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. In practice, Blaney had the 6th best 15-lap average.
DraftKings $10,700/ FanDuel $13,500
3) Denny Hamlin
Start 7th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
North Wilkesboro Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite shorter-flat track performer and at North Wilkesboro, there’s no doubt he’ll be tough to beat. 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, Hamlin’s average finish jumps to 6th, and his average Speed Ranking is 4.6. This spring at Phoenix to start the 2026 shorter-flat track racing season, Hamlin finished 5th and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. At North Wilkesboro over the last two races, Hamlin was a stud in 2024 but a dud last year. Last year in the All-Star 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 practice, Hamlin ranked 5th for both 15 and 25-lap averages.
DraftKings $11,000/ FanDuel $14,000
