DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks: North Wilkesboro

Well, the “G” men, “T” men, the revenuers, too, searchin’ for the place where he made his brew. They were looking, tryin’ to book him, but my pappy kept a-cookin’….shew white lightnin’. – George Jones, White Lightning

The NASCAR Cup Series’ bootlegging ancestors must be rejoicing, as the drivers and teams make their way to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the track’s first points-paying event since 1996. North Wilkesboro was the host of the NASCAR All-Star Race for a few years upon its restoration, so there is some data to rely on.

However, the most important thing to know about this track is that it is a classic short track. Bump and runs, tempers and all the classic tropes will apply. Her closest sister track is possibly Martinsville Speedway, though there is much more banking here in the North Carolina mountains. Phoenix Raceway and Worldwide Technology Raceway also share similar characteristics with this place.

Due to the metric, and all of his dominance at Phoenix over the years, Ryan Blaney is an easy favorite this week. It is hard to pass here, no question, so track position will play a big role in who grabs the win.

I’d look at Chase Elliott, the winner at Martinsville earlier this year, as well as the other Team Penske boys, Joey Logano and Austin Cindric. I would also look at former North Wilkesboro All-Star winner Christopher Bell as a good fantasy option this weekend.

I would stay away from Connor Zilisch, who’s had a rough go pretty much everywhere the series has been this season, but especially on short tracks. Daniel Suarez and Brad Keselowski are also passes for me. They have struggled mightily at this track in particular. Both drivers averaged a finish of 26th in the All-Star events at North Wilkesboro.

Fantasy Forecast

Blaney $10,700

YRB was an absolute rocket at EchoPark Speedway last weekend, there is no doubt about that. Thanks to that performance and a little bit of rain, he’ll have the best view from the pole this weekend.

What gets lost in all that is how good he is on this track type. He has four wins total at both Martinsville and Phoenix, and he’s looked pretty good in his All-Star starts, boasting an average finish of 9.7.

Could we be gearing up for a late summer Ford resurgence? The track is right and the momentum is there for the manufacturer’s number one weapon.

Bell $10,200

When compiling this list, Bell makes it easy to bet on him this week.

His All-Star win here a season ago, would be enough. His average finish at North Wilkesboro, a staggering 2.7, would absolutely be enough. I’m going to go a little deeper though.

He has two career wins at Phoenix and one at Martinsville. However, I forgot a track that shares characteristics with New Hampshire Motor Speedway as well. Dear, reader, you may have forgotten, but I didn’t.

I didn’t forget that Bell is an absolute beast at that racetrack, boasting six wins (including a perfect four-for-four in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series). I don’t care that his wrist is broken, and I don’t care that Blaney is on a heater.

I’d bank on Bell this week.

Ty Gibbs $8,500

Bristol Motor Speedway is not a sister track to North Wilkesboro, but I’m not picking Gibbs based on that. I’m picking him for a few more reasons.

First among them is that his style is just such an old-school fit with this track. You’re going to have to move some folks to gain spots in this one, and Gibbs most certainly isn’t afraid to do just that.

Secondly, he’s in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, and he’s been fast everywhere. If that wasn’t enough, Gibbs led 100 laps in the 2024 All-Star Open to transfer into the main event.

He’s got the potential to be a real threat for certain.

Cindric $7,200

I wanted to roll with Logano here, but am leaning Cindric because of his success at Gateway. More importantly, I feel like I can’t ignore the improvement I’ve seen out of this No. 2 team in the last few weeks.

He’s been something he has not been in his entire career in the NASCAR Cup Series: consistent.

Cindric has earned a pair of 13th-place runs and a 14th to go along with it in the past three weeks. Cindric will start 14th on Sunday night, and if he can keep his No. 2 Ford Mustang there or even jump up into 13th, he holds his value.

Shane van Gisbergen $6,800

Guys, I think van Gisbergen is maybe inching closer to being pretty good on ovals, and that’s pretty scary if you’re the rest of the field.

A solid run last week solidified that he’s figured out at least what he needs to do at drafting tracks.

If you need evidence of him figuring out short tracks too, let me give you exhibit A, when he ran third in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday (July 18). He beat Elliott, and Carson Hocevar, his fellow Cup drivers in the field, pretty handily too.

SVG is a great dark horse option this week as well.

Todd Gilliland $5,600

All the hail the Toddfather.

Gilliland signed a major extension with Front Row Motorsports this weekend, and I for one think it’s a great move for this team.

Sure, he still has some edges to smooth out, but you can’t get a much better up-and-coming driver than him these days. I like him this week though because he’s always been pretty good at short tracks, especially Martinsville.

I predict a sneaky top 10, proving he’s worth every penny.

Top Bets of the Week

Bell +500

I just really like the Bell pick this weekend. The guy just really has a grasp on this style of racetrack, and with the old-school feel, I think an old-school win is coming. A driver, facing the adversity of an injury, battles his way to win on one of NASCAR’s most physically demanding tracks. Couldn’t script it much better than that.

Dark Horse of the Week: Ryan Preece +4000

Preece has been on a weird spiral as of late, to where I’m almost ready to give up on his Chase chances. But if there was ever a track that suits him, a guy who has a blue collar, grassroots background, it’s this one. Preece has a huge hole to dig out of, and maybe it’s insurmountable. I just feel good about his chances.