NASCAR Odds, Predictions & Best Bets For All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway

NASCAR Odds, Predictions & Best Bets For All-Star Weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway

Short track fans have asked for more races on courses less than a mile in length. And while NASCAR has been slow to make those adjustments to the points’ paying schedule, they made a minor compromise in bringing the All-Star race to North Wilkesboro Speedway, a .625-mile oval that was a staple of the schedule from 1949 through 1996. After Jeff Gordon won the final Cup event there in the mid-1990s, the race dates were cannibalized by Texas Motor Speedway and New Hampshire International Raceway.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was instrumental in cleaning up and repaving the track, and a few races were run with regional short track series in the past decade. Hope remains that Wilkesboro will someday be part of the national schedule again, but for now it’s nice to see this quirky, paperclip-shaped track in use once more.  

Kyle Larson won last year’s All-Star race at North Wilkesboro after leading 145 of the 200 laps. Daniel Suarez led the other 55 circuits after launching from the pole. Suarez eventually fell back to seventh with a strong cast of short track drivers ahead of him in the rundown.

Forget what you know about other All-Star races and make this week’s decisions based on drivers’ short track records. This exhibition race was run on another short track, Bristol Motor Speedway, in 2020, providing additional data to consider.

NASCAR Picks For All-Star Weekend: All-Star Entrants

1. Denny Hamlin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +550

Consensus Odds*: +525 | Best Odds: DraftKings, MGM +550

When it comes to short tracks, it’s hard to ignore Hamlin. His performance at the end of 2023 and the beginning of this season, with three wins and three additional top-fives in the past seven races, speaks for itself. While there might be a slight concern about his 11th-place finish in the most recent attempt at Martinsville Speedway, that was due to a wrong call in the pits. His recent form and track record gives us confidence in his potential for success at the All-Star race.

2. Kyle Larson ⭐⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +850

Consensus Odds*: +870 | Best Odds: MGM, FanDuel, BetRivers +900

Larson’s handicap is somewhat uncertain about this weekend because of his double duty with the Indy 500. Qualifying for that race is a multi-layered, complicated affair, and Larson will likely miss some All-Star sessions. Larson has a pair of short track wins in the past two seasons. He’s finished sixth or better in his last five attempts on this course type and will be prepared to defend his title. 

3. Chase Elliott ⭐⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +1000

Consensus Odds*: +990 | Best Odds: BetRivers +1100

With consensus odds of nearly 10/1, Elliott is a gift to bettors. He has struggled at times this year, which is why he was eighth this spring in Bristol, but his last two efforts at Richmond Raceway and Martinsville ended in top-fives. Equally important, he finished in the top five in the two All-Star races on short tracks, including a victory at Bristol in 2020 and a fifth at Wilkesboro last year.  

4. Chris Buescher ⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +1400

Consensus Odds*: +1420 | Best Odds: Caesars +1500

Buescher is hungry. After losing the closest race in NASCAR history at Kansas Speedway two weeks ago, he was immediately positioned to rebound at Darlington Raceway. After losing momentum, he scraped the wall and was run into by Tyler Reddick. The incident cost Buescher a tire and shot at punching his ticket to the playoffs. But Buescher has been strong on short tracks, with a win at Richmond last year, which is part of a five-race streak for this type of course. 

5. Joey Logano ⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +900

Consensus Odds*: +940 | Best Odds: MGM, Caesars +1000

There are exceptions to every rule. Even though Logano’s prowess on the similarly-configured 1.5-mile tracks cannot be used to determine how well he will run on this short track, he does have a remarkable record in the All-Star race with top-10s in all but one of 13 events. Most of these were top-fives, but he did fail to crack that mark in the two exhibition races held on short tracks, so bettors should wager modestly. 

* Consensus odds are the average of five sportsbooks: DraftKings, MGM, Caesars, FanDuel, and BetRivers

NASCAR Picks For All-Star Weekend: All-Star Open Entrants

Ty Gibbs ⭐⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +225

Consensus Odds*: +230 | Best Odds: FanDuel+250

There is not much juice for the squeeze where Gibbs is concerned, but few in the paddock doubt his ability to get into the All-Star race. With +230 consensus odds, he is prohibitively favored by 280 points over Bubba Wallace (+510). Gibbs led the most laps in last year’s open, finished second behind Josh Berry, and climbed into the top 10 in the big show. 

Bubba Wallace ⭐⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +500

Consensus Odds*: +510 | Best Odds: FanDuel +650

This is precisely the type of race that benefits Wallace. He can be as aggressive as needed without worrying about points and should beat and bang his way to the front. Last year, he was directly invited to the All-Star race based on his win at Kansas in 2022, and he finished second to Larson. Wallace was fourth in the latest short track race last month in Martinsville.

Josh Berry ⭐⭐⭐

DraftKings: Outright Win +800

Consensus Odds*: +760 | Best Odds: DraftKings, Caesars, FanDuel +800

Berry has been stronger than we anticipated this season. With the struggles at Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR), we expected he would be the slowest of the crew since he has the least experience, but there have been several races when he’s carried the banner for the beleaguered team. His Open win last year came in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 in relief for Alex Bowman, but it gives him confidence entering the weekend. 

* Consensus odds are the average of five sportsbooks: DraftKings, MGM, Caesars, FanDuel, and BetRivers