This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Wright Brand 250
Location: North Wilkesboro, N.C.
Course: North Wilkesboro Speedway
Format: 0.63-mile oval
Laps: 250
NASCAR Trucks Wright Brand 250 Race Preview
A week after Ross Chastain used an overtime restart to claim the win at Darlington, the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway for the second time in as many season and third time in series history. Another Cup Series regular won this race last season, and this will only be the second time the series has visited the track since 1996. While everything was relatively new last year, the teams have at least one past visit to base their decisions on. Corey Heim was the driver that started on pole in that race, and he led 75 laps before Kyle Larson made his way to the front to lead 138 of the last 151 laps for the win. Six of 10 playoff spots remain to be claimed by drivers yet to win this season, and the contenders will have to battle with Chastain again as he seeks to win back-to-back series races. Seven chances remain for series regulars to get the job done, capturing the checkered flag to book their spot among the playoff contenders.
Key Stats at North Wilkesboro Speedway
- Number of races: 3
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 1
- Winners from top-10 starters: 2
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 96.126 mph
Previous North Wilkesboro Winners
2023 - Kyle Larson
1996 - Mark Martin
1995 - Mike Bliss
North Wilkesboro Speedway is a historic short oval with a freshly repaved surface that favors vehicles starting up front. Despite the many cautions in last years visit to the track, the winner started inside the top 10 and only five drivers led in the 252 laps run. Gone is the abrasive surface, which leaves the track's most unique feature, its uphill and downhill slopes on the front and back straights. There is a 14-foot elevation difference between each end, which adds a slight nuance to corner entry speeds at opposing ends of the circuit. The track's new surface should not be as hard on tires, which makes many of last season's learning's moot. Teams will be closely monitoring the wear tires throughout a fuel run, but the new surface may place an even greater emphasis on track position this time. North Wilkesboro is an old, but new again, short track where starting and staying up front by not making mistakes will make the difference between a successful night or a frustrating one.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Trucks Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Wright Brand 250 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ross Chastain - $11,500
Christian Eckes - $10,800
Corey Heim - $10,500
Aric Almirola - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Sammy Smith - $9,800
Ty Majeski - $9,500
Nick Sanchez - $9,200
Rajah Caruth - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Ben Rhodes - $8,700
Taylor Gray - $8,500
Matt Crafton - $8,200
Tyler Ankrum - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Stewart Friesen - $7,800
Ty Dillon - $7,000
Dean Thompson - $6,600
Daniel Dye - $6,200
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Wright Brand 250
Corey Heim - $10,500
Aric Almirola - $10,000
Grant Enfinger - $8,000
Stewart Friesen - $7,800
Ty Dillon - $7,000
Daniel Dye - $6,200
With three finishes of first or second in the last five series races, Corey Heim is making his championship intentions known. He led 75 laps at North Wilkesboro last season from pole but slipped back to the sixth finishing spot. He won the first stage here last season and should be one of the top contenders Saturday afternoon. Aric Almirola may rise to the top of fantasy selections as well. This week's race will be his first series start since 2012, but he already made five Xfinity starts this season, netting a short-track win at Martinsville and two other top-fives. Almirola narrowly missed advancing to last year's Cup Series All-Star Race when he finished third in the Open. Fantasy players should expect a top performance from him this week despite being away from this series for several years. Another veteran worth a look is Grant Enfinger. He started seventh and finished 10th in this race last season and sits just five points out of the playoff positions. He finished 16th or better in three of the last five races, too.
Stewart Friesen has been moving up the points standings with two top-15 finishes from the last three races. He had a slow start to 2024 but might be finding his sea legs now. Friesen was a rare case of being able to move forward through traffic at North Wilkesboro last season having finished 13th despite starting 33rd. Ty Dillon grabbed his first top-10 finish of the year a week ago at Darlington. He said afterward that he and the team have learned a lot the past two weeks and expect to build on their Darlington success. He raced last season at North Wilkesboro in the Cup Series, finishing eighth in the Open. Finally, Daniel Dye's run of top-10 finishes ended at Darlington with a 23rd-place result. However, he ran this race last season and finished 14th in a confident outing. It would be reasonable to expect that again, or potentially even a top-10, this weekend.
