NASCAR Cup Series’ In-Season Tournament Preview: North Wilkesboro Round 4
The NASCAR Cup Series returns to North Wilkesboro with their first point race in 30 years for Round four of the In-Season Challenge.
The penultimate test for the remaining four drivers in the tournament comes from the lone short track of the competition.
The direct track comparison data lacks. The speedway will host their first points paying event in 30 years but has hosted three all-star events in the previous three seasons to draw some information from.
Because of that, our analysis below will factor mostly recent driver momentum and short track performance.
Here’s who we think will move onto the championship round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
25. Gilliland vs 4. Elliott
Todd Gilliland willed his way into the fourth round of the In-Season Challenge after his matchup, Alex Bowman, sustained damage late at EchoPark Speedway.
Gilliland took four fresh tires on the final chance to pit and finished 20th for only his sixth top-20 finish of the season.
A similar result this weekend at North Wilkesboro Speedway might not yield a path into the championship round for him.
He will face another Hendrick Motorsports driver in Chase Elliott. Elliott will have the most track time of any Cup Series driver even before the field takes the green flag.
His advantage as the only driver to run all four scheduled events at the track only enhances his fifth best series active average finish, 11.3, on the track type to Todd’s 21st since 2023.
This selection is the easiest one of the round by far. Chase Elliott should advance given his track experience, overall accolades, and equipment. The only deterrent from having a 50/50 shot at the money would be an incident out of his control.
11. Bell vs 3. Blaney
From the four remaining competitors, the third round saw only one upset.
Christopher Bell defeated his teammate Denny Hamlin for that specific honor and will face last weeks winner Ryan Blaney.
For Bell, he rides into the race with a series-high five runners-up results this season. His broken wrist has almost fully healed and he looks determined to breakthrough for his first win of the season.
North Wilkesboro could be that breakthrough. He enters the event as the pseudo-defending winner after his 2025 all-star race victory at the track.
Though not a points race, the result gives him the direct edge against his opponent.
While he has the upper hand from more track time this weekend as well, he will have to out work a blazing hot Ryan Blaney and company to return to the elevated victory lane.
Blaney enters the fourth round a winner once more. He dominated Atlanta and looks to continue adding onto his current accolades.
He can continue to add upon his career-long eight straight top tens which is now tied the best in the next-gen era. Then, he enters the short track with a series best 8.3 average finish on the track type since the start of 2023.
From a head-to-head standpoint Blaney has the edge against Bell.
His three wins on short tracks to Bell’s one in that time and his over 500 more laps lead at the track type in that span tilts the matchup into his favor.
With the current score between the two that currently sees Blaney up 2-0 on the track type this season, that is where our pick lies.
MORE:
The matchup above will garner the most attention this weekend as the NASCAR Cup Series makes its long-awaited return to North Wilkesboro Speedway for a regular season race.
Below is everything you should know heading into the race weekend.
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Ryan Kemna View All
Ryan Kemna is a photojournalist for The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2025.
Currently residing in the Minneapolis, MN, area, Kemna brings his passion for motorsports, photography, and a good story to readers.