It’s been 27 years since Jeff Gordon won the final NASCAR race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, a short track in the sport’s heartland that was among the first casualties of the circuit’s shift into larger markets. 

The place fell into weed-choked decay until an effort led by Charlotte-based Speedway Motorsports Inc. revived it, and this week the big show returns for its All-Star Race exhibition event.

While it promises to be a hallmark moment for the sport’s preservationists, what exactly does all this mean for NASCAR betting? No current drivers have competed on the track, which measures .625 of a mile with an uphill front stretch and downhill backstretch, and held its last Cup Series event in 1996. And drivers won’t get tons of track time this weekend: Just 50 minutes of practice and a pair of 60-lap heat races to set the field.

Chris Buescher, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick, all of whom are locked into the All-Star Race, tested tires at North Wilkesboro in March. 

And a host of top NASCAR drivers—such as Chase Elliott, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain—were entered in late model races scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday at the track as tune-ups for Sunday’s 200-lap main event. It’s not much, but it’s something.

NASCAR All-Star Race Odds

Odds via DraftKings and current as of publication. Check out our DraftKings Sportsbook Review. 

NASCAR All-Star Race Betting Tips

After spending 32 years in Charlotte, the All-Star Race was shifted to Bristol for 2020 and then to Texas for the past two years. Among active drivers, Harvick and Kyle Larson each have the most career victories in the exhibition with two apiece, with Harvick’s most recent coming in 2018.

Larson has won two of the last four All-Star Races, claiming the final event at Charlotte in 2019 and then the first one at Texas in 2021.

Among active drivers with more than one career start in the exhibition, Joey Logano owns the best average finish at 6.2, with his lone victory coming in 2016. Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, and defending champion Ryan Blaney are the only other active drivers with a victory in the All-Star Race, which has a very limited field compared to normal points races. 

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This year 22 drivers are locked in, with the top two finishers in the All-Star Open preliminary event and a fan vote winner set to round out the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, Byron continues to be the hottest NASCAR odds driver this season overall, with four consecutive finishes of seventh or better including a victory last week at Darlington. 

Blaney has cracked the top 10 in four of his last five starts, though he continues to search for his first points victory since 2021. Keselowski continues to show progress in his Roush-powered ride, with top-eight results in three of his past four starts, while Harvick at Darlington notched his first runner-up finish since last fall.

NASCAR All-Star Race 3 Best Bets

Kyle Larson to Win

+650 at DraftKings

We’ve hit two straight NASCAR winners on betting apps, and looking to continue the streak by going with the best team in the business. That’s not because Hendrick Motorsports has 10 All-Star Race victories, more than twice that of any other organization. 

It’s because great teams have the money and the manpower to adapt most quickly to new environments, flattening the learning curve they’ll face once the car is unloaded. Larson and his No. 5 team are certainly the elite of the elite, which should bode well if he can avoid another on-track confrontation with Ross Chastain.

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Kevin Harvick Top 3

+200 at DraftKings

While he wasn’t able to challenge winner Byron in overtime Sunday at Darlington, that was still the best performance we’ve seen in weeks from Harvick, who led a handful of laps and looked more than capable of winning a race in his final season. 

Wednesday night at North Wilkesboro, he was set to wheel a late model built by his crew chief Rodney Childers. And Harvick possesses that ideal combination of caginess and aggression to make his presence felt in an exhibition race on a cranky old racetrack.

Chase Elliott Top 3

+350 at DraftKings

Another championship-level driver in Hendrick equipment who should be fast from the moment the car is unloaded off the truck. Elliott has a very good All-Star Race track record, with five top-10 finishes in seven career starts, and an average finish of 8.4 that ranks third among active drivers with more than one appearance. 

He’s also beginning to look more like his old self after returning from his broken leg, with back-to-back finishes in the top seven. 

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NASCAR All-Star Race Time, Date and TV

When: Sunday, 8 p.m. EDT

Where: North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway

TV: FS1