North Wilkesboro will host a true points race for the first time since 1996, in large part to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s mission to preserve the once-abandoned short track. He gathered volunteers, cleared weeds and got the track in a type of working order before Marcus Smith reopened the facility in 2022. A year later, NASCAR brought the All-Star race to the track, and this Sunday comes an even bigger event.Denny Hamlin (the current points winner) is the favorite, but Ryan Blaney (last week’s champ) and Christopher Bell (who won the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro in 2025) are close behind.As always, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi answer our most pressing questions and make predictions about the upcoming race.The Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway is Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT, PRN and HBO Max.Race winner odds for the Window World 450It’s been 30 years since a points race was held at North Wilkesboro, but with modern cars and new track logistics, will this Sunday’s competition live up to the old-school, short-track expectations, or will the race look different now?Jeff: Well, we’re about to find out. I’m a bit skeptical that a 450-lap points race is the right move for North Wilkesboro after last year’s All-Star Race was exciting for Next Gen Era short track standards (“North Wilkesboro, best short track on the schedule!” Bell said exuberantly after winning last year). Hopefully there will be enough tire wear to create passing opportunities on a long run, but short tracks haven’t been the best venues for great racing in this car’s lifespan (2022-present).I’m not sure exactly what to expect, because sometimes when expectations are muted, a great race happens (and vice versa). We’ll have to see how much differently teams approach a points race versus the All-Star Race at the track.Jordan: Even in its heyday, North Wilkesboro wasn’t necessarily an action-packed short track like Bristol or Martinsville, with races in North Carolina often featuring long green-flag runs and fewer theatrics compared to other similarly sized tracks. And when NASCAR returned in 2023, this proved to be the case again as what transpired on the track left much to be desired. Still, this is a classic venue with deep, rich ties to the sport’s roots, and it deserves a place on the Cup Series schedule. Just make sure to keep your expectations in check.There are only four drivers left in the In-Season Challenge — Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott … and everyone’s favorite underdog Todd Gilliland. Does Gilliland have any chance at Wilkesboro to make it to the final and possibly take home $1 million by winning it all?Jeff: He has a chance, but it mostly relies on Elliott either having a mechanical failure or getting caught in an incident. But Gilliland has finished ahead of Elliott in five of this season’s 20 races, so it’s possible.Let’s look at the instances in which Gilliland has finished ahead of Elliott. At Charlotte and Michigan, Elliott crashed out, and Gilliland did not, so those were “gimmes.” Gilliland bested Elliott at the Watkins Glen road course and then was ahead on two short tracks: Phoenix, after Elliott was caught in multiple incidents and finished 23rd (Gilliland was 12th), and Bristol, when Gilliland finished sixth, scoring his lone top-10 finish of the season, while Elliott was 22nd after a late spin.