Joey Logano Led 323 of 450 Laps to Win the First Cup Points Race at North Wilkesboro in 30 Years
The Window World 450 came down to a green-flag pit strategy Logano never lost, with Denny Hamlin unable to close the gap and only six cars finishing on the lead lap.
Joey Logano and the No. 22 Team Penske Ford dominated the Window World 450 on July 19, leading 323 of the race's 450 laps to win NASCAR Cup racing's return to points competition at North Wilkesboro Speedway — the first points-paying Cup race at the short track since 1996. Logano also took Stage 2, and by the closing laps he'd built enough of a cushion that Denny Hamlin, running second in the No. 11 Toyota, never seriously threatened for the lead. Logano crossed the line just under a second ahead of Hamlin to close it out.
A single caution, brought out by Alex Bowman, reshuffled the field hard enough that only six cars finished on the lead lap by the checkered flag, with several others a lap or more down after the yellow. Chase Briscoe came home third in the No. 19, followed by Ty Gibbs in fourth and Shane van Gisbergen rounding out the top five — a group that, together with Logano and Hamlin, made up most of that lead-lap group.
The win matters beyond Sunday night. Logano came into the race outside a guaranteed playoff spot on points, and the victory moves him to 15th in the standings with a 49-point cushion over the cutoff line — not a lock with four regular-season races still left, but a meaningfully safer position than he held a week earlier. For a track that sat abandoned for years after losing its Cup dates in 1996, then hosted three straight non-points All-Star Races since its 2023 revival, Sunday was the first time anything that happened at North Wilkesboro actually moved a driver up the championship table.
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NASCAR Cup Racing Returns to North Wilkesboro for Points — First Time Since 1996
The Window World 450 on July 19 is the first Cup Series points race at the legendary short track in 30 years, run at 450 laps on a circuit that didn't exist in its current form until a 2024 repave.