Dominant Joey Logano Wins First NASCAR Cup Series Point Race at North Wilkesboro Since 1996

RPW EXCLUSIVE COLUMN BY: Steven Brien / RPW – NORTH WILKESBORO, NC – Joey Logano held off Denny Hamlin throughout the final stage to earn his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season in Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

Logano led a career-high 323 laps on the way to his 38th career Cup Series victory, snapping a 45-race winless streak.

“Coming here to North Wilkesboro is awesome,” Logano said after climbing from his No. 22 Ford. “Paul [Wolfe] put together a good car, and I feel like I know exactly what I need to go faster around this place.”

Hamlin attempted to short-pit Logano during the final round of green-flag pit stops in hopes of cycling ahead of the No. 22, but Logano maintained the lead and drove away to the victory.

“Denny got really good there in the last round,” Logano added. “It was whoever was in front was gonna win the race.”

Hamlin scored his second runner-up finish on a short track this season and extended his points lead over Tyler Reddick to 68.

“You gotta compliment them on a great day and a great drive, they were really good,” Hamlin said after exiting his No. 11 Toyota. “It was a great battle, we could at least keep him honest.”

Chase Briscoe rallied from the 30th starting position to finish third.

“It was pretty fun for me because our car was so good,” Briscoe said. “I could kind of run wherever and pass a lot of the cars.”

Ty Gibbs finished fourth, while Shane van Gisbergen rounded out the top five with one of the strongest oval performances of his career after leading 49 laps.

“When I took the lead I got pretty excited,” Van Gisbergen said. “It was awesome racing up front all night.”

Bubba Wallace finished sixth, followed by Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece.

After a fierce battle on the final lap of Stage 1, Gibbs edged van Gisbergen on the outside lane to claim his fourth stage victory of the season.

Logano finished third in the stage, followed by Hamlin and Carson Hocevar. Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Briscoe, Austin Cindric and William Byron also earned stage points.

The first caution flew when John Hunter Nemechek spun in Turn 2 after contact from Zane Smith.

During the ensuing pit cycle, Kyle Larson and Connor Zilisch made significant contact, damaging the right-front tire on Larson’s Chevrolet.

On Lap 184, Alex Bowman attempted to enter pit road from the outside lane and clipped the nose of Tyler Reddick’s Toyota, sending both drivers spinning into the inside wall at pit entry and bringing out another caution.

A second quick caution followed on Lap 199 after Josh Berry spun in Turn 4 following contact with Bell.

Logano pulled away in Stage 2 to capture his first stage victory of the season.

Hamlin finished second in the stage, followed by Briscoe, Wallace and van Gisbergen. Hocevar, Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Gilliland and Suarez rounded out the top 10.

The race also reshaped the NASCAR In-Season Challenge bracket. Gilliland continued his Cinderella run by eliminating Elliott, who finished 17th. Pole-sitter Blaney started at the rear of the field and served a speeding penalty late in the final stage but recovered to finish 11th and eliminate Bell, who finished 19th.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway next weekend for the Brickyard 400 and the championship round of the In-Season Challenge.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Window World 450

North Wilkesboro Speedway

North Wilkesboro, N.C.

Sunday July 19, 2026

1. (11) Joey Logano, Ford, 450.
2. (7) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 450.
3. (30) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 450.
4. (2) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 450.
5. (8) Shane van Gisbergen, Toyota, 450.
6. (26) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 450.
7. (23) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 449.
8. (18) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 449.
9. (17) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 449.
10.  (21) Ryan Preece, Ford, 449.
11.  (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 448.
12.  (15) William Byron, Chevrolet, 448.
13.  (4) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 448.
14.  (14) Austin Cindric, Ford, 448.
15.  (27) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 448.
16.  (22) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 448.
17.  (10) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 447.
18.  (34) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 447.
19.  (3) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 447.
20.  (9) Chris Buescher, Ford, 447.
21.  (6) Erik Jones, Toyota, 447.
22.  (29) Zane Smith, Ford, 447.
23.  (12) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 446.
24.  (16) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 446.
25.  (31) Noah Gragson, Ford, 446.
26.  (25) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 446.
27.  (13) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 446.
28.  (20) Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 446.
29.  (36) Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 446.
30.  (5) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 445.
31.  (19) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 445.
32.  (32) Connor Zilisch (R), Chevrolet, 443.
33.  (33) Austin Hill (i), Chevrolet, 442.
34.  (24) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 442.
35.  (37) Chad Finchum (i), Ford, Rear Gear, 303.
36.  (28) Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 199.
37.  (35) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Suspension, 190.