{"id":59725,"date":"2026-07-19T23:15:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T04:15:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=59725"},"modified":"2026-07-22T09:25:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T14:25:29","slug":"joey-logano-dominates-return-to-points-racing-at-north-wilkesboro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/19\/joey-logano-dominates-return-to-points-racing-at-north-wilkesboro\/","title":{"rendered":"Joey Logano dominates return to points racing at North Wilkesboro"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.\u2014Joey Logano had a gleam in his eye and a lilt in his voice as he readied to climb into the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for the start of Sunday night\u2019s Window World 450.<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI think we have a fast car,\u201d Logano opined optimistically before taking the green flag in the first NASCAR Cup Series points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 30 years.<\/p>\n

Logano was right, but his assessment turned out to be a massive understatement. After leading a single-race career-best 323 laps, Logano crossed the finished line 0.859 seconds ahead of series leader Denny Hamlin to win for the first time since May 2025 when he triumphed at Texas Motor Speedway.<\/p>\n

The victory was Logano\u2019s first in a points race at the 0.625 short track, though he also won the 2024 NASCAR All-Star Race at revitalized North Wilkesboro. In front of an enthusiastic sell-out crowd, Logano recorded the 38th Cup victory of his career, 23rd-most all-time.<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, celebrates with a burnout after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt’s good to get back into Victory Lane,\u201d Logano said. \u201cIt’s been a tough year. So getting the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang doing some big, smoky doughnuts around this place felt really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

The victory was a distinct bright spot in a troublesome season for the three-time Cup Series champion, who vaulted from 17th to 15th in the series standings, 49 points clear of the current cut line for the postseason Chase.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Crew chief) Paul (Wolfe) put together a good car,\u201d Logano said. \u201cI think I know exactly what I need to go fast around this place. He’s able to give it to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew coming into this weekend, we\u2019ve got to capitalize on the points. A win was great, but we really need the points. Really capitalized on those tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Hudson Logano, son of Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, celebrates with the checkered flag after Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hamlin was able to stay close to Logano in the final stage, but the race winner worked traffic adroitly and never gave Hamlin a chance to close within striking distance.<\/p>\n

The critical juncture came during a green-flag pit stop cycle in the final stage, with Hamlin steering his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota to pit road on Lap 359 of 450. Logano followed a lap later and exited the pits roughly a half-second ahead of Hamlin.<\/p>\n

That pit cycle proved decisive.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, the pressure was there, for sure,\u201d Logano said. \u201cDenny got really good there the last run. Honestly, it was whoever was out front was going to win the race.<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, and his team pose for photos in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe were pretty dominant. But as the race went along, Denny got better at the last run. Just did a decent job keeping up with the track. They did a good job keeping up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though his extended pursuit of Logano proved fruitless, Hamlin expanded his series lead over second-place Tyler Reddick to 68 points, with five races left before the Chase field is set.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just have to compliment them on a great day and a great drive,\u201d Hamlin said of Logano\u2019s effort. \u201cThey were really good. There were a lot of times that I felt like my car was really close to where it needed to be; it was just a smidge off.<\/p>\n

\u201cGreat battle. At least I was able to keep them honest there, but he had a lot of speed and never gave up on the short run or the long run, so great job to our whole Progressive Toyota team for keeping us in the ballgame, but we will have to go regroup.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Shell-Pennzoil Ford, leads the field during the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Chase Briscoe ran third and Ty Gibbs fourth, despite an early pit road speeding penalty. Shane van Gisbergen, who maintained a presence in the top 10 for the entire race and led 49 laps (second most to Logano), placed fifth and climbed one position to 14th in the standings, 54 points above the current Chase cutoff.<\/p>\n

In the semifinal of the NASCAR Cup Series In-Season Challenge, Todd Gilliland continued his unlikely march to the winner-take-all $1-million payday with an eighth-place finish to Chase Elliott\u2019s 17th.<\/p>\n

Elliott was buried two laps down when caution for a collision between the Chevrolet of Alex Bowman and the Toyota of Reddick\u2014as Bowman turned across traffic trying to enter pit road on Lap 183\u2014interrupted a cycle of green-flag stops.<\/p>\n

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NORTH WILKESBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – JULY 19: A general view of fans during the NASCAR Cup Series Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on July 19, 2026 in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina. (Photo by David Jensen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Elliott finished three laps down after a late pit stop.<\/p>\n

Ryan Blaney, who finished 11th, two laps down, after a speeding penalty, ousted Christopher Bell from the In-Season Challenge. Like Elliott, Bell was a victim of the Lap 183 caution after pitting early in the cycle. He finished 19th, three laps down.<\/p>\n

Blaney will face Gilliland for the In-Season title in next Sunday\u2019s Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (2 p.m. ET on TNT, IMS Radio Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

The race featured five cautions for 43 laps, with the final stage running caution-free for 175 green-flag laps. There were 17 lead changes among nine drivers, the majority coming during green-flag pit cycles.<\/p>\n

Gibbs won the first stage before drawing his speeding penalty, with Logano exerting his dominance in winning Stage 2.<\/p>\n

Sixth-place Bubba Wallace was the last driver to finish on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski, Gilliland, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece\u2014all one lap down\u2014completed the top 10.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/h3>\n

Race Winner Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) –<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Team Penske President Walt Czarnecki and crew chief Paul Wolfe (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/NCSNWSCzarneckiWolfe071926.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NCS Grand Marshal – Rusty Wallace –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/NCSNWSGrandMarshalRustyWallace71926.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Window World 450<\/strong><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro Speedway<\/strong><\/p>\n

North Wilkesboro, North Carolina<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, July 19, 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

                1. (11)  Joey Logano, Ford, 450.<\/p>\n

                2. (7)  Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 450.<\/p>\n

                3. (30)  Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 450.<\/p>\n

                4. (2)  Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 450.<\/p>\n

                5. (8)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 450.<\/p>\n

                6. (26)  Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 450.<\/p>\n

                7. (23)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 449.<\/p>\n

                8. (18)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 449.<\/p>\n

                9. (17)  Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 449.<\/p>\n

                10. (21)  Ryan Preece, Ford, 449.<\/p>\n

                11. (1)  Ryan Blaney, Ford, 448.<\/p>\n

                12. (15)  William Byron, Chevrolet, 448.<\/p>\n

                13. (4)  Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 448.<\/p>\n

                14. (14)  Austin Cindric, Ford, 448.<\/p>\n

                15. (27)  Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 448.<\/p>\n

                16. (22)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 448.<\/p>\n

                17. (10)  Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 447.<\/p>\n

                18. (34)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 447.<\/p>\n

                19. (3)  Christopher Bell, Toyota, 447.<\/p>\n

                20. (9)  Chris Buescher, Ford, 447.<\/p>\n

                21. (6)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 447.<\/p>\n

                22. (29)  Zane Smith, Ford, 447.<\/p>\n

                23. (12)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                24. (16)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                25. (31)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 446.<\/p>\n

                26. (25)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                27. (13)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                28. (20)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                29. (36)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 446.<\/p>\n

                30. (5)  Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 445.<\/p>\n

                31. (19)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 445.<\/p>\n

                32. (32)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 443.<\/p>\n

                33. (33)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 442.<\/p>\n

                34. (24)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 442.<\/p>\n

                35. (37)  Chad Finchum(i), Ford, Rear Gear, 303.<\/p>\n

                36. (28)  Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 199.<\/p>\n

                37. (35)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, Suspension, 190.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  88.397 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 50 Mins, 54 Secs. Margin of Victory:  .859 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  5 for 43 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  17 among 9 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   T. Gibbs 1-42;D. Hamlin 43-51;S. Van Gisbergen 52-79;T. Gibbs 80-84;S. Van Gisbergen 85;J. Logano 86-93;S. Van Gisbergen 94-112;J. Logano 113-186;R. Blaney 187;J. Logano 188-269;S. Van Gisbergen 270;J. Logano 271-359;C. Briscoe 360-364;B. Wallace 365-372;B. Keselowski 373-379;D. Suarez 380;J. Logano 381-450.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Joey Logano 5 times for 323 laps; Shane Van Gisbergen 4 times for 49 laps; Ty Gibbs 2 times for 47 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 9 laps; Bubba Wallace 1 time for 8 laps; Brad Keselowski 1 time for 7 laps; Chase Briscoe 1 time for 5 laps; Daniel Suarez 1 time for 1 lap; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 54,97,22,11,77,20,9,19,2,24<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 22,11,19,23,97,77,6,12,34,7<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C.\u2014Joey Logano had a gleam in his eye and a lilt in his voice as he readied to climb into the No. 22 Team Penske Ford for the start of Sunday night\u2019s Window World 450. \u201cI think we have a fast car,\u201d Logano opined optimistically before taking the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":59733,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[154,16,774],"class_list":["post-59725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-joey-logano","tag-nascar","tag-north-wilkesboro-speedway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2286832398-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fxj","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59725"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59725\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59743,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59725\/revisions\/59743"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}