For NASCAR’s official return to North Wilkesboro Speedway, Joey Logano dominated Sunday’s race, leading no less than 323 of the 450 laps contested.
For NASCARThis 21st round of the season was something of an impossible race. Thirty years ago, North Wilkesboro Speedway, one of the championship’s most iconic tracks, hosted its last race, a victim of the sport’s rapid growth, which led it to other venues, such as Texas Motor Speedway with its 180,000 seats. The small oval in Wilkes, North Carolina, was no longer suited to a sport that had become truly national, and for many, its absence from the calendar was simply going to be permanent.
Thirty years have passed since then, and now NASCAR wants to get closer to those roots. After two editions of the “All-Star Race”, the one-kilometer oval made its return for good to the Cup Series calendar, bringing the championship back to human-sized circuits, as spectators had largely deserted the majority of seats in the huge stadiums built during the boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
For this return, we witnessed a very old-school domination from Joey Logano and his No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang. The three-time Cup Series champion won by leading 323 of the 450 scheduled laps, leaving only crumbs for his rivals. Beyond Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing), who finished sixth, all the other drivers were at least one lap behind the winner.
“It feels good to be back on Victory Lane.”Logano said. “It’s been a tough year. So, doing those big burnouts with my Mustang on this track really felt good. Paul (Wolfe, his chief mechanic – Ed.) has prepared a good car. I think I know exactly what I need to be fast on this track. And he’s able to deliver it. I knew going into this weekend that we needed to capitalize on points. A win was great, but it’s really the points we need. We really made the most of that tonight.”
Indeed, with the return of the Chase format to the Cup Series, only the top 16 in the points standings after the 26th race of the season will be able to fight for the title in the final ten rounds. Logano, who started the weekend in 17th place, is now 15th in the championship and therefore virtually qualified with five races remaining in the regular season, thanks to his victory this Sunday. Championship leader Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing) finished second, ahead of his two teammates, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs. Former Australian Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing) surprised everyone by leading for 49 laps and thus finishing in the top five.
The NASCAR Cup Series now turns its attention to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the traditional Brickyard 400.
NASCAR 2026 – North Wilkesboro
The classification of the race
NASCAR Cup Series · North Wilkesboro Speedway
Race results
Pos
Pilot / team
Engineering office
Start time
Status
Tours
Menes
Best lap
Points
1Joey Logano#22 · Team PenskeFord11Running45032318.80732Denny Hamlin#11 · Joe Gibbs RacingToyota7Running450918.81513Chase Briscoe#19 · Joe Gibbs RacingToyota30Running450518.86454Ty Gibbs#54 · Joe Gibbs RacingToyota2Running4504718.71435Shane van gisbergen#97 · Trackhouse RacingChevrolet8Running4504918.83476Bubba wallace#23 · 23XI RacingToyota26Running450818.98387Brad keselowski#6 · RFK RacingFord23Running449718.97348Todd Gilliland#34 · Front Row MotorsportsFord18Running449018.96319Daniel Suarez#7 · Spire MotorsportsChevrolet17Running449118.832910Ryan Preece#60 · RFK RacingFord21Running449019.002711Ryan blaney#12 · Team PenskeFord1Running448118.802912William byron#24 · Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet15Running448018.832613Carson Hocevar#77 · Spire MotorsportsChevrolet4Running448018.773514austin cindric#2 · Team PenskeFord14Running448018.922515Kyle Larson#5 · Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet27Running448018.882216Ty Dillon#10 · Kaulig RacingChevrolet22Running448019.052117Chase elliott#9 · Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet10Running447018.782418Riley Herbst#35 · 23XI RacingToyota34Running447018.931919Christopher Bell#20 · Joe Gibbs RacingToyota3Running447018.722320Chris Buescher#17 · RFK RacingFord9Running447018.941721Erik jones#43 · Legacy Motor ClubToyota6Running447018.821622Zane Smith#38 · Front Row MotorsportsFord29Running447019.021523Austin dillon#3 · Richard Childress RacingChevrolet12Running446018.801424Michael McDowell#71 · Spire MotorsportsChevrolet16Running446018.981325Noah Gragson#4 · Front Row MotorsportsFord31Running446019.021226Alex bowman#48 · Hendrick MotorsportsChevrolet25Running446019.051127Ross chastain#1 · Trackhouse RacingChevrolet13Running446018.671128Cole custer#41 Haas Factory TeamChevrolet20Running446018.98929Cody Ware#51 · Rick Ware RacingChevrolet36Running446019.18830Tyler Reddick#45 · 23XI RacingToyota5Running445018.77731John H. Nemechek#42 · Legacy Motor ClubToyota19Running445018.99632Connor Zilisch#88 · Trackhouse RacingChevrolet32Running443018.87533Austin Hill#33 · Richard Childress RacingChevrolet33Running442018.98034Ricky Stenhouse Jr.#47 · HYAK MotorsportsChevrolet24Running442019.07335Chad Finchum#66 · Garage 66Ford37Oct303019.17036Josh Berry#21 · Wood Brothers RacingFord28Oct199019.04137AJ Allmendinger#16 · Kaulig RacingChevrolet35Oct190019.071
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