Logano Owns North Wilkesboro in a 323-Lap Rout

Joey Logano said before the green flag that he thought the No. 22 Team Penske Ford was fast. Over the next 450 laps, he removed any doubt. Logano led a career-best 323 laps and won the Window World 450, the first Cup points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 30 years, by 0.859 seconds over Denny Hamlin.

The victory was Logano's first points win of 2026 and the 38th of his Cup career. It also paired with his 2024 All-Star victory at North Wilkesboro, giving him wins in both the exhibition and points formats since the historic 0.625-mile track returned to the schedule.

Ty Gibbs controlled the opening stretch and passed Shane van Gisbergen on the final lap of Stage 1. Van Gisbergen remained a factor all night, leading 49 laps and finishing fifth. Logano first reached the lead during the second stage, then kept returning to it through traffic and pit cycles. He won Stage 2 and built the strongest long-run car in a race where track position became more valuable with every green-flag lap.

The race changed sharply during a green-flag pit sequence on Lap 183. Alex Bowman crossed the track toward pit road and made contact with Tyler Reddick, bringing out a caution that trapped several contenders. Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, William Byron, Chris Buescher and Austin Cindric were among the drivers forced to recover through wave-arounds. Only 15 cars remained on the lead lap for the Lap 193 restart.

Six laps later, Bell got loose while racing Josh Berry and contact sent Berry into the Turns 3 and 4 barrier. Berry's damaged No. 21 eventually retired. The race became cleaner from there, and the final stage ran 175 consecutive green-flag laps to the finish.

That long closing run reduced the finish to Logano, Hamlin and one final pit cycle. Hamlin stopped on Lap 359. Logano followed on Lap 360 and blended back onto the track roughly half a second ahead. Hamlin stayed close enough to force Logano through traffic cleanly, but he never reached the No. 22's bumper. Logano crossed the line 0.859 seconds ahead, with Chase Briscoe third after starting 30th and Gibbs fourth.

Van Gisbergen completed the top five after matching his best oval finish in Cup competition. Bubba Wallace was sixth and the final driver on the lead lap. Brad Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Preece completed the top 10, each one lap down.

Logano controlled every version of the race

North Wilkesboro demanded short-run grip, long-run balance and discipline in traffic. Logano had all three. He could protect the lead after restarts, keep the rear tires under the car deep into a run and clear slower traffic without giving Hamlin the opening he needed. The 323 laps led were not inflated by one long segment; the No. 22 repeatedly reclaimed control after pit cycles.

Hamlin made the final stop matter

Hamlin did not have Logano's total pace, but the No. 11 improved enough to turn the final green-flag stops into a real decision. Stopping first gave Hamlin fresh tires and a chance to erase the gap. Logano's in-lap, pit work and blend were strong enough to preserve a narrow lead, and clean traffic management settled the rest.

Briscoe and Wallace recovered from deep starts

Briscoe's run from 30th to third was the largest move among the leaders. Wallace climbed from 26th to sixth and finished on the lead lap. Their results stood out in a race that punished drivers caught by the wrong pit cycle and left most of the field at least one lap behind.

Van Gisbergen's oval progress became race-winning speed

Van Gisbergen did more than protect a top-10 position. He led 49 laps, scored in both stages and finished fifth, matching his best Cup oval result. His pace forced the race's established short-track contenders to treat the No. 97 as a threat rather than a strategy outlier.

Logano overwhelmed the FantasyJolt slate at a $12 salary. The win, Stage 2 victory and 323 laps led produced 95.3 base points, 37.4 more than the next-highest score. At the Group A multiplier, he contributed 190.6 points to the perfect lineup by himself.

Van Gisbergen was the key salary value. He matched Hamlin's 57.9 points while costing only $8, then received the Group B multiplier in the optimal build. Gibbs scored 53.7 points at $12 through his Stage 1 win, fourth-place finish and 47 laps led. Briscoe added 51.5 at $12, and Gilliland's eighth-place finish returned 36 points at the minimum $5 tier.

Ross Chastain earned the fastest-lap bonus with an 18.665-second lap on Lap 5, but a 27th-place finish limited him to 15 points. Ryan Blaney, the top saved projection, finished 11th and scored 33.1. Christopher Bell finished 19th for 27 points, and Tyler Reddick fell from a fifth-place start to 30th for 11 points.

The lineup used $49 of the $50 cap and scored 472.86 points.

• 323 laps led: A single-race career high for Logano.
• 0.859 seconds: The winning margin over Hamlin.
• 17 lead changes: Shared among nine drivers.
• Five cautions: Covering 43 laps.
• 175 green-flag laps: The uninterrupted final stage.
• Six lead-lap finishers: Wallace was the last of them in sixth.
• 18.665 seconds: Chastain's verified fastest green-flag lap.
• 95.3 FantasyJolt points: Logano's race-leading base score.