Logano Wins Window World 450 as Playoff Spots Tighten

Joey Logano won the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, giving the 5/8-mile track its first NASCAR Cup Series points race in 30 years. The sold-out event marked the return of Cup points racing to North Wilkesboro for the first time since 1996, when Jeff Gordon beat Dale Earnhardt there, and it came as the battle for the top seed, the final Chase spots and the $1 million In-Season Challenge prize tightened.

Rain washed out qualifying, so NASCAR set the 37-car starting lineup by its metric formula and awarded Ryan Blaney the pole. Ty Gibbs started second, Christopher Bell third and Carson Hocevar fourth. Blaney, who won at EchoPark Speedway the previous week and entered the race third in the Cup standings, said the 450-lap race would be hard on brakes and physically demanding, and he said the pole gave him an edge in his In-Season Challenge semifinal against Bell.

Logano held off Denny Hamlin, who spent most of the final stage in second place behind Logano but could not close the gap. Chase Briscoe finished third, Ty Gibbs fourth and Shane van Gisbergen fifth. The race was the longest in North Wilkesboro Speedway history, and fans were expected from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and eight foreign countries.