Joey Logano snaps win drought at revived North Wilkesboro
Joey Logano led 323 laps and held off Denny Hamlin for his first Cup Series victory of the season, the Associated Press reported.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Joey Logano led 323 of 450 laps Sunday night at North Wilkesboro Speedway, then kept Denny Hamlin behind him to claim his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season, the Associated Press reported.
The win came in the first Cup points race at the North Carolina track in 30 years, turning a restored short-track landmark into the scene of Logano’s 38th career Cup victory.
According to the AP, the result ended a winless run for Logano that stretched back to May 2025 at Texas Motor Speedway. The 36-year-old also kept alive his run of winning at least once in 15 straight seasons, the longest active streak in the series. The AP reported Kyle Busch owns the record with victories in 19 consecutive seasons from 2005 through 2023.
“A win anywhere at this point would have sounded great,” Logano said, according to the AP. “But coming here and doing it at North Wilkesboro is awesome.”
Hamlin finished second, followed by Chase Briscoe, Ty Gibbs and Shane van Gisbergen, the AP reported.
Logano takes charge after Stage 2
Logano moved to the front in Stage 2 and controlled the race from there, according to the AP. The race had five cautions across 450 laps on the 0.625-mile oval.
The victory landed at a useful time for Logano, who entered the night outside the top 16 in the Chase for the playoffs, the AP reported.
Hamlin praised the run afterward, saying Logano’s handling of traffic stood out. “It’s wildly, wildly impressive what he did,” Hamlin said, according to the AP. “I thought it was a really impressive drive from him, how he maneuvered through (lapped) traffic and did everything we know Joey to do.”
A revived speedway gets its points race
North Wilkesboro Speedway was built in 1947 and had not hosted a Cup points race since Sept. 29, 1996, the AP reported.
The track spent much of the next quarter century mostly dormant before Speedway Motorsports refurbished it, a project the AP said included clearing weeds and trees from the racing surface. North Wilkesboro hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race from 2023 through 2025 before Sunday’s points-race return.
Blaney and Gilliland advance in $1 million challenge
Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland reached the final of NASCAR’s $1 million In-Season Challenge, according to the AP. Blaney beat Christopher Bell in Sunday’s semifinal matchup, while Gilliland defeated Chase Elliott.
The winner will be decided next Sunday at Indianapolis during the Brickyard 400. The AP reported the $1 million prize will go to whichever finalist finishes higher in the race.
Pit road drama and a rough night for Blaney
Tyler Reddick was collected in a lap 184 incident when Alex Bowman cut across while trying to move from the top lane toward pit road, spinning Reddick’s No. 45, the AP reported. Bowman told his crew chief, “I thought I had hole but maybe I didn’t,” according to the AP.
Blaney, the 2023 Cup Series champion, was due to start on the pole after Saturday qualifying was rained out and the lineup was set by metrics. The AP reported he instead began at the rear because of a power steering pump issue on his No. 12 Ford Mustang.
His night got tougher on lap 365, when a pit road speeding penalty knocked him out of the top five and cost him 15 positions, according to the AP.
The Cup Series now heads to Indianapolis for the Brickyard 400. The AP reported Bubba Wallace won last year’s race after Austin Cindric blew a tire.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.