Samwise NASCAR Cup Series Newsletter
Wednesday, July 22, 2026
Logano Dominates to Win First North Wilkesboro Cup Points Race in 30 Years
Joey Logano dominated Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, leading 323 of 450 laps to earn the 38th victory of his Cup Series career. The Team Penske Ford driver crossed the finish line 0.859 seconds ahead of Denny Hamlin in NASCAR’s first points race at the North Carolina short track in 30 years. Logano won Stage 2 and collected 73 points across the evening. Rain delayed the start, with only six cars finishing on the lead lap at the checkered flag. Ryan Blaney, the pole sitter, dropped to the rear before the green flag after his team discovered a power steering problem and finished 11th.
Sources: NASCAR.com Jayski Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Blaney and Gilliland Set for $1 Million In-Season Challenge Final at Indianapolis
Ryan Blaney and Todd Gilliland will meet Sunday in the Champions Round of NASCAR’s 2026 In-Season Challenge at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with $1 million on the line. Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion and the No. 3 seed, earned his spot by winning at EchoPark Speedway two weeks ago. Gilliland, the No. 25 seed from Front Row Motorsports, upended No. 4 seed Chase Elliott to reach the final and is still seeking his first career Cup victory. The challenge is decided by which driver finishes ahead of the other in Sunday’s Brickyard 400 points race. Blaney averages a 5.0 finish in two Next Gen starts at Indianapolis.
Sources: Motorsport.com RACER Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Chase Bubble Tightens as Five Regular-Season Races Remain
Logano’s big night at North Wilkesboro propelled him from 17th to 15th and left him 49 points clear of Erik Jones, now the first driver outside the Chase cutline. Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney are the only three drivers locked into the postseason with five regular-season races remaining. Shane van Gisbergen moved to 14th, while Austin Cindric holds the final grid position, 33 points ahead of Jones. RFK Racing’s Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski sit 18th and 19th, facing the steepest climbs. The Chase begins after Race 26 at Darlington, where the top 16 drivers advance into the 10-race championship battle.
Sources: RACER NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Van Gisbergen Posts Career-Best Oval Performance at North Wilkesboro
Shane van Gisbergen posted the finest oval performance of his Cup Series career at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, leading 48 laps and finishing fifth. The Trackhouse Racing driver collected 47 points in the Window World 450, lifting him to 14th in the standings and 54 points clear of 17th-place Erik Jones. Van Gisbergen, a two-time road course winner in 2026, had struggled to translate his road course speed onto ovals during his first season. His North Wilkesboro effort confirmed he has developed enough oval competitiveness to be a genuine Chase contender with five regular-season races remaining before the postseason field is set.
Goodyear Debuts New Right-Side Tire for Cup Series at Indianapolis
Goodyear will introduce a new right-side tire for NASCAR Cup Series teams at this weekend’s Brickyard 400, pairing it with the familiar left-side compound most recently used at Chicagoland Speedway. The updated construction features a new tread compound developed following a tire test at Indianapolis last month, with Chevrolet’s Ross Chastain, Ford’s Ryan Preece, and Toyota’s John Hunter Nemechek representing each manufacturer. Teams will receive 14 total sets: 10 new race sets, one qualifying set that transfers to race inventory, and three practice sets. The tire debut adds a setup variable as teams prepare for Sunday’s 160-lap event on the 2.5-mile oval.
Sources: NASCAR.com Jayski Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Briscoe Carries Hot Streak Into Brickyard 400 at Home Track
Chase Briscoe charged from 30th to third at North Wilkesboro on Sunday, continuing a run of top-three finishes across his last three outings for Joe Gibbs Racing. The Indianapolis native now ranks eighth in points and enters this weekend’s Brickyard 400 with the strongest form of any driver in the field. Briscoe won earlier at Chicagoland Speedway and followed that with runner-up results at Sonoma and North Wilkesboro. As a Hoosier, Briscoe has spoken openly about the Brickyard 400 as a race he most wants to win. He carries genuine momentum into a weekend at a 2.5-mile track that rewards the kind of consistency he has delivered lately.
Sources: NASCAR.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Wallace Accepts EchoPark Penalty and Responds With Sixth-Place Finish at North Wilkesboro
Bubba Wallace arrived at North Wilkesboro last week with acceptance after a contentious late-race penalty at EchoPark Speedway. A wild swerve by the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota with half a lap remaining at EchoPark carried the car below the track’s out-of-bounds markings, and NASCAR demoted him from second to 29th after the checkered flag. Wallace said he gained a better understanding of the ruling, noting the violation involves gaining track position rather than passing another car. He responded strongly at North Wilkesboro, finishing sixth and collecting valuable Chase points after a race that shrank to only six lead-lap cars at the finish.
Sources: NASCAR.com Motorsport.com Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Three Teams Penalized at North Wilkesboro for Pre-Race Inspection Failures
Three Cup Series teams faced penalties at North Wilkesboro Speedway after failing pre-race inspection, with consequences ranging from car chief ejections to mandatory rear starts. The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing entry driven by Ross Chastain failed inspection three times, resulting in ejection of car chief David Fero, loss of pit-stall selection, a drop to the rear of the field, and a pass-through penalty on the opening lap. The No. 33 of Austin Hill and the No. 88 of Connor Zilisch each failed twice, costing both teams their car chiefs and pit-stall selections. Chastain recovered to record the fastest lap bonus during the race.
Sources: NASCAR.com Jayski Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Cup Series Standings (Top 16)
1. Denny Hamlin — 842 pts
2. Tyler Reddick — 774 pts
3. Ryan Blaney — 755 pts
4. Ty Gibbs — 708 pts
5. Chase Elliott — 634 pts
6. Kyle Larson — 616 pts
7. Carson Hocevar — 598 pts
8. Chase Briscoe — 587 pts
9. Chris Buescher — 585 pts
10. Christopher Bell — 574 pts
11. Daniel Suarez — 558 pts
12. William Byron — 546 pts
13. Bubba Wallace — 531 pts
14. Shane van Gisbergen — 516 pts
15. Joey Logano — 511 pts
16. Austin Cindric — 495 pts
After Race 21 — Next: Brickyard 400
Manufacturer Standings
1. Toyota — leads
2. Chevrolet
3. Ford
See nascar.com/standings for exact points
Curated by JD · samwise.agency