Joey Logano Wins North Wilkesboro in Dominant Fashion

Joey Logano won the NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Sunday, leading a career-high 323 laps to snap a 45-race winless streak. Logano is the first winner of a points-paying race at North Wilkesboro since Jeff Gordon in 1996.

“A win anywhere at this point would have sounded great, but coming here to North Wilkesboro is awesome,” Logano said. “Denny got really good the last run, and honestly it was whoever was out front was going to win the race that last run. We were pretty dominant most of the race, but Denny got better.”

Second-place finisher Denny Hamlin chipped away at Logano’s lead in the closing laps, but was unable to close the gap enough to attempt a move for the win. Hamlin congratulated Logano, once a bitter rival, during the latter’s victory celebration.

The second-most laps led on Sunday was by Shane van Gisbergen, in one of his best oval races to date. The Trackhouse Racing driver led 49 laps and came just shy of capturing the Stage 1 victory.

“Amazing to get stage points both stages,” van Gisbergen said. “A bit pissed I threw it away in the last corner on that first stage. Just awesome racing up front all night.”

Prior to last week, Ford drivers accounted for only one win out of 19 races in the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. Ryan Blaney, Logano’s Team Penske teammate, dominated last week at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta to earn his and Ford’s second victory. Suddenly Ford and Penske are back-to-back race winners, putting on a masterclass both weeks. The No. 22 team, who earlier this year felt destined to miss the Chase, are now 49 points in the green.

Though they fell short of the win, Joe Gibbs Racing was characteristically strong throughout the race on Sunday. Hamlin led their ranks with a runner-up finish, with Chase Briscoe finishing third and Ty Gibbs fourth. Gibbs rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty earlier in the race, but he was still less than satisfied.

“I just really want to go, honestly, in the SiriusXM No. 54 car and rip the dash out of it and punch myself,” Gibbs told TNT Sports after the race. “It’s just frustrating.” Still, Gibbs’ night wasn’t the worst in the field. AJ Allmendinger and Josh Berry’s races ended within nine laps of one another. Allmendinger’s No. 16 Chevrolet had suspension issues, while Berry was totaled after contact from Christopher Bell.

Points Outlook

Joey Logano’s North Wilkesboro win was sorely needed to sustain his chances at a fourth NASCAR Cup Series championship. He entered the weekend eight points behind the cutoff line in 17th, and now sits 15th with 49 points of cushion. Fellow Team Penske driver Austin Cindric fell two positions to 16th, with 33 points separating him fromm elimination.

With five races left before the Chase begins, Erik Jones has 33 points to make up if he hopes to reclaim his seeding from just one day prior. The RFK Racing duo of Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski are next in the standings, sitting 48 and 58 points outside of the Chase respectively. Michael McDowell rounds out the top 20, taking the spot from Ross Chastain on a points tiebreaker.

Shane van Gisbergen continued his mid-season hot streak, with his second ever top-five on an oval track. He ascended to 14th in the standings, with a 54-point advantage over the cutoff line.

The points lead still belongs to Denny Hamlin, who grew his margin from 24 to 68 points over Tyler Reddick. Ryan Blaney remains third, while Ty Gibbs and Chase Elliott maintained fourth and fifth.

Race Results