Racing Insights: North Wilkesboro to yield latest first-time winner in 2026?

It’s the first points-paying NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway since 1996, and Sunday’s Window World 450 under the lights (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports, truTV, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is bound to deliver some old-school, short-track flair.

With that in mind, expect the big dogs to be feasting on points and the checkered flag Sunday, particularly Christopher Bell, as the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver won the All-Star Race last year at the 0.625-mile bullring in the North Carolina Foothills and is still seeking victory No. 1 in 2026. Kyle Larson, also seeking his maiden breakthrough of the year, will certainly be a factor Sunday night.

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North Wilkesboro will be a home-run opportunity for the sport’s best, but drivers who sit just below the cutline could strike gold and finally get some momentum as the regular season winds down. Read on to see other drivers worth watching, as well as Racing Insights’ full race projections for Sunday’s short-track marathon.

DRIVERS TO WATCH

JOEY LOGANO: Quite unprecedented to see a three-time champion outside the postseason picture late in the regular season. But North Wilkesboro may be exactly what Logano needs to turn his 2026 campaign around. He was the All-Star winner at the track in 2024 and his finished inside the top 10 in the last six short-track events. Logano enters Sunday’s race eight points behind Erik Jones for the final spot in the Chase.

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RYAN PREECE: Just below Logano in the Cup standings is the driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. The journeyman has had a forgettable summer so far after being inside the top 16 in points early on in the season. However, North Wilkesboro will play into Preece’s favor as a short-track ace. He won the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in February and owns three top 10s in the last six short-track races.

TY GIBBS: What a season it has been for the fourth-year driver. The No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota driver sits fourth in points and isn’t fully out of the picture yet for the No. 1 seed. While he sits 126 points back of teammate Denny Hamlin, Gibbs is just quietly being consistent after scoring his first career victory at Bristol Motor Speedway in the spring. Gibbs owns top 10s in four of the last five events and finished fourth at Martinsville Speedway earlier this year on top of his Bristol win.

MORE: At-track photos | What to Watch: North Wilkesboro

FULL PROJECTED RESULTS FOR WINDOW WORLD 450 (7 p.m. ET, TNT Sports)