Sunday’s Window World 450 won’t begin with every favorite in position to contend.
After rain wiped out qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, NASCAR set the starting lineup using its performance metric, creating a grid that gives some championship contenders clean air from the drop of the green flag while forcing others to fight through traffic on one of the toughest tracks to pass.
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Ryan Blaney inherited the pole position and will share the front row with Ty Gibbs. Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick complete the top five.
Further down the order, however, several big names face a very different challenge.
Bubba Wallace rolls off 26th and Kyle Larson will start 27th, leaving each with significant ground to make up if they hope to contend by the end of the 250-lap race.
With qualifying washed out, Sunday’s sold-out race becomes less about outright speed and more about who can capitalize on track position—and who can recover after drawing a less favorable starting spot.
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Where Every NASCAR Driver Will Start Sunday
The Window World 450 serves as the semifinal round of NASCAR’s In-Season Challenge, making track position even more valuable after qualifying was lost to the weather. Sunday’s race will reveal which drivers can capitalize on favorable starting spots and which contenders can charge through the field after drawing tougher positions.
