Joey Logano grabbed his first NASCAR Cup Series Win on Sunday in the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway to become the first Cup series winner at the short track since 1996.
Logano’s dominant performance
Logano led 323 of the 450 laps, a pace that left little doubt about his control of the race. The two-time champion entered the event below the playoff cutline with the regular season drawing to a close, his win propels him into the playoffs as of now.
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After crossing the finish line, Logano told the on-camera interview on TNT, “A win anywhere at this point would have sounded great. Coming here to North Wilkesboro is awesome. I picked up a passenger on the backstretch – my son Hudson. What a great car. Paul Wolfe, what a great car he put together for us today. Just was able to execute a smooth pace. Everyone on pit road did a good job. The engine and Roush Yates were good. It’s good to get back into victory lane. It’s been a tough year. So getting the Shell-Pennzoil Mustang doing some big, smokey doughnuts around this place felt really good.”
He ultimately beat Denny Hamlin by 0.859 seconds.
Other contenders
The event saw only three natural cautions—one in the opening stage and two in the second—allowing Logano to extend his advantage. Only six cars finished on the lead lap. Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing was the final driver to complete the race on the lead lap, finishing sixth.
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Other top-ten finishers included Brand Keselowski, Todd Gilliland, Daniel Suárez and Ryan Preece. Shane van Gisbergen, who had secured a third-place finish in the NASCAR Truck Series the night before, placed fifth in the Cup race. He led early in the first stage and humorously radioed his crew, “What the f*ck do I do now?”
Logano held off Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, and Ty Gibbs for the win.
