The Cup Series prepares for a second week of Sunday night racing on the short track of North Wilkesboro Speedway with the Window World 450.

The race is officially a hard sell out.

But first they will take to the track on a hot Saturday afternoon for some practice and a round of qualifying.

Teams brought 37 cars to North Wilkesboro for 40 starting spots.

But once again, the rain showers have delayed putting the cars on the track.  Track drying is in the process.

And it is a very special weekend for Dale Earnhardt Jr and his and Amy’s Foundation.  The skeleton gloves return.  Participating drivers will autograph the gloves along with Dale Jr and have been put up for auction.  The proceeds will go to the Children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio.  The gloves are up for auction until July 20 at pristineauction.com/auction/type/dale-jr-glove.

At last check, Dale Jr’s gloves have a bid of $1,600 with every driver having bids of over $100.

Unlike other tracks, drivers have to ride a lift to reach victory lane.

Built in 1947, NASCAR last ran at North Wilkesboro in 1996.  In 2022, avid historic track fan Dale Earnhardt Jr was among the group that helped to rebuild the track.  Carson Hocevar compared the track to the baseball film “Field of Dreams”; saying that North Wilkesboro was their “Field of Dreams”.

With the rains and track drying  ongoing, NASCAR has cancelled qualifying and will set the field by their metric; but are working to get the track in shape for the drivers to practice.

For winning last week, Ryan Blaney got a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.  He was riding the bike around the track when the police showed up.  Blaney said that they were really nice when they realized who he was and left him alone.

After over an hour and a half delay, the drivers get out on the track for a full 50 minute practice session.

The teams get two sets of tires for practice.

After failing inspection multiple times Austin Hill and Connor Zilisch have lost their car chiefs and choice of pit stall; Ross Chastain will also have to serve a passthrough penalty.

Christopher Bell says that he is well and ready to go.  The wrist is healed and no longer has a cast.  Bell has gone out and topped the leaderboard in single lap times – 18.222 – and multiple lap times.

The starting lineup for the Window World 450:
Ryan Blaney
Ty Gibbs
Christopher Bell
Carson Hocevar
Tyler Reddick
Erik Jones
Denny Hamlin
Shane van Gisbergen
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Joey Logano
Austin Dillon
Ross Chastain
Austin Cindric
William Byron
Michael McDowell
Daniel Suarez
Todd Gilliland
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Ryan Preece
Ty Dillon
Brad Keselowski
Ricky Stenhouse Fr
Alex Bowman
Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson
Josh Berry
Zanem Smith
Chase Briscoe
Noah Gragson
Connor Zilisch
Austin Hill
Riley Herbst
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware
Chad Finchum

As the pre-race programming began, the track dryers were on the track working to get the track ready for racing after a thunderstorm moved through earlier in the afternoon.  During the pre-race programming, the television crew had to move inside after a lightning strike and the canopy blown off of the set.  The original time for race start has been delayed by a short bit.

After a power steering issues during practice, pole sitter Ryan Blaney will have to start the race from the back of the field.

It is Todd Gilliland vs Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney vs Christopher Bell in the In-Season Challenge.

Stage one is 80 laps with stages two and three 185 laps each for a total of 450 laps around the 5/8 mile track.  The drivers can run around 160 laps on a single load of fuel.

The spotters are very close to the track which may cause some issues for the teams.

The drivers are making multiple pace laps to help get the stubborn parts of the track dry.

On a hot and humid Sunday night, Ty Gibbs brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Christopher Bell alongside.  Gibbs jumps out in front for the lead with Carson Hocevar on his bumper.

Lap three, Ty Gibbs leads the race with Carson Hocevar in second; Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

After serving his passthrough penalty, Ross Chastain is one lap down.

Lap 10, Ty Gibbs has a half second lead on Carson Hocevar; Christopher Bell, Erik Jones, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Lap 13, Christopher Bell passes Carson Hocevar for second, 

Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones battle for fourth.

Lap 17, Ryan Blaney has made it to 32nd after having to start the race from the back of the field.

Lap 21, Ty Gibbs has pulled out to a near one second lead on teammate Christopher Bell; Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick continue their battle for fourth with Joey Logano lurking behind in sixth.

Lap 29, Tyler Reddick finally gets around Erik Jones for fourth.

Lap 31, Ty Gibbs has increased his lead to over a second on Christpher Bell; Carson Hocevar, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Drivers are getting three wide across the track.

Lap 34, Ryan Blaney has moved up seven spots since the start of the race to 27th.

Thirty-seven laps into the race and there are just two cars not on the lead lap – one due to a passthrough penalty.

Joey Logano has passed Tyler Reddick for fourth.

John Hunter  Neechek brings out the first caution flag of the race on lap 40 when he spins out after contact with Zane Smith.

Cody Ware is the “lucky dog”.

Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott make contact.

Drivers come down pit road for service with ty Gibbs winning the race off of pit road but not all of the drivers made a pit stop.

Kyle Larson made contact with one of his pit crew exiting the pit stall and made contact with Connor Zilisch.  He has made a second trip down pit road with a broken wheel.

Denny Hamlin is the new leader and brings the field down for the green flag restart with Ty Gibbs alongside on lap 49.  Denny Hamlin takes the lead with Shane van Gisbergen taking second; Michael McDowell, ty Gibbs, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

Lap 51,Shane van Gisbergen battles with Denny Hamlin for the lead.

New leader, Shane van Gisbergen passes Denny Hamlin.

Lap 53, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Michael McDowell, and Christopher Bell.

Christopher Bell passes Michael McDowell for fourth.

Carson Hocevar passes Michael McDowell for fifith.

After the pit stops, Ryan Blaney is inside the top 20 in 17th.

Lap 62, Shane van Gisbergen has a near half second lead on Ty Gibbs; Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Lap 69, Ryan Blaney has moved up 20 spots since the start of the race.

Lap 70, leader Shane van Gisbergen puts Chad Finchum down a second lap.

Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek are in a battle for the “lucky dog” spot.

Ty Gibbs is closing in on leader Shane van Gisbergen with eight laps remaining in stage one.

With five laps to go in stage one, Ross Chastain has passed John Hunter Nemechek for the “lucky dog” spot.

Ty Gibbs has caught Shane van Gisbergen; Joey Logano makes it a three way battle for the lead…and the stage one win.

Ty Gibbs edges out to win stage one for his fourth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Ty Gibbs
Shane van Gisbergen
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Carson Hocevar
Christopher Bell
Chase Elliott
Chase Briscoe
Austin Cindric
William Byron

Drivers come down pit road for service with Ty Gibbs winning the  race off of pit road with Joey Logano coming out second.

Ross Chastain is back on the lead lap.

Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, and Cody Ware were charged with penalties and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with Shane van Gisbergen alongside for the green flag start of stage two on lap 92.  Drivers are two by two.  Joey Logano takes the lead but Shane van Gisbergen moves up on the inside lane to take the lead.

Lap 95, the top five are Shane van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, Carson Hocevar, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott.

Lap 98, Ryan Blaney is just outside the top 10 in eleventh.

Lap 102, Shane van Gisbergen leads the race with Joey Logano on his bumper and Carson Hocevar right behind them; Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Chase Briscoe started the race in 30th but is now in the top 10 in eighth place.

Lap 108, Ryan Blaney has entered the top 10.

Lap 111 Bubba Wallace battles with bossman Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Lap 113, Joey Logano and Shane van Gisbergen for the lead.  Logano comes up on the outside to pass for the lead.

Lap 115, the top five are Joey Logano, Shane van Gisbergen, Carson Hocevar, Chase Elliott, and Bubba Wallace.

Lap 122, Joey Logano has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Shane van Gisbergen.

Lap 124, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace continue their back and forth battle for fourth place.

Lap 127, Chase Elliott has passed Carson Hocevar for third.

Bubba Wallace has fallen to sixth after taking just two tires on his pit stop.

Lap 131, Joey Logano has a two second lead on Shane van Gisbergen; Chase Elliott, Carson Hocevar, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Josh Berry states that he is largely responsible for the Cup Series returning to North Wilkesboro.  When asked if he was going to let Berry take all the credit, Dale Jr said he would let anybody take credit because there were a lot of people who helped to get the track back on the Cup Series schedule.

Lap 140, Chase Elliott has passed Shane van Gisbergen for second.  Denny Hamlin passes Carson Hocevar for fourth.

Leader Joey Logano has encountered slower traffic.

Lap 152, the top five are Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Shane van Gisbergen, and Chase Briscoe.  Ryan Blaney is just outside the top five in sixth.

NASCAR has posted the 66 car of Chad Finchum.

Christopher has some tape removed on the pit stop to help cool the brakes but is still reporting some brake temperature issues.

Lap 161, there are 26 cars on the lead lap.  Ty Gibbs is the first car one lap down.

Lap 164, Joey Logano has a near four second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Lap 174, Christopher Bell comes down pit road.

Lap 176, AJ Allmendinger makes a pit stop with a flat tire after slapping the wall.

Green flag pit stops begin.

Lap 180, Joey Logano has a near five second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick make contact as Alex Bowman cut across Reddick on the track as he works his way to pit road.  Bowman said that he though he had a hole…but didn’t.

With the caution flag coming out amidst green flag pit stops, there are now only 12 cars on the lead lap.

Joey Logano leads the race.

Ty Dillon is the “lucky dog”.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 192 with Denny Hamlin alongside.

During the incident with Alex bowman and Tyler Reddick, Daniel Saurez was trying to come down pit road.  He was below the “orange cone” when he moved back on the track to avoid Bowman.  NASCAR ruled that Suarez did not violate the rules because he was trying to avoid the wreck.

Lap 197, Joey Logano leads the race with Denny Hamlin in second; Shane van Gisbergen, Ryan Blaney, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Josh Berry gets into the wall to bring out the caution flag with flat tires after contact with Christopher Bell.

Ty Gibbs is the “lucky dog”.

Christopher Bell reports that the brakes are to the floor.

Chad Finchum was caught speeding on pit road.

Josh Berry takes his car to the garage for repairs.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag restart with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 207.  Logano takes the lead with Denny Hamlin and Shane van Gisbergen in a battle for second.

Carson Hocevar comes up to pass Denny Hamlin and Shane van Gisbergen for second.

AJ Allmendinger is out of the race.

There are just 16 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 214, Joey Logano has a lead of over half a second on Carson Hocevar; Shane van Gisbergen, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney rounds out the top five.

Tyler Reddick’s team said the car has a bent tire rod but they cannot fix it.

Josh Berry is out of the race.

Lap 223, Joey Logano has a second and a half lead on Carson Hocevar; Shane van Gisbergen, Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 231, Shane van Gisbergen is the only driver to be in the top 10 for every lap so far.

Lap 234, Denny Hamlin passes Shane van Gisbergen for third.

Cole Custer’s cool suit failed early in the race.

Zane Smith reports that the inside of his car is the hottest he has ever seen.  He has a cool suit, but the crew isn’t sure if it is working.  With a very high humidity, the inside of the cars are running 135 to 140 degrees.

Carson Hocevar has passed Shane van Gisbergen for third.

Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace battle for fifth.

With 16 laps remaining in stage two, Joey Logano is encountering slower traffic.  There are only 15 cars on the lead lap.

Just eleven laps remain in stage two, Chase Briscoe has passed Shane van Gisbergen for fourth and Carson Hocevar for third.

Joey Logano is now lapping some cars for the second time.

Carson Hocevar and Shane van Gisbergen are in a battle for fourth place.

Bubba Wallace passes Shane van Gisbergen for fourth.

Joey Logano wins stage two.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Shane van Gisbergen
Carson Hocevar
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Blaney
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez

Drivers come down pit road for service with Joey Logano winning the race off of pit road; Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, and Carson Hocevar round out the top five.

Joey Logano brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Denny Hamlin alongside on lap 276.  Logano and Hamlin battle for the lead with Logano edging out for the lead.  Chase Briscoe and Bubba Wallace battle for third; Shane van Gisbergen is in fifth.

Lap 279, Shane van Gisbergen and Chase Briscoe battle for fourth.

Lap 284, the top five are Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen.

There are only 15 cars on the lad lap.

Lap 288, Ryan Blaney and Carson Hocevar battle for sixth.

Lap 292, Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs battle for eighth.

Lap 296, Joey Logano has a one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Bubba Wallace, Chase Briscoe, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Despite being a lap down, Ross Chastain has the fastest lap of the race.

Brad Keselowskki passes Carson Hocevar for seventh.

Lap 310, Joey Logano has led 201 laps so far and currently has a lead of a second on Denny Hamlin.

Chris Buescher makes a green flag pot stop on lap 315.

Lap 318, Joey Logano has caught slower traffic and is on the bumper of Ty Dillon – the last car on the lead lap.

Lap 320, Joey Logano passes Ty Dillon to put him a lap down.  There are now just 14 cars on the lead lap.

Drivers are reporting their cars are overheating…and so are they.

Lap 331, Joey Logano has a near two second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, and Shane van Gisbergen round out the top five.

Ryan Blaney passes Shane van Gisbergen for fifth.

There are now just 13 cars on the lead lap.

Carson Hocevar reports that his car is “undrivable”.

Lap 338, Ryan Blaney passes Bubba Wallace for fourth.

Lap 341, Joey Logano just put Carson Hocevar one lap down in 13th.  Erik Jones is the last car on the lead lap in 12th.

Chad Finchum is off the track.

One hundred laps to go; Joey Logano has dominated the race and is not nearly two seconds out in front of Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Ryan Blaney, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Lap 354, Joey Logano passes Austin Dillon and Cole Custer to put them another lap down.

Lap 360, Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano make their green flag pit stops.  Chase Briscoe is the new leader.

More drivers make their green flag pit stops.

Ryan Blaney was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.

Lap 368, as green flag pit stops continue, Bubba Wallace leads the race.

Lap 370, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suarez, and Erik Jones are the only drivers on the lead lap…until they make a green flag pit stop. 

Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin both pass Bubba Wallace to get their lap back.

Lap 373, Bubba Wallace makes his pit stop and gives the lead over to Brad Keselowski.

Lap 377, once Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, and Erik Jones make their pit stops, Joey Logano will retake the lead.

With 71 laps to go, Brad Keselowski makes his pit stop. 

Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin pass Daneil Suarez with Logano retaking the lead.

With 66 laps to go, Daniel Suarez is the last driver to make a green flag pit stop.

There are just five cars on the lead lap – Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, and Bubba Wallace.

Ty Gibbs has gotten his lap back.

Austin Hill was caught speeding on pit road and will have to serve a passthrough penalty.

Just 54 laps to go, Joey Logano has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr has a smoking car.

Just 42 laps to go, Joey Logano has a one second lead on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

Ty Gibbs passes Bubba Wallace for fifth.

Just 29 to goo, Joey Logano took over the lead early in stage two and has dominated the race ever since; he has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Chase Briscoe, Shane van Gisbergen, and Ty Gibbs round out the top five.

With 25 laps to go, Ty Gibbs is on Shane van Gisbergen’s bumper and passes for fourth.

Just 16 to go, Riley Herbst is three laps down and is fighting to stay in front of Joey Logano. 

Joey Logano is approaching a lot of traffic.

Just eleven laps remain in the race, and Denny Hamlin is less than half a second behind leader Joey Logano.

Seven to go, there are just four cars one lap down.

Six laps to go, Joey Logano has pulled out to a near one second lead on Denny Hamlin.

Joey Logano takes the white flag.

Joey Logano wins the race in dominating fashion for his first win of the season.

Logano did a burnout lap!  He led 323 of 450 laps.  His son gets in the car for the ride to victory lane…after another burnout lap.

The unofficial results of the Window World 450:
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Chase Briscoe
Ty Gibbs
Shane van Gisbergen
Bubba Wallace
Brad Keselowski
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Ryan Preece
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Carson Hocevar
Austin Cindric
Kyle Larson
Ty Dillon
Chase Elliott
Riley Herbst
Christopher Bell
Chris Buescher
Erik Jones
Zane Smith
Austin Dillon
Michael McDowell
Noah Gragson
Alex Bowman
Ross Chastain
Cole Custer
Cody Ware
Tyler Reddick
John Hunter Nemechek
Connor Zilisch
Austin Hill
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Chad Finchum
Josh Berry
AJ Allmendinger

And then there were two: Todd Gilliland and Ryan Blaney