2026 Window World 450 Preview: NASCAR Returns to North Wilkesboro

Last time out, Ryan Blaney claimed victory in another thrilling race at Atlanta. Now, the driver of the #12 will look to keep up that momentum as NASCAR heads to the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway for the 2026 Window World 450.

While NASCAR has run the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway in recent years, Sunday night marks the first NASCAR Cup Series race for points at the venue in 30 years. The tight confines of North Wilkesboro will undoubtedly produce plenty of contact and hot tempers.

Let’s dive in.

2026 Window World 450 Entry List

37 cars are entered for Sunday’s race at North Wilkesboro with Chad Finchum representing the lone non-charter entry. NWB also represents the semi-finals of the In-Season Challenge, with Todd Gilliland taking on Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney facing off against Christopher Bell.

Up and at ‘em. Time to go to work. 💼 pic.twitter.com/3qNfO7xsp9

— North Wilkesboro Speedway (@NWBSpeedway) July 17, 2026

North Wilkesboro comes in at just over a half-mile at 0.625. This means bumpers will be used early and often to complete passes. The NASCAR NextGen car still struggles on short tracks, but NASCAR continues to try to adjust with tire packages and horsepower to compensate. Still, this race is likely to feature some lulls in action due to the difficulty with passing.

2026 Window World 450 Race Predictions

Short tracks have been a bit of a mixed bag this year in regard to race winners. Ryan Preece took the Clash at Bowman Gray to start the season. Chase Elliott won at Martinsville. Meanwhile, Ty Gibbs won at Bristol. None of those tracks is necessarily a great comp for North Wilkesboro, so I do think we see a different short track winner this Sunday.

Goodnight, North Wilkesboro. ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/lTNnBCoT2p

— North Wilkesboro Speedway (@NWBSpeedway) July 17, 2026

With North Wilkesboro’s brief tenure as the host of the All-Star race, it saw three different winners. Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell each found Victory Lane, though it can be hard to read too much into the wins, given the different format of that race.

Instead, I’m going with Ryan Blaney to win a second straight race. Blaney has been elite at short tracks in NASCAR, and with his Penske teammate Joey Logano having found success here already, it feels like the #12 is due for a trip to Victory Lane at North Wilkesboro.

Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action this week!

Friday 07/17

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Practice – 1:00 p.m. CT on FS2

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 2:05 p.m. CT on FS2

Saturday 07/18

FaithFest 250 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 11:30 a.m. CT on FS1

NASCAR Cup Series Practice – 4:00 p.m. CT on TruTV

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 5:10 p.m. CT on TruTV

Sunday 07/19

Window World 450 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 6:00 p.m. CT on TNT and HBO Max

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