Truck Series Preview Saturday, July 18, 2026

Window World 250

North Wilkesboro Speedway

Laps 250 Distance 156 mi Type short Coverage FS1 · 12:30 PM ET

0.625

asphalt

Surface

Race Date

Saturday, July 18, 2026

12:30 PM ET

Pre-Race Race Day Post-Race

Band A · The Hook

Your watchlist, historical context, and race-week curiosities.

Your Drivers' Outlook

DID YOU KNOW?

The wildest race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was the 1991 First Union 400 with a chaos score of 90.0.

See track history

LAST TIME HERE

Terry Labonte won the 1996 First Union 400 at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

See Terry Labonte's results

Band B · The Story

The narrative arc, drivers to watch, and race-weekend color.

Band C · The Data

Schedule, predictions, entry list, track history, fantasy, and betting angles.

TV & Start Time

What channel is the Window World 250 on?

The Window World 250 airs on FS1 on Saturday, July 18, 2026 at 12:30 PM ET, broadcast from North Wilkesboro Speedway. Every 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race airs on FS1, available through cable, satellite, and live-TV streaming services like YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, and fuboTV.

What time does the NASCAR Craftsman Truck race start today?

The Window World 250 green flag is set for 12:30 PM ET on Saturday, July 18, 2026, airing on FS1. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

#	Driver	Elo Rating	Last Finish
1	Kyle Larson	1656	P0(0)
2	Ryan Blaney	1648	P0(0)
3	Denny Hamlin	1623	P0(0)
4	Christopher Bell	1594	P0(0)
5	Joey Logano	1577	P0(0)
6	Chase Elliott	1575	P0(0)
7	William Byron	1550	P0(0)
8	Ty Gibbs	1544	P0(0)
9	Ross Chastain	1539	P0(0)
10	Brad Keselowski	1536	P0(0)

NR-Rating: Elo-based rating from the NR-Rating prediction model. Higher = stronger at this track type.

NR-Rating Predictions

Last updated: Wed, May 13, 2026, 07:50 AM ET

#	Driver	Tier	Exp. Finish	Win %	Top 5 %	Top 10 %
1	Denny Hamlin Best in Field	Favorite	6.8	18.6%	57.4%	75.8%
2	Ryan Blaney	Favorite	6.8	17.5%	56.5%	74.9%
3	Chase Elliott	Favorite	8.3	16.2%	54.5%	73.7%
4	Kyle Larson	Favorite	8.6	13.2%	49.6%	69.7%
5	Christopher Bell	Favorite	8.6	13.2%	49.6%	69.7%
6	Tyler Reddick	Favorite	9.9	11.5%	46.2%	67.5%
7	Chris Buescher	Contender	10.3	9.5%	42.9%	65.3%
8	William Byron	Contender	10.3	8.2%	38.9%	62.3%
9	Ryan Preece	Contender	10.8	7.0%	36.4%	60.8%
10	Brad Keselowski	Contender	12.0	5.5%	33.9%	58.6%
11	Joey Logano	Contender	12.1	4.9%	31.2%	56.4%
12	Ty Gibbs	Contender	12.6	4.3%	29.9%	54.7%
13	Chase Briscoe	Contender	12.6	3.5%	26.2%	51.2%
14	Ross Chastain	Contender	13.8	3.4%	24.9%	50.2%
15	Bubba Wallace	Mid-Pack	14.0	2.7%	20.6%	45.7%
16	Alex Bowman	Mid-Pack	14.0	2.7%	20.6%	45.7%
17	Carson Hocevar	Mid-Pack	14.7	2.4%	17.8%	42.8%
18	Michael McDowell	Mid-Pack	15.0	2.1%	16.7%	41.1%
19	Daniel Suarez	Mid-Pack	15.6	1.7%	15.2%	38.3%
20	Kyle Busch	Mid-Pack	15.6	1.3%	13.3%	35.5%
21	Austin Dillon	Mid-Pack	17.0	0.8%	10.2%	30.9%
22	Austin Cindric	Mid-Pack	17.0	0.8%	10.8%	32.6%
23	Todd Gilliland	Mid-Pack	17.1	0.7%	9.1%	28.8%
24	Casey Mears	Mid-Pack	18.0	0.6%	7.3%	23.8%
25	Erik Jones	Mid-Pack	17.7	0.5%	8.1%	25.8%
26	Shane van Gisbergen	Mid-Pack	18.3	0.4%	6.4%	21.9%
27	Josh Berry	Dark Horse	19.0	0.4%	5.0%	20.3%
28	John Hunter Nemechek	Dark Horse	20.1	0.3%	4.2%	18.6%
29	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Dark Horse	20.1	0.3%	4.2%	18.6%
30	A.J. Allmendinger	Dark Horse	18.3	0.3%	5.7%	21.0%
31	Katherine Legge	Dark Horse	20.3	0.2%	2.8%	14.8%
32	Connor Zilisch	Dark Horse	21.2	0.2%	2.4%	11.9%
33	Zane Smith	Dark Horse	20.2	0.2%	3.3%	16.3%
34	Riley Herbst	Dark Horse	22.1	0.1%	1.9%	8.6%
35	Noah Gragson	Dark Horse	23.0	0.1%	1.5%	8.1%
36	Cole Custer	Dark Horse	23.0	0.1%	1.6%	8.4%
37	Ty Dillon	Dark Horse	24.3	0.1%	0.8%	6.0%
38	B.J. McLeod	Dark Horse	25.6	0.0%	0.6%	4.3%
39	Cody Ware	Dark Horse	29.8	0.0%	0.1%	1.0%

Win probabilities reflect full-field Monte Carlo simulations. A 10% pWin means roughly 1-in-10 chance of winning — higher than most bettors realize for a 36-car field where the average driver has ~2.8% odds. Top 5 and Top 10 percentages similarly reflect simulated outcomes, not historical averages. Learn how the model works.

Predictions powered by NR-Rating model (MAE: 8.5 positions)

Prediction Scorecard

Go Bowling at The Glen: Model picked Chase Elliott at P1 → Actual P24

(1/5 top-5 hits)

38% top-5 hit rate across 11 races

History at North Wilkesboro Speedway

Truck Series data from 1995-2026 (2 races)

Recent Results

Year	Race	Winner	Margin	Team	Manufacturer	Laps Led
2025	NASCAR Truck Series at North Wilkesboro	Chandler Smith	—			1
2023	NASCAR Truck Series at North Wilkesboro	Kyle Larson	—			138

All Results at This Track

2025 Smith 2023 Larson

Laps Led Leaders

Driver	Total Laps Led
Corey Heim	237
Kyle Larson	138
Grant Enfinger	68
Giovanni Ruggiero	24
Carson Hocevar	16

Track Type Tendencies

short

North Wilkesboro Speedway is a short track where driver skill and aggression take center stage. Passing requires contact, tempers run hot, and strategy around restarts and pit timing can make or break a race.

Short tracks historically produce the most lead changes and the closest finishes.