Cup Series Preview

Window World 450

North Wilkesboro Speedway
Laps 450 Distance 281 mi Type short Coverage TNT · 7:00 PM ET Stages 80 / 265 / 450
0.625
MI
asphalt
Surface
Race Date
Sunday, July 19, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Band A · The Hook

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

DID YOU KNOW?

Terry Labonte has won 4 times at North Wilkesboro Speedway with a 9.2 average finish.

See Terry Labonte's full stats
LAST TIME HERE

The last Cup race at North Wilkesboro Speedway was the 1996 First Union 400 (chaos score: 72.5).

Track history
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 450 on?

The Window World 450 airs on TNT on Sunday, July 19, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET, broadcast from North Wilkesboro Speedway. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule splits between FOX, FS1, TNT, NBC, USA, and Amazon Prime Video.

What time does the NASCAR Cup race start today?

The Window World 450 green flag is set for 7:00 PM ET on Sunday, July 19, 2026, airing on TNT. All NASCAR start times are listed in Eastern Time.

NR-Rating Track Rankings

NR-Rating Track Rankings
#DriverElo RatingLast Finish
1Kyle Larson
1656
P0
2Ryan Blaney
1648
P0
3Denny Hamlin
1623
P0
4Christopher Bell
1594
P0
5Joey Logano
1577
P0
6Chase Elliott
1575
P0
7William Byron
1550
P0
8Ty Gibbs
1544
P0
9Ross Chastain
1539
P0
10Brad Keselowski
1536
P0
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 Exp. Finish Win %
1 Denny Hamlin Best in Field 6.8 18.6%
2 Ryan Blaney 6.8 17.5%
3 Chase Elliott 8.3 16.2%
4 Kyle Larson 8.6 13.2%
5 Christopher Bell 8.6 13.2%
6 Tyler Reddick 9.9 11.5%
7 Chris Buescher 10.3 9.5%
8 William Byron 10.3 8.2%
9 Ryan Preece 10.8 7.0%
10 Brad Keselowski 12.0 5.5%
11 Joey Logano 12.1 4.9%
12 Ty Gibbs 12.6 4.3%
13 Chase Briscoe 12.6 3.5%
14 Ross Chastain 13.8 3.4%
15 Bubba Wallace 14.0 2.7%
16 Alex Bowman 14.0 2.7%
17 Carson Hocevar 14.7 2.4%
18 Michael McDowell 15.0 2.1%
19 Daniel Suarez 15.6 1.7%
20 Kyle Busch 15.6 1.3%
21 Austin Dillon 17.0 0.8%
22 Austin Cindric 17.0 0.8%
23 Todd Gilliland 17.1 0.7%
24 Casey Mears 18.0 0.6%
25 Erik Jones 17.7 0.5%
26 Shane van Gisbergen 18.3 0.4%
27 Josh Berry 19.0 0.4%
28 John Hunter Nemechek 20.1 0.3%
29 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 20.1 0.3%
30 A.J. Allmendinger 18.3 0.3%
31 Katherine Legge 20.3 0.2%
32 Connor Zilisch 21.2 0.2%
33 Zane Smith 20.2 0.2%
34 Riley Herbst 22.1 0.1%
35 Noah Gragson 23.0 0.1%
36 Cole Custer 23.0 0.1%
37 Ty Dillon 24.3 0.1%
38 B.J. McLeod 25.6 0.0%
39 Cody Ware 29.8 0.0%

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

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.

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