North Wilkesboro storms cancel qualifying, Blaney gets pole
NXTbets Pro | Published On: July 18, 2026
Blaney Claims Pole
Storms canceled Cup Series qualifying for the Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday, and NASCAR set the 37-car starting lineup by its performance metric. Ryan Blaney earned the pole when the order came from that formula instead of from a timed lap. Ty Gibbs will start second, Christopher Bell third, Carson Hocevar fourth and Tyler Reddick fifth. Erik Jones is sixth, Denny Hamlin seventh, Shane van Gisbergen eighth, Chris Buescher ninth and Chase Elliott 10th. That fills out the top 10 and gives the front of the field a clear order after qualifying never took place. NASCAR moved straight to the metric once the session was wiped out, so the race will begin with Blaney on the front row and Gibbs alongside him. Bell, Hocevar and Reddick follow in the next three spots, then Jones, Hamlin, van Gisbergen, Buescher and Elliott line up behind them. The lineup now has its shape, and the opening rows are set for the Window World 450 without a single qualifying lap to sort the order.
North Wilkesboro Grid
The rest of the field stretches through 37 cars, and several familiar names landed farther back in the lineup. Joey Logano is 11th, William Byron 15th, Brad Keselowski 23rd and Kyle Larson 27th. Chad Finchum is listed 37th. The full field leaves NASCAR with a fixed starting order from the front spot all the way to the back of the grid, and every position now comes from the same performance metric that gave Blaney the pole. The top 10 are locked in with Gibbs, Bell, Hocevar and Reddick joining Blaney at the front, while Jones, Hamlin, van Gisbergen, Buescher and Elliott complete the first five rows. Logano sits just outside that group in 11th. Byron starts four spots deeper in 15th, Keselowski will roll off 23rd and Larson lines up 27th. Finchum anchors the field in 37th. With qualifying canceled, the starting lineup became the only order that matters before the green flag, and the 37-car field will take the start in the sequence NASCAR created after the storm hit North Wilkesboro.
