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North Wilkesboro Speedway once again proved to be Joey Logano's playground on Sunday night, as the three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion led a career-high 323 laps in the series' first points race at the historic track since 1996.
The dominant win was not entirely unexpected for the driver who won the 2024 All-Star Race at the track and was runner-up to Christopher Bell in the 2025 exhibition race for $1 million. While he still has some work to do to officially secure a Chase spot in the 16-driver postseason field, Logano finally showed some vintage form to snap his 45-race winless skid.
As good as Logano's drive was, Ty Gibbs was left scratching his head at a missed opportunity with one of the race's fastest cars. Gibbs paced the field in the early going and surged ahead of Shane van Gisbergen by a nose to win the opening stage after starting from pole.
On the ensuing pit stops during the stage break, Gibbs sped and lost all of his track position at a time when very few drivers had gone a lap down. Despite the challenge ahead, he put together a phenomenal drive and recovered for a fourth place finish on a hot night at North Wilkesboro.
Ty Gibbs had a drive to remember at North Wilkesboro
Gibbs currently sits fourth in points and has the second-most top 10 finishes (14) in the series behind Ryan Blaney's 15. He has three top five finishes in the four most recent races and five top 10 finishes in the past six, another sign of how consistent he has been and why he finds himself so high in the standings.
After struggling to find his footing at the Cup level, Gibbs finally claimed that elusive win earlier this season at Bristol Motor Speedway in his 131st career start, cementing a breakthrough NASCAR fans can no longer ignore.
Unlike prior seasons when he would give away solid finishes with mistakes on the track, Gibbs has matured and rounded into form as one of the top drivers in the series.
This is also not the first time in recent weeks that he has come through the field and nearly rallied for the win. With crew chief Tyler Allen electing to go with a different strategy at Sonoma Raceway and keeping Gibbs on track instead of flipping the stages for track position, he had to maneuver his way through the field multiple times and drove all the way up to third by the end of the race.
Had Gibbs received the penalty for speeding after the stage two caution for Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick had already trapped several drivers a lap down during a cycle of green flag stops, that would have been one thing. However, it happened long before that and made his drive through the field that much more impressive, considering how long it took most drivers to make a pass during the race.
Impressive drive aside, Gibbs was not too happy with himself that he drew the speeding penalty to begin with in his post-race interview with TNT's Marty Snider.
"I just really want to go, honestly, in the SiriusXM No. 54 car and rip the dash out of it and punch myself," Gibbs said, per NASCAR.com. "It's just frustrating."
Gibbs has always been a villain whom fans have loved to hate, but his performance this season is finally pushing back against the hate and backlash he has received throughout his young career. Even before Gibbs finally claimed that elusive first Cup Series win at Bristol, his consistency was a sign of a driver who was quietly inching toward that first trip to victory lane at the sport's highest level.
Sure, he could arguably have another a win or two this season if the strategy had been a little different or had a late caution flown at the right time. His success has also flown under the radar as Toyota counterparts Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick have been in the spotlight for one reason or another almost every week.
With that said, Gibbs continues to prove the doubters wrong with his improved race craft and maturity behind the wheel. North Wilkesboro was another prime example after he followed a speeding penalty with a methodical drive back toward the front and left with another solid points night.
Today's best reads
- NASCAR Cup Series at North Wilkesboro, full Window World 450 race results
- North Wilkesboro NASCAR qualifying: Full Window World 450 starting lineup
- Ryan Blaney issued huge penalty before North Wilkesboro NASCAR race
- Joey Logano not locked into NASCAR playoffs after North Wilkesboro win
- North Wilkesboro NASCAR Cup Series results, full point standings
This article was originally published on beyondtheflag.com as The impressive drive that flew totally under the radar at North Wilkesboro.
