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Episode 2624-Cup Teams Take It To North Wilkesboro For Points
Sunday, 19 July, 2026
From a NASCAR Fan’s View It’s again time for short track racing under the lights. The place is North Wilkesboro Speedway. It kind of reminds me of my younger days, except that it is going to be on a Sunday night. The reason I bring that up was an advertisement I remember from one of our local radio stations a long time ago. It always started with the excited statements of “Saturday night under the lights! Saturday night under the lights!” Wow! Does that bring back some memories. Well, it just doesn’t have the same ring to it when it says “Sunday night under the lights.” You might ask what does that have to do with this race at North Wilkesboro. To be honest, not a whole lot. It’s just a memory from the past of this old NASCAR fan, and this old track brings out that old memory. What is important is that this is the first points race at this place in thirty years. It couldn’t happen at a better time since, counting this race, there are six races for the drivers to make the Chase. That’s not a lot of time for some, and some feel it is too long a time, the way their season has been going. It is also the semi-finals of the In-Season Challenge, with the two finalists taking their hope for winning a million dollars to Indianapolis next week. With the season winding down to its final weeks to make the Chase, it is pretty obvious that Denny Hamlin has a great chance of being the season champ. He is already leading by twenty-four points and looks pretty good to keep on leading until Daytona. The closest to him is his fellow Toyota teammate and his 23XI employee, Tyler Reddick. Between them, they have nine wins this season, and though Denny now leads, Reddick led for many weeks after winning five races early in the season. Both of them looked to be untouchable when it came to points and they kind of cornered the headlines for weeks on end. Then Ryan Blaney showed that consistency pays off when it comes to accumulating points. As it stands, going into this race at North Wilkesboro, he has drawn to within sixty-five points of leader Hamlin. Because qualifying was rained out and he won last weekend’s race at EchoPark, he will be starting on the pole with a chance to move even closer to cutting more points from Hamlin’s and Reddick’s lead, depending on how things go for all of them in today’s race. It could make this points race even closer with the drama to match. This being a short track, a lot can happen at any time that could change the look of the points race for any or all three of the ones I just mentioned. With the rule changes made to the front end of the cars, it is possible for just about anything to happen to any of them that could cost them in points dearly. All it takes is a big pileup with a lot of front-end contact. Just being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the weaker frontends could make the difference between having a good day and a bad one. With thirty-eight cars on the track at once. There is also the elevated possibility of an encounter with the old nemesis, “bad racing luck,” and the difference between having a good points day and a very bad one. I realize there is no guarantee that nothing bad will happen to those at the top of the points list, but there is equally no guarantee that something bad will happen. It can all come down to that thing called racing luck. Speaking of bad racing luck, there is something that stands out to this fan, and it concerns a former champion. Yeah, I’m sure you know I’m talking about Kyle Larson. There is something that jumps out to me concerning just how much run-ins with bad racing luck can affect a driver’s season. Looking at the stats, Kyle has led 637 laps so far this season, which is second only to leader Denny Hamlin. He has taken more stage points than leader Hamlin at 169 to Hamlin’s 151. Because of his struggles in some of the races, he only has 594 points which puts him in sixth spot in the points standings and 197 points behind the leader. From this fan’s view, he has his work cut out for himself if he wants to catch up to the present leaders. In fact, if his run of bad luck continues, he may have trouble even making the cut for the Chase. If things had gone a little differently for him during this season, he could have been in the top four and maybe even the top two and just ahead of Reddick. If that doesn’t say something about how having some really bad race days mixed in with some really good ones can make the difference between a championship year and a mediocre one, I don’t know what does. Look, I know the season isn’t over yet, but time is running out. Not just for some… but for everyone who has hopes of making the Chase. North Wilkesboro Speedway may make a way for someone, but it could also break bad for another. With all that’s going on, the season could turn out even worse for one or more of the front-runners. That is one of the things we won’t know for sure until this one is over… Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time… All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer © July 19, 2026 – all rights reserved Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated NASCARFansView.com is an independent, unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR LLC.
