For Ryan Blaney, a dominant victory in last weekend’s Quaker State 400 Presented by Walmart at EchoPark Speedway is going to pay major dividends, after NASCAR was forced to cancel qualifying at North Wilkesboro Speedway due to inclement weather.
The starting lineup for Sunday’s Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway will be set by the NASCAR Cup Series Rule Book, which calls for the usage of NASCAR’s Performance Metric to set the starting lineup (and is essentially just the reverse of the qualifying order released mid-week).
Ryan Blaney, driving the No. 12 Menards / Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, will lead the field to green on Sunday, July 19 at 7:00 PM ET (TNT/TruTV). He’ll start alongside Ty Gibbs, driver of the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing.
“A great lap,” said Blaney in his post-qualifying press conference. “I look forward to [this weekend]. I’ve enjoyed coming here the last few years for the All-Star Race and I was excited when they announced there was going to be a points race here because I feel like this place has done a really good job of not only revitalizing it, the facilities, but they do a really good job of fan experiences and it puts on a really good race, too.”
The winner in each of the last three points-paying NASCAR Cup Series events at North Wilkesboro Speedway has come from the front row. In two of the three NASCAR All-Star events at the 0.625-mile racetrack, the winner has also come from the front row.
Christopher Bell will start from the third position on Sunday, with Carson Hocevar and Tyler Reddick completing the top five. Erik Jones, Denny Hamlin, Shane Van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, and Chase
Other notable drivers set to start outside the top-10 include Joey Logano (11th), Ross Chastain (13th), William Byron (15th), Brad Keselowski (23rd), Alex Bowman (25th), Bubba Wallace (26th), Kyle Larson (27th), and Chase Briscoe (30th).
Even though qualifying has been axed for Saturday, NASCAR is committed to giving NASCAR Cup Series teams a 50-minute practice session instead, which was scheduled to start at 6:30 PM ET, but due to delays getting the racetrack dried, started closer to 7:00 PM ET.
The Window World 450 at North Wilkesboro Speedway will take place on Sunday, July 19 at 7:00 PM ET on TNT Sports.
