HAMLIN EXTENDS POINTS LEAD WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT NORTH WILKESBORO

Four Camrys in the Top-Six finishers in first points race at North Wilkesboro in three decades

NORTH WILKESBORO, NC. (July 19, 2026) – Denny Hamlin battled eventual race winner Joey Logano over the final 200 laps before settling for second in Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. With the finish, Hamlin extended his points lead to more than 60 points over fellow Team Toyota driver Tyler Reddick with five races remaining in the regular season.

It was a strong night for Team Toyota as a whole with Joe Gibbs Racing finishing 2-3-4 with Hamlin, Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs. Bubba Wallace finished sixth giving Toyota four of the top-six finishers.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
North Wilkesboro Speedway
Race 21 of 36 – 450 miles, 281.25 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Joey Logano*

2nd, DENNY HAMLIN

3rd, CHASE BRISCOE

4th, TY GIBBS

5th, Shane van Gisbergen*

6th, BUBBA WALLACE

18th, RILEY HERBST

19th, CHRISTOPHER BELL

21st, ERIK JONES

30th, TYLER REDDICK

31st, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 Progressive Insurance Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 2nd

Did you have anything for the 22 tonight?

“You just have to complement them (Joey Logano) on a great day and a great drive. They were really good. There were a lot of times that I felt like my car was really close to where it needed to be; it was just a smidge off. Great battle. At least was able to keep them honest there, but he had a lot of speed and never gave up on the short run or the long run, so great job to our whole Progressive Toyota team for keeping us in the ballgame, but we will have to go regroup.”

Was that just a sign of respect?

“It was just wildly impressive. I thought it was a really impressive drive from them, and he maneuvered through traffic really well, and he did everything we know Joey (Logano) to do. Really feel good about our day though. Really big improvement of where we were here last year. This Toyota was just one spot short.”

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 WIX Filters Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

How would you evaluate 450 laps at North Wilkesboro?

“It was a long race. There is no doubt about that. It was some really long green flag runs there. We just ran 200 laps straight. It was honestly a lot of fun. The track – you could run in the middle or at the bottom or run the fence. It gave you options. My car drove pretty good, so I had fun. I think if your car wasn’t driving right, it was probably a long miserable night. Our WIX Filters was really, really good. We came through the field quite a few times. We just never could quite get the lead. I felt if we could have got to the lead, we would have been okay, but that last run we kind of lost it again. Great night. What we needed. Hopefully, we will go to Indy and win one there.”

TY GIBBS, No. 54 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Would you have taken fourth if I told you after you got that penalty?

“Man, I don’t know. We had such a great car. I really appreciate my team and the car they gave me. It is just so unfortunate. The lights were just a pain. I just wanted to rip the dash out of it after that. Just frustrating. We will just keep going. Really appreciative of my team. Thank you to Monster. Thank you to SiriusXM, Toyota and everyone at SAIA.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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