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Lineup change confirmed for NASCAR Cup race at North Wilkesboro

One car that ran the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway will not compete at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
North Wilkesboro Speedway, NASCAR Cup Series
North Wilkesboro Speedway, NASCAR Cup Series | Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images

For the first time since 1996, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to run a points race at North Wilkesboro Speedway this weekend, after the track returned to the schedule in 2023 and hosted the All-Star Race for three consecutive years.

But there is just one non-chartered (open) car on the entry list for Sunday night's 450-lap Window World 450 around the four-turn, 0.625-mile (1.006-kilometer) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina oval, and that open car is one of the two that competed this past weekend at EchoPark Speedway (Atlanta Motor Speedway).

Nothing has changed in regard to that entry, with Chad Finchum set to make his sixth start of the season behind the wheel of the No. 66 Garage 66 Ford after recording a 33rd place finish at Atlanta.

It marks the first time he has been entered on back-to-back weekends since he competed at Talladega Superspeedway in late April and Texas Motor Speedway in early May.

However, the other open car from Atlanta is not running Sunday's North Wilkesboro race.

1 lineup change confirmed for North Wilkesboro

Live Fast Motorsports entered the No. 78 Chevrolet for the seventh time in 2026 and for the third time for team owner B.J. McLeod at Atlanta. His night ended early due to a mechanical issue, giving him three DNFs in three starts this season.

The team plan to enter the No. 78 car three more times this season, but not this weekend. Daniel Dye, who made the first two starts of his Cup Series career earlier this year at Talladega and Pocono Raceway, is set to run all three of those races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Daytona International Speedway, and Talladega.

With the No. 66 Ford being the only open car on this weekend's entry list, it is locked into the race.

Tune in to TNT at 7:00 p.m. ET this Sunday, July 19 for the live broadcast of the Window World 450 from North Wilkesboro Speedway and don't miss the track's first points race in three decades!

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