Christopher Bell fastest in NASCAR Cup Series practice at North Wilkesboro

It took a while for the skies over North Wilkesboro Speedway to clear, but once they did and NASCAR Cup Series practice began, it was clear that the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Christopher Bell was bad fast. 

Bell, who is still searching for his first win of 2026 and has five runner-up finishes this season, paced Cup Series practice at the 0.625-mile North Carolina short track on Saturday, turning a fastest lap of 18.222 seconds on his third lap. 

The practice session occurred after Cup Series qualifying was rained out, putting Atlanta winner Ryan Blaney on the pole for Sunday's race. 

Notable practice results

Bell's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, was second on the speed chart, with Ross Chastain, William Byron and Chase Elliott rounding out the top five. Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Joey Logano and Chris Buescher are completing the top 10. 

Two Toyotas led the session, with Chevrolets taking three out of the top five spots and Ford having the last three drivers in the top 10. 

Other notable practice results include Blaney in 11th, Connor Zilisch in 13th, Carson Hocevar in 15th, Bubba Wallace in 18th and Tyler Reddick in 31st. Chad Finchum was the slowest driver in the session, running a fastest lap of 19.131 seconds. 

Sunday's Window World 450 will go green shortly after 7 p.m. ET, with coverage on TNT, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Pre-race coverage will begin at 6 p.m. ET on TNT and PRN.