NASCAR Cup Series: Briscoe victorious in Las Vegas nail-biter

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Chase Briscoe held off hard-charging Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick to capture his second win of the season and first at the track.

As it unfolded

Defending race winner Denny Hamlin started on pole position, with Ty Gibbs alongside. As they took the green flag, Cody Ware spun near the tail end of the field but recovered, negating the need for a caution. Hamlin led the way through the early laps, with Gibbs, Chase Briscoe, Christopher Bell and Bubba Wallace chasing. Ryan Blaney was on the move early, having passed 10 cars in the first 30 laps.

Kyle Larson came to the pits on Lap 34, struggling with his car's handling. Hamlin and the other leaders pitted a lap later. Gibbs incurred a speeding penalty, costing him numerous positions. Blaney stayed out and inherited the lead until Lap 41, when Hamlin reclaimed the spot.

The first caution came out on Lap 45 when Zane Smith spun in Turn 4. Denny Hamlin came to the pits under caution, along with Tyler Reddick and several others.

Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell led the restart. Ryan Blaney challenged the top two for the lead before settling into third. Daniel Suárez moved into fourth. Chase Elliott, on older tyres, fell out of the top 10.

Hamlin climbed back into the top five but spun from fourth place with three laps to go in Stage 1. No caution was issued. Chase Briscoe took the stage victory.

Stage 1 Results:

1. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)

2. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

3. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

4. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

5. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

6. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

7. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

8. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

9. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

10. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

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Most of the field came to the pits during the stage break. Austin Cindric's team ran into trouble during their stop, costing him positions. Reddick needed a battery change in his car. Briscoe, Wallace and Suárez were the first off pit road, but Wallace was penalised soon afterwards for a runaway tyre that impeded another crew's stop.

Briscoe and Suárez led the field to green on Lap 88.

On Lap 93, a caution came out for debris. Suárez, Bowman, Hocevar, Gibbs and others took the opportunity to pit.

Briscoe and Joey Logano led the restart. Bell passed Logano for second on Lap 106, with Blaney moving into third a little while later.

Bell assumed the lead on Lap 130 as Briscoe pitted. After Bell pitted, Austin Cindric moved into first. Bell began experiencing a loss of power steering shortly after his stop.

Cindric, Chase Elliott and William Byron held the top three spots for a majority of the second half of the stage, as Briscoe powered his way up the leaderboard on fresher tyres. With fewer than 10 laps left in Stage 2, Briscoe was in second, gaining rapidly on Cindric. Briscoe overtook with three laps remaining and won his second stage of the day.

Stage 2 Results:

1. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)

2. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

3. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)

4. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

5. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

6. No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)

7. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)

8. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

9. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)

10. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports)

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Briscoe and Blaney held the front row when the green flag waved again. Behind them, Wallace, Cindric and Elliott battled three-abreast for third place.

Briscoe continued to pace the field, gapping Blaney and Wallace by several seconds as the stage went on.

Ty Gibbs kicked off green flag pit stops on Lap 213. Briscoe and Wallace turned down to pit on Lap 216, handing the lead to Cindric briefly before Blaney assumed the position. Bell stayed out the longest, but when the pit cycle was over, it was Briscoe who held a narrow lead over Wallace. Kyle Larson, Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five.

Lapped traffic became a factor in the closing laps and the top three circled the track within a second of each other. Larson passed Wallace with 12 laps left. A few laps later, Reddick passed his teammate for third.

Larson and Reddick closed the gap on Briscoe and were both in contention to challenge for the win entering the final lap. Larson hit the wall exiting the Turn 4 and collided with Reddick, who slid through the infield to finish third. Briscoe won the race.

Provisional Results:

1. No. 19 - Chase Briscoe (Joe Gibbs Racing)

2. No. 5 - Kyle Larson (Hendrick Motorsports)

3. No. 45 - Tyler Reddick (23XI Racing)

4. No. 2 - Austin Cindric (Team Penske)

5. No. 12 - Ryan Blaney (Team Penske)

6. No. 24 - William Byron (Hendrick Motorsports)

7. No. 9 - Chase Elliott (Hendrick Motorsports)

8. No. 23 - Bubba Wallace (23XI Racing)

9. No. 97 - Shane Van Gisbergen (Trackhouse Racing)

10. No. 22 - Joey Logano (Team Penske)

11. No. 48 - Alex Bowman (Hendrick Motorsports)

12. No. 77 - Carson Hocevar (Spire Motorsports)

13. No. 17 - Chris Buescher (RFK Racing)

14. No. 7 - Daniel Suárez (Spire Motorsports)

15. No. 16 - A.J. Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing)

16. No. 11 - Denny Hamlin (Joe Gibbs Racing)

17. No. 54 - Ty Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing)

18. No. 35 - Riley Herbst (23XI Racing)

19. No. 3 - Austin Dillon (Richard Childress Racing)

20. No. 4 - Noah Gragson (Front Row Motorsports)

21. No. 71 - Michael McDowell (Spire Motorsports)

22. No. 33 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing)  [+1 Lap]

23. No. 20 - Christopher Bell (Joe Gibbs Racing)  [+1 Lap]

24. No. 6 - Brad Keselowski (RFK Racing)  [+1 Lap]

25. No. 43 - Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club)  [+1 Lap]

26. No. 21 - Josh Berry (Wood Brothers Racing)  [+1 Lap]

27. No. 41 - Cole Custer (Haas Factory Team)  [+1 Lap]

28. No. 60 - Ryan Preece (RFK Racing) [+2 Laps]

29. No. 42 - John Hunter Nemechek (Legacy Motor Club) [+2 Laps]

30. No. 1 - Ross Chastain (Trackhouse Racing) [+2 Laps]

31. No. 10 - Ty Dillon (Kaulig Racing) [+2 Laps]

32. No. 47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (Hyak Motorsports) [+3 Laps]

33. No. 34 - Todd Gilliland (Front Row Motorsports) [+3 Laps]

34. No. 51 - Cody Ware (Rick Ware Racing) [+4 Laps]

35. No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (Trackhouse Racing) [+5 Laps]

36. No. 38 - Zane Smith (Front Row Motorsports) [+5 Laps]