NASCAR Cup Series: Briscoe Wins Second Consecutive Chase Race

Credit: Jared C. Tilton via NASCAR Digital Media

Amid 11 lead changes and early favorites, Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing took his second consecutive Chase win at Charlotte Motor Speedway, moving him up again in Chase standings.

Several rounds of weather delays at Charlotte Motor Speedway eventually subsided, leading to Kyle Larson on pole prior to Sunday. Larson was followed by Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney in qualifying.

Larson’s first phase dominance kicked off on Lap 1 and stayed virtually consistent from then on out. Running behind him was Briscoe and Reddick, in line with their qualifying positions.

Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney battled back and forth for fourth position on track, nearly making contact with each other. The battle allowed William Byron to pass Blaney and Cindric to move ahead, where he passed Briscoe for third. 

Cindric ultimately made his move for second after starting in fifth, cutting into the lead Larson had on Lap 36. In the first caution of the race, Larson remained the only leader for the first 36 laps. The race then went to a restart, where Larson once again claimed the lead into Turn One. In Turn Four of the restart, Ty Gibbs and Brad Keselowski made contact, bringing out a caution. 

The race restarted once again six laps later on Lap 47. Although Larson initially seemed to take the lead, Bubba Wallace was able to make a move on Turn Two, forcing a three wide lead between Larson, Wallace and Briscoe. Briscoe backed off, leaving Wallace and Larson to battle for the lead as Stage One entered its last phase. Larson ultimately remained triumphant, pushing for the lead ahead of Briscoe in second and Wallace in third. 

Stage One closed with drama. Alex Bowman got loose in Turn Two while battling with Wallace. Bowman ran into Wallace, making them both hit the wall and impacting William Byron’s race as well. The race ended Byron, Bowman and Wallace’s race.

Credit: Jared C. Tilton via NASCAR Digital Media

Stage 1 Results

1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

5. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

6. Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

7. Corey Heim, No. 67 23XI Racing Toyota

8. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

9. Chris Buescher, No. 17 RFK Racing Ford

10. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

Stage 2 kicked off with a round of pit stops during the caution. Larson made his way to the front once again leading into Lap 87. 

A three-wide battle between Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell and Cindric gave way to Bell for the third position, while Hocevar ran fourth and Cindric battled with Daniel Suarez for fifth. By Lap 97, Bell had silently moved his way up from 17th, passing Briscoe for second in Turn 3. 

On Lap 107, Bell cut into Larson’s dominance, passing him for the lead. Another caution hit the track in Lap 117, as John Hunter Nemechek spun and bounced off the wall in 24th. A round of pit stops commenced. Bell continued to lead after a Lap 123 restart, but contact with Denny Hamlin and Larson in Turn Two caused Larson to fall to seventh. By Lap 129, Bell continued to lead under a green flag, followed close behind by Blaney and Hamlin. The order stayed strong until the end of Stage 2. 

Larson, Hamlin and Bell sit at the head of Chase standings heading into the race, at first, second and third, respectively. 

Stage 2 Results

1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford

3. Denny Hamlin, No.11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

5. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota

6. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

7. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

8. Josh Berry, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford

9. Chase Elliot, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

10. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Credit: Jared C. Tilton via NASCAR Digital Media

The final stage of the race began under caution again. Blaney began the stage in first place after a round of pit stops, with Larson, Bell, Briscoe, Hamlin and Cindric in line behind him. Bell reclaimed his lead soon after, taking it three-wide and eventually moving past Blaney and Larson. His teammate Briscoe also made his way to the top, running behind him in second. 

With 80 laps left in the race, Bell led ahead of Briscoe, Blaney, Larson and Hamlin. On Lap 205, Gray Gaulding made contact with Tyler Reddick causing another caution. With 57 laps to go, Briscoe was helped by his teammate Hamlin to take the lead ahead of Bell. The two continued to battle as Hamlin, Larson, Reddick and Blaney fought for positions behind.

Briscoe continued to extend his lead as the race came to a close, just barely holding off Bell, who had made a last lap desperation push for the win. 

By the final lap, Briscoe had taken the win by just 0.029 seconds, leading 62 laps and earning 68 points towards his Chase standings. Bell, despite a late race surge to the front, sat in second, followed close behind by Blaney, Josh Berry, Hamlin and Larson. 

Final Results

1. No. 19 Chase Briscoe

2. No. 20 Christopher Bell

3. No. 12 Ryan Blaney

4. No. 21 Josh Berry

5. No. 11 Denny Hamlin

6. No. 5 Kyle Larson

7. No. 97 Shane Van Gisbergen

8. No. 45 Tyler Reddick

9. No. 22 Joey Logano

10. No. 17 Chris Buescher

11. No. 67 Corey Heim

12. No. 9 Chase Elliot

13. No. 7 Daniel Suarez

14. No. 77 Carson Hocevar

15. No. 60 Ryan Preece

16. No. 1 Ross Chastain

17. No. 2 Austin Cindric

18. No. 35 Riley Herbst

19. No. 71 Michael McDowell

20. No. 38 Zane Smith

21. No. 88 Conor Zilisch

22. No. 34 Todd Gilliand

23. No. 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 

24. No. 43 Erik Jones

25. No. 4 Noah Gragson

26. No. 3 Austin Dillon

27. No. 41 Cole Cluster

28. No. 16 AJ Allmendinger

29. No. 6 Brad Keselowski

30. No. 10 Ty Dillon

31. No. 51 Cody Ware

32. No. 33 Austin Hill

33. No. 44 BJ Mcleod

34. No. 54 Ty Gibbs

35. No. 42 John H Nemechek

36. No. 66 Gray Gaulding

37. No. 23 Bubba Wallace

38. No. 48 Alex Bowman

39. No. 24 William Byron