Stage 2 recap: Briscoe sweeps the stages
Chase Briscoe motored past Austin Cindric, Chase Elliott and William Byron — who all had much older tires — to win Stage 2 of Sunday’s Cup Series race at Las Vegas (live on USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The race — the South Point 400 — is the fifth of 10 in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Cindric finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. Joey Logano, Elliott, Byron, Chris Buescher and Kyle Larson completed the top 10.
Chase drivers made up 15 of the top 16 spots. Ryan Preece of RFK Racing was the only outlier in 28th. Notably, Denny Hamlin climbed back to 14th after a spin at the end of Stage 1.
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After Stage 1 ended, the pit cycle was plenty eventful. Tyler Reddick pitted from fourth on a closed pit road after previously indicating radiator issues on his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota. Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske crew had a slow stop after a trip-up by the jackman. Bubba Wallace and the No. 23 23XI Racing team were penalized for equipment interference with the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team of Austin Dillon.
Briscoe returned to the lead early in Stage 2, prevailing in a pair of restarts with a debris caution sandwiched in between at Lap 93.
That yellow resulted in a mix of strategies. Fifteen cars stayed out, including Hamlin, as he hoped to regain track position after his spin at the end of Stage 1. He reported a tight condition after the second restart, running 20th at the time.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results
Green flag pit stops began Lap 125 with Brad Keselowski, who announced earlier in the week that he is departing RFK Racing after 2026. Briscoe left the racing surface at Lap 129 for his scheduled service and cycled back ahead of the other cars that pitted.
Bell pitted one lap behind Briscoe and cycled to second. But moments after his stop was completed, he radioed to his team and said he was losing power steering and that it was fading “very quickly.” He hung on, though, to score key Stage 2 points as the rest of the frame stayed green.
Stage 1 recap: Briscoe wins opening frame
Chase Briscoe won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, leading 35 of 80 laps.
Christopher Bell finished second, Ryan Blaney third, Tyler Reddick fourth and Austin Cindric fifth. Daniel Suárez, Bubba Wallace, Carson Hocevar, Alex Bowman and Michael McDowell completed the top 10 and points earners.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
Denny Hamlin, who earned the Busch Light Pole Award on Saturday, fired to the lead on the initial start. All four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas ran 1-2-3-4 after qualifying that way until they made pit stops at Lap 36 under green. After the cycle was complete, Hamlin returned to the lead. Ty Gibbs, who ran second before service, was penalized for speeding and returned to serve a pass-through.
After starting sixth, Kyle Larson dropped eight positions during the opening stint and was the first driver to dart for pit road. He spent 26 seconds stopped in his stall for massive adjustments and ultimately fell a lap down once the pit cycle completed.
The first caution came out at Lap 45, when Zane Smith spun from 28th after an apparent tire issue. He clipped the Turn 4 outside wall with his right-rear fender but continued after visiting pit road for repairs.
Seven lead-lap cars stayed out, including Briscoe and Bell. Hamlin and his 23XI Racing drivers Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace were the first drivers to pit road, and they rejoined the field ninth through 11th. Larson also stayed out, allowing him to wave around to the lead lap.
READ: Stage 1 issues for Hamlin, Larson
With three laps to go in the stage, Hamlin spun by himself in Turns 3 and 4, coming to rest on the apron after keeping his No. 11 Toyota off the wall. The race remained green and Hamlin stayed on the lead lap, finishing the frame 28th. He led 39 of the first 80 laps.
This story will be updated.