Chase Briscoe took the lead on pit road during a caution with 62 laps to go and fended off Christopher Bell in a photo finish to win Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Chase race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
It marks Briscoe’s second victory in a row, his third of the 2026 season and the eighth of his career. Briscoe cut another 19 points into his deficit to series leader Kyle Larson and is now 65 points back with four races left in the Chase presented by Mobil 1.
RELATED: Unofficial results | At-track photos: Charlotte
Bell finished second, followed by Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry and Denny Hamlin. Kyle Larson, Shane van Gisbergen, Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano and Chris Buescher rounded out the top 10.
Eight Chase drivers finished inside the top 10 — Berry and van Gisbergen were the exceptions. The remaining Chase drivers finished as follows: Chase Elliott 12th, Daniel Suárez 13th, Carson Hocevar 14th, Ryan Preece 15th, Austin Cindric 17th, Ty Gibbs 34th, Bubba Wallace 37th and William Byron 39th.
SHOP: Winner gear
Blaney won the race off pit road during stops after Stage 2 ended, but it didn’t last long. Bell dropped to third on the pit sequence but immediately fired back to the lead on the restart, going three-wide bottom into Turn 3 as his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Chase Briscoe filled second.
At Lap 205, lapped driver Gray Gaulding went around after slight contact with Tyler Reddick exiting Turn 2. He spun down the backstretch, suffering damage and necessitating a yellow — just before green-flag pit stops were expected.
Coming down pit road under caution, Briscoe leapfrogged Bell for the top spot. Ryan Blaney lost four positions after slow service, dropping him to seventh on the restart.
Briscoe sailed into the lead once the race returned green at Lap 210, while teammates Bell and Hamlin battled side-by-side for second behind them. Bell warded off Hamlin after four circuits, setting his sights back on Briscoe with 53 laps to go.
But despite nearly reaching Briscoe’s bumper several times, Bell could not make a pass. With 26 to go, the No. 20 Toyota suddenly began fighting a loose condition, allowing Briscoe to pull ahead by 2.7 seconds.
As the laps ticked down, Briscoe navigated lapped traffic — and Bell suddenly closed in. He drew even with Briscoe in the final set of corners, edging Bell by 0.029 seconds to cling onto the victory.
Speaking to USA Sports after the race, Briscoe said he believed he had a tire going down in the final laps, allowing Bell to have one final shot.
Stage 2 recap: Bell claims the second stage
Christopher Bell won Stage 2 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race is the sixth of 10 in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Ryan Blaney finished second, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick. Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott and Carson Hocevar completed the top 10 and points earners. Berry was the only non-Chase driver to earn points in the frame.
MORE: Full Stage 2 results | Watch Bell win Stage 2
Larson fired back to the lead on the stage restart on Lap 86, holding that advantage for the next 21 circuits. Bell passed him for his first lead of the afternoon on Lap 107, wheeling away from the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet until a Lap 117 yellow.
That caution was for John Hunter Nemechek, who spun through the infield ballfield in his No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. His car appeared to have no damage at first, but amid rushing his Toyota back to pit road, a right-front tire went down, tearing up that corner of his ride.
After a Stage 1 pit-road penalty, Hamlin climbed to sixth before that yellow. He gained two more spots on pit road as the lead lappers stopped for service, restarting fourth. Then attempting to fill a gap three-wide middle, Hamlin contacted Larson’s right-rear, sending Larson up the track and down to seventh.
Bell maintained his lead for the rest of the stage, scoring 10 crucial points as he looks to track down Larson and Hamlin atop the Cup standings.
Stage 1 recap: Larson wins opening frame
Kyle Larson won Stage 1 of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The race is the sixth of 10 in The Chase presented by Mobil 1.
Chase Briscoe finished second, followed by Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric and Tyler Reddick. Daniel Suárez, Corey Heim, Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher and Ryan Blaney completed the top 10 and points earners.
MORE: Full Stage 1 results
Larson led every lap in the opening 35-lap stint until NASCAR displayed a scheduled competition caution. The yellow was necessitated after rain washed out practice and qualifying on Saturday.
Denny Hamlin climbed from a 12th-place starting position to sixth during the first run. But while on pit road for tires and fuel, he was penalized for a safety violation after a tire from his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing team rolled into Connor Zilisch’s box in front of him.
Hamlin needed to restart from the rear, along with Blaney and Chase Elliott. Blaney was too fast on pit road, while Elliott needed to make a second stop to retighten the left-front tire.
Hamlin rebounded to finish the stage 15th.
On the restart, Tyler Reddick moved up the track in Turns 1 and 2 from the sixth position, boxing Ty Gibbs in behind him. Gibbs slid up into the wall and immediately suffered damage, plummeting through the field before finally spinning in Turns 3 and 4 and collecting Brad Keselowski. Gibbs fell several laps down while his team assessed damage.
During the melee, Joey Logano suffered nose damage, piling into Gibbs’ limp No. 54 Toyota. He needed to visit pit road for repairs, marking five Chase drivers with issues in the opening 42 circuits.
The race restarted on Lap 47 — which featured the first lead change of the afternoon. Wallace darted past Larson, leading 11 laps before Larson quickly regained the top spot on Lap 59.
With three laps to go in the stage, Alex Bowman lost control of his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, hooking right into Bubba Wallace. Wallace then slid down the backstretch, backing into the inside wall. William Byron also suffered damage.
WATCH: In-car cameras capture crash | Hear from Bowman | Hear from Wallace
Wallace was slow to exit his No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota but climbed out and walked away under his own power.
The crash ended the stage.
This story will be updated.