Chase Briscoe won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada. He swept both stages and led a race-high 175 of 267 laps. Briscoe beat points leader Kyle Larson to the line by 1.376 seconds in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his second Cup win of 2026 and the seventh of his career (NASCAR official results; NASCAR.com).
How it was won
Denny Hamlin started from pole and led the first 34 laps. All four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas qualified and ran one through four early. Briscoe started fourth. He stayed out under the first caution on Lap 45 and took the lead on Lap 47 (NASCAR.com; NASCAR official results).
Briscoe then led 82 straight laps and won Stage 1 on Lap 80. Hamlin spun on his own with three laps left in that stage and fell back. In Stage 2, green-flag pit stops put Austin Cindric in front for 32 laps on older tires. Briscoe passed him on Lap 163 and won Stage 2 two laps later. Christopher Bell lost power steering after his Stage 2 stop, drove the second half without it and finished 23rd (NASCAR.com; NASCAR official results).
The final stage ran green into the last pit cycle. Cindric, Ryan Blaney and Bell each led briefly while others pitted. Briscoe took the lead for the last time on Lap 228, passing Bell with 40 laps to go (NASCAR official results; On SI).
Larson and Tyler Reddick closed to within four-tenths of a second with one lap left. On the last lap, Larson went high in Turns 3 and 4, got loose and hit the outside wall. His car slid into Reddick, who spun through the infield grass. Both kept their spots, so Larson finished second and Reddick third (NASCAR.com).
Results snapshot
| Pos | Driver | Car | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Briscoe | No. 19 Toyota | Started 4th; won Stages 1 and 2; 175 laps led; MOV 1.376s |
| 2 | Kyle Larson | No. 5 Chevrolet | Started 6th |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick | No. 45 Toyota | 1 lap led |
| 4 | Austin Cindric | No. 2 Ford | 33 laps led |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | No. 12 Ford | 10 laps led |
| 6 | William Byron | No. 24 Chevrolet | |
| 7 | Chase Elliott | No. 9 Chevrolet | |
| 8 | Bubba Wallace | No. 23 Toyota | 1 lap led |
| 9 | Shane van Gisbergen | No. 97 Chevrolet | Only top-10 finisher not in the Chase |
| 10 | Joey Logano | No. 22 Ford |
Race facts (NASCAR official results): 267 laps, 400.5 miles; race time 2:43:04; winner’s average 147.363 mph; 4 cautions for 21 laps; 12 lead changes among 7 drivers. Hamlin won the pole at 186.787 mph and led 39 laps before finishing 16th. Post-race inspection found no issues with the No. 19, and no cars went back to the NASCAR R&D Center (Jayski).
Chase standings: Larson now leads by 40 points over Hamlin. Bell is third, 55 back. Joey Logano is fourth, 71 back, and Blaney is fifth, 80 back. Briscoe moved up two spots, with five races left (NASCAR.com).
History & significance
The win came one week after Briscoe finished a close second to Larson at Kansas Speedway. “I don’t think I’d be able to get on the plane” without a win, he joked afterward (MRN). His other 2026 win came at Chicagoland Speedway. This one came in his 212th career Cup start (On SI).
The South Point 400 was the fifth of 10 races in The Chase, so the season is now at the halfway point of the playoffs. Hamlin had won the two Las Vegas races before this one. The race was run in mid-90s heat, one of the hottest race days of the season (NASCAR.com).
What’s next
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 400 on Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. CT) on USA Network. It is the first time the fall Charlotte race runs on the oval since 2017 (NASCAR.com). Series tickets: NASCAR tickets.