{"id":61463,"date":"2026-10-04T20:51:32","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T01:51:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=61463"},"modified":"2026-10-05T20:19:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T01:19:22","slug":"briscoe-takes-vegas-trophy-as-larson-stretches-championship-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/04\/briscoe-takes-vegas-trophy-as-larson-stretches-championship-lead\/","title":{"rendered":"Briscoe takes Vegas trophy as Larson stretches championship lead"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service<\/em><\/p>\n

LAS VEGAS – Chase Briscoe left nothing to chance in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon \u2013 the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sweeping both stage victories, leading a race best 175 of the 267 laps and ultimately besting the field by 1.376-second to take his second NASCAR Cup Series trophy of the season under temperatures in the mid-90s – one of the hottest race-day of the season.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, takes the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The dominating win coming over the series championship leader Kyle Larson comes a week after Briscoe just missed beating Larson in the closing laps at Kansas Speedway. It moves Briscoe up two positions in the Chase championship standings with five races remaining on the season. It was redemption for him and the team, he conceded.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d be able to get on the [team] plane [if I didn\u2019t win],”\u2019 the 31-year-old Indiana-native and driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota said with a smile referring to last week\u2019s race outcome.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSo thankful to get this Toyota back in Victory Lane,” he added. \u201cIt\u2019s been not a rough year, but just not the results we necessarily want. So, glad to get all our partners back in Victory Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n

The margin of victory Sunday was larger and a bit misleading as Larson and 23XI Racing\u2019s Tyler Reddick had chased Briscoe down in the closing laps \u2013 cutting his lead to less than four-tenths of a second with a lap remaining – only to have Larson hit the wall directly in front of Reddick on the final lap, final corner push toward Briscoe for a victory.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Larson was able to settle his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet enough to maintain his second-place position behind Briscoe. And after tagging Larson\u2019s bumper in the incident, Reddick was also able to regroup and manhandle his No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota after it slid across the infield grass onto pit road \u2013 ultimately maintaining his third-place position.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a fight,” said a smiling Larson, who increased his championship points lead from 26 points to 40 over Briscoe\u2019s JGR teammate Denny Hamlin, who finished 16th. \u201cI was surprised how far off we were that first run [of the race].<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, takes a bow in tribute to the late Kyle Busch after winning the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cMy car got better but track position was so important, and we just chipped away at it all race long,” Larson added. \u201cJust tried to stay patient but my tires were pretty much burnt off by the time I got there [to Briscoe]. Just tried to do what I could to try to win. Felt like I moved up at the right time and did a decent job with it just was trying to push hard in [turns] three and four to build some momentum out and I don\u2019t know, and just got really loose and overcorrected in the wall. Thankfully I was able to limp it home and Reddick was able to come away third as well. That got exciting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish we could have won in this paint scheme honoring [Las Vegas native] Kyle [Busch],” Larson said of the first race back in Busch\u2019s hometown after the late two-time series champion passed away in May.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 National Debt Relief Toyota, leads the field to the green flag to start the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Team Penske teammates Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top-five. Hendrick Motorsports teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott were sixth and seventh, followed by 23XI Racing\u2019s Bubba Wallace, Trackhouse Racing\u2019s Shane Van Gisbergen and Team Penske\u2019s Joey Logano. Van Gisbergen is the only top-10 finisher not Chase-eligible.<\/p>\n

The JGR driver Hamlin, who has won the last two Las Vegas races and started Sunday from pole position, rallied from a mid-race spin and finished 16th. His teammate, Ty Gibbs \u2013 whose 24th birthday was Sunday \u2013 finished 17th after starting on the front row. An early race pit stop penalty forced him into playing catch up and he finished 17th. Their teammate Christopher Bell, who also led laps in the No. 20 JGR Toyota, finished 23rd forced to wrangle his Camry without power steering the second half of the race.<\/p>\n

\"\"
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, during the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sean Gardner\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWas just trying to get back track position that we lost and just went up there got into the marbles and spun out,” Hamlin said of his incident. \u201cObviously damaged the car so it was nothing like it was before.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust got to go on to the next race and see if we can\u2019t find a way to win. Charlotte will be good for us but today certainly didn\u2019t live up to what we expected.”<\/p>\n

Bell maintained his third place in the championship standings, but is now 55 points off the reigning series champ Larson\u2019s pace. Logano is fourth, 71 points back and Blaney is fifth, 80 points off the pace.<\/p>\n

Five races remain to settle the 2026 trophy. The series returns to action next weekend with the Bank of America 400 (3 p.m. ET on USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on the Charlotte Motor Speedway – marking the first time the Fall event will be held on the oval since 2017 when Martin Truex Jr. won the race. Daniel Suarez won the rain-shortened race on the oval this May.<\/p>\n

Interviews: <\/h3>\n

NCS Race Winner Chase Briscoe (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) –<\/p>\n

Joe Gibbs (NCS Race Winning Team Owner) and James Small (NCS Race Winning Crew Chief) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/JoeGibbsandJamesSmall.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Kurt Busch –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/KurtBusch10.4LVMS.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Brendan Hunt – Grand Marshal, South Point 400 –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/BrendanHunt.GrandMarshalLVMSwav.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Announcement – Patrick Lindsey (GM LVMS), Fernanda Andrade (GM, Pennzoil Marketing), Joey Logano (Driver, No. 22 Team Penske Ford) –<\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/LVMSAnnouncement.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Race – South Point 400<\/b><\/p>\n

Las Vegas Motor Speedway<\/b><\/p>\n

Las Vegas, Nevada<\/b><\/p>\n

Sunday, October 4, 2026<\/b><\/p>\n

                1. (4)  Chase Briscoe (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                2. (6)  Kyle Larson (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                3. (5)  Tyler Reddick (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                4. (7)  Austin Cindric (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                5. (20)  Ryan Blaney (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                6. (8)  William Byron (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                7. (13)  Chase Elliott (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                8. (9)  Bubba Wallace (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                9. (25)  Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                10. (23)  Joey Logano (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                11. (15)  Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                12. (10)  Carson Hocevar (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                13. (14)  Chris Buescher (C), Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                14. (11)  Daniel Suarez (C), Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                15. (19)  AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                16. (1)  Denny Hamlin (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                17. (2)  Ty Gibbs (C), Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                18. (22)  Riley Herbst, Toyota, 267.<\/p>\n

                19. (28)  Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                20. (36)  Noah Gragson, Ford, 267.<\/p>\n

                21. (18)  Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 267.<\/p>\n

                22. (33)  Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                23. (3)  Christopher Bell (C), Toyota, 266.<\/p>\n

                24. (16)  Brad Keselowski, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                25. (21)  Erik Jones, Toyota, 266.<\/p>\n

                26. (35)  Josh Berry, Ford, 266.<\/p>\n

                27. (24)  Cole Custer, Chevrolet, 266.<\/p>\n

                28. (12)  Ryan Preece (C), Ford, 265.<\/p>\n

                29. (32)  John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 265.<\/p>\n

                30. (17)  Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

                31. (29)  Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 265.<\/p>\n

                32. (26)  Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 264.<\/p>\n

                33. (27)  Todd Gilliland, Ford, 264.<\/p>\n

                34. (34)  Cody Ware, Chevrolet, 263.<\/p>\n

                35. (31)  Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 262.<\/p>\n

                36. (30)  Zane Smith, Ford, 262.<\/p>\n

Average Speed of Race Winner:  147.363 mph.<\/p>\n

Time of Race:  2 Hrs, 43 Mins, 4 Secs. Margin of Victory:  1.376 Seconds.<\/p>\n

Caution Flags:  4 for 21 laps.<\/p>\n

Lead Changes:  12 among 7 drivers.<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders:   D. Hamlin (C) 1-34;T. Reddick (C) 35;B. Wallace (C) 36;R. Blaney (C) 37-41;D. Hamlin (C) 42-46;C. Briscoe (C) 47-128;C. Bell (C) 129-130;A. Cindric (C) 131-162;C. Briscoe (C) 163-215;A. Cindric (C) 216;R. Blaney (C) 217-221;C. Bell (C) 222-227;C. Briscoe (C) 228-267.<\/p>\n

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led):  Chase Briscoe (C) 3 times for 175 laps; Denny Hamlin (C) 2 times for 39 laps; Austin Cindric (C) 2 times for 33 laps; Ryan Blaney (C) 2 times for 10 laps; Christopher Bell (C) 2 times for 8 laps; Bubba Wallace (C) 1 time for 1 lap; Tyler Reddick (C) 1 time for 1 lap.<\/p>\n

Stage #1 Top Ten: 19,20,12,45,2,7,23,77,48,71<\/p>\n

Stage #2 Top Ten: 19,2,20,12,23,22,9,24,17,5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Chase Briscoe left nothing to chance in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon \u2013 the Joe Gibbs Racing driver sweeping both stage victories, leading a race best 175 of the 267 laps and ultimately besting the field by 1.376-second to take<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":61465,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[528,67,16],"class_list":["post-61463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-chase-briscoe","tag-las-vegas-motor-speedway","tag-nascar"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-fZl","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/GettyImages-2298612650-2-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61463"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61482,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61463\/revisions\/61482"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61463"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}