Chase Briscoe edged Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell by 0.029 seconds in a thrilling photo finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 11, 2026. The back-to-back playoff victory vaults Briscoe into fourth place in the NASCAR Cup Series Chase standings, narrowing Kyle Larson’s lead to 65 points with four races remaining.
Charlotte Motor Speedway Photo Finish and Final-Lap Contact
The Bank of America 400 delivered the second-closest finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history, trailing only the 2005 Coke 600 finish between Jimmie Johnson and Bobby Labonte. As the leaders charged toward the checkered flag, Briscoe and Bell traded paint on the final lap, with Briscoe maintaining control of his No. 19 Toyota to cross the line about a half-car length ahead of Bell’s No. 20 machine.
Traffic in the closing laps nearly derailed Briscoe’s run. He reported feeling as though he was going to knock the wall down as handling deteriorated late in the run.
“When I got that final pack of kind of lap cars with five or six to go, I just felt like I was going to knock the wall down at any minute. It just quit turning. I don’t know what it is about these finishes. I’ve got to stop making it so exciting at the end.”
Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing driver
Bell made a fierce charge after Briscoe had opened up a lead of more than two seconds in the closing circuits, getting loose at the exit of the final corner while attempting the race-winning pass.
Joe Gibbs shared his perspective from the pit box regarding the heart-pounding final stretch involving his stable of drivers. Gibbs said he was just happy his drivers didn’t wreck each other, noting that his blood pressure and heartbeat get accelerated when his cars run up front because he knows how badly all of them want to win.
Playoff Standings Shift Following Back-to-Back Wins for Briscoe
Briscoe’s second consecutive victory following his win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway has completely altered his postseason outlook. Just two weeks prior, he sat 123 points behind the leader. With four races left in the Chase, that deficit has shrunk to 65 points, placing him fourth overall in the standings.
Larson dominated the early stages, totaling 97 laps led on the afternoon. Despite finishing sixth—his first time outside the top five during the Chase—Larson extended his series lead.
When asked if he feels comfortable about closing out a third NASCAR Cup Series championship and becoming the first driver since Jimmie Johnson in 2010 to win consecutive titles, Larson stated he did not feel comfortable. Larson noted that he was just happy to come away with sixth and extend the points lead, emphasizing that while it was a good, solid day where he maximized his result, a driver always wants to be even better.
| Driver | Chase Standing | Points Behind Leader | Charlotte Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Larson | 1st | Leader | 6th |
| Denny Hamlin | 2nd | -49 | 5th |
| Christopher Bell | 3rd | -51 | 2nd |
| Chase Briscoe | 4th | -65 | 1st |
Early Race Incidents and Pit Road Penalties for Contenders
Several playoff contenders faced significant adversity during the 400-mile event. Denny Hamlin was penalized for a loose tire on his initial pit stop, forcing him to the rear of the field. Hamlin recovered to finish fifth.
“We’re giving it all we got right now.”
Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing driver
The opening stage also claimed multiple contenders when Ty Gibbs suffered a broken right rear toe link after an accident on Lap 41 in his No. 54 Toyota. Joey Logano, with nowhere to go, slammed into Gibbs from behind. Gibbs headed behind the wall for repairs and fell several laps behind to finish 34th, while Logano was sent to the back of the field. Logano ultimately finished ninth at Charlotte, leaving him nearly 100 points behind Larson and admitting he is in do-or-die mode.
“We’ve got to win now. We’re 90-whatever something back. We’ve got to do some special stuff from here on out to make up the 100 points. We got that damage early in the race. I don’t know what happened.”
Joey Logano, Team Penske driver
Late in the race, Bubba Wallace’s afternoon ended near the end of the first stage on Lap 77 when Alex Bowman lost control of his No. 48 Chevrolet while running underneath Wallace’s No. 23 machine near the Turn 2 exit. Bowman skidded up the track into the wall, collecting Wallace and William Byron in an incident that left both drivers heavily critical of the sudden loss of control.
“It looks like the No. 48 just got loose and overcorrected it into the wall. I was running the top, and I lifted right away, but I couldn’t get low enough because he kind of came back off the wall. I hate it for this No. 24 Chevrolet team. We had a top-five run going, so it’s just unfortunate.”
William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports driver
Byron expressed disappointment over the premature end to his afternoon, noting that the multi-car crash ruined a strong run for his team and undid the progress he had been making after suffering a blown engine at the opening race of the Chase at Darlington.
Wallace shared his perspective on the incident after climbing out of his 23XI Racing Toyota under his own power, noting that he saw the accident happen in the final second with no warning before the No. 48 came up and clipped him.
“No warning. I saw it in the last second – the 48 come up and clip us. No hard feelings; that is just racing. I was starting to drop, and it gets into a tight spot. To get on pit road smooth, we wanted to stay in front of him.”
Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing driver
