Chase Briscoe fends off Kyle
Larson’s last-lap surge to win in Las Vegas
[October 05, 2026]
By KIRK KERN
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Chase Briscoe held off a last-lap charge from
points leader Kyle Larson to win the NASCAR Cup Series race on
Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Briscoe swept all three stages on the 1.5-mile track to earn the
maximum 75 playoff points. Larson lost control on the final stretch,
hit the wall and collided with Tyler Reddick, who slid into the
infield but still recovered to finish third.
“I saw Kyle charging hard behind me on those final laps,” Briscoe
said. “He was pushing as hard as he possibly could on the high line,
and I just tried to stick to my defensive marks, stay smooth, and
protect the bottom. When you’re driving for a guaranteed spot in the
Championship 4, nobody is going to give an inch.”
It was Briscoe’s first career Cup Series victory in Las Vegas, where
he led a race-high 175 laps. Briscoe also moved up to sixth in The
Chase standings.
Denny Hamlin, who entered second in the playoff standings, finished
16th and was shut out of stage points. Hamlin is still second, but
fell 40 points behind Larson.
“I know everyone looks at the points lead and talks about the buffer
we have, but I don’t view the gap like that at all,” Larson said.
“There are still a lot of points on the table, a lot of restarts
left, and anything can happen down the stretch.”
Briscoe takes second stage
Briscoe drove back from third place to pass Austin Cindric late in
the second stage for the win. Cindric finished second in the stage,
followed by Christopher Bell in third.
Larson salvaged a stage point by finishing 10th, while Hamlin was
shut out of stage points in 14th.
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Chase Briscoe, right, salutes fans after winning a NASCAR Cup Series
auto race Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris)
Briscoe gambles for first stage points
Briscoe won the opening stage ahead of Bell and Ryan Blaney. Briscoe
elected not to pit for tires during a late green-flag pit cycle,
holding off the field on the restart to secure the stage victory.
Hamlin led the first 39 laps and was running third
when he spun three laps before the end of the stage. Although he
avoided major damage and continued, the lack of a caution flag
caused him to fall back to 28th at the stage break.
Hamlin set the fastest lap of the stage at 29.572
seconds on the third lap.
“We had the speed to run up front, we showed that on the pole run
and early in Stage 1,” Hamlin said. “But when you lose 25 spots, you
spend half the race just working your way back to where you belong.”
Larson, who started sixth, endured a 26-second green-flag pit stop
while his pit crew made rear suspension adjustments. After dropping
to 32nd place, he worked his way back to 24th by the end of the
stage.
Though he briefly fell off the lead lap, Larson regained it on lap
45 when a caution flew for a Zane Smith spin.
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