Chase Briscoe had a late opportunity to spoil Kyle Larson’s dominant run spoiled for himself in the closing laps that ultimately cost him a victory in the 2026 Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, September 27.
The two-time Southern 500 champion from Mitchell, Indiana, started in 23rd place per a qualifying metric formula after inclement weather canceled on-track qualifying initially planned for Saturday, September 26. During the early laps of the event on Sunday, Briscoe managed to navigate his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry up into 15th place prior to a competition caution that flew on Lap 35. After pitting with the field and restarting in 14th place on Lap 40, Briscoe only managed to gain two spots on the track before the first stage period concluded on Lap 80.
Restarting in 10th place to commence the second stage period on Lap 86, Briscoe dodged two early cautions (Lap 113 and Lap 123 restart) by remaining above the top-10 mark on the track. As Briscoe continued to steadily march his way closer to the front, he accumulated seven critical stage points by finishing in fourth place at the second stage’s conclusion on Lap 165.
For the third and final stage period that started with 96 laps remaining, Briscoe restarted alongside Larson on the front row. He then spent a lap outdueling Austin Cindric for the runner-up spot before he reeled in on Larson for the lead a lap after. Despite Briscoe’s charge, he was unable to execute his runs to draw alongside Larson and challenge the latter for the lead. Even as Briscoe strategically pitted from the runner-up spot under green with 52 laps remaining, Larson managed to blend in front of Briscoe and enter pit road first, with Larson just exiting pit road ahead of Briscoe.
Then with 31 laps remaining, an opportunity struck for Briscoe as the latter had methodically reeled in Larson for the lead and used Larson’s aero-blocking moves to gain grounds. With Larson aero-blocking Briscoe through the turns and straightaways, Briscoe had enough momentum to get beneath Larson, drag-race with the latter through the frontstretch, assume the lead a lap later through the first two turns and fend off Larson’s challenge of regaining the lead.
Despite leading by as high as eight-tenths of a second over a 20-lap run, Briscoe began to have his late advantage shrink due to managing late handling issues labeled, ‘free’ while leading as Larson started to regain his deficit. With 11 laps remaining, both front-runners barely scrubbed the backstretch’s outside wall. Despite keeping their respective entries straight, Briscoe managed to retain the lead over the next four laps before he was overtaken by Larson with seven laps remaining. Briscoe would then barely scrub the backstretch’s outside wall a lap later, which allowed Larson to slightly establish a steady gap. Amid Briscoe’s efforts to reel Larson as the laps dwindled, he made additional scrubs into the outside wall, which allowed Austin Cindric to overtake the latter for the runner-up spot. Ultimately, Briscoe was edged by teammate Denny Hamlin at the finish line for third place, with the latter settling in fourth place in the final running order.
With the result, Briscoe collected his 11th top-five result of the 2026 Cup Series season, his fourth top-five result in a row at Kansas Speedway after he finished third at the venue in mid-April and his highest-finishing result in the 2026 Chase for the Cup Series title. The Hoosier’s fourth-place run gained him and his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team a spot in the Chase standings from ninth to eighth, though they trail points leader Kyle Larson by 123 points with six Chase events remaining until this season’s conclusion.
Despite being left disappointed over falling short of winning and garnering additional bonus points, Briscoe shifts his focus to the remaining six Chase events of this season to contend for additional victories like his regular-season victory at Chicagoland Speedway in early July and cap off the Chase on a competitive note.
“[I] Just went really, really free, ultimately,” Briscoe said. “It was actually better for me to be in second. Just being behind [Larson], especially with how much he was aero-blocking. It would just tighten me up and allow me to actually be a little bit better. As soon as I’d get the lead, I would just go really, really free again. Frustrating, for sure. I just felt like I had a win there to stay in contention for a championship…It’s probably not going to happen but yeah, we’ll keep trying for Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Toyota. Just nice to finally have a good Chase. It’s been a rough go to start. I got six more weeks or whatever to try to go win as many races as we can and that’s what we’re doing.”
Chase Briscoe’s 2026 Chase for the Cup Series championship continues next Sunday, October 4, at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada, for the South Point 400. Having previously racked up three top-10 results in 11 Cup starts at Vegas, Briscoe, who won both O’Reilly Auto Parts Series event at the venue in 2020, will strive to add a Cup Vegas victory to his resume that could enable him to remain within striking distance of his first Cup Series championship this season.
The 2026 South Point 400’s broadcast time is slated to commence at 5:30 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.
