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Bubba Wallace settles for top-10 result amid late-race battle for the victory at Las Vegas

Photo by Mitchell Pavel for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Bubba Wallace claimed a strong eighth-place result in the 2026 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 4, after being within striking distance of achieving his first elusive victory of this year’s NASCAR Cup Series season.

The 2025 Brickyard 400 champion from Mobile, Alabama, qualified in ninth place for Sunday’s main event and executed a consistent run within the top-10 mark throughout the first stage period that lasted for 80 laps, in which he wheeled his No. 23 Robinhood Toyota Camry XSE entry to a seventh-place result and notch four critical stage points. During the first stage’s break period, however, Wallace leapt five spots up to second place as he exited behind Chase Briscoe on pit road, but was sent to the tail end of the field due to an equipment interference that was caused by Wallace’s pit crew. The interference was for a wheel that rolled from Wallace’s pit stall to Austin Dillon’s pit stall and caused one of Dillon’s crew members to jump to dodge the wheel.

Mired within the top-30 mark when the second stage period commenced on Lap 87, Wallace managed to carve his way back into the top-10 mark on Lap 101. Following a cycle of green flag pit stops, Wallace continued his steady march back to the front and steer his way up to fifth place when the second stage period concluded on Lap 165. By then, he notched six additional stage points. Restarting in fifth place for the final stage period with 96 laps remaining, Wallace began to flex his muscles and contend for the victory. After mixing it up with the competition and fellow Chase contenders within the top-five mark in the early stages of the final stage period, Wallace navigated his way into the runner-up spot with 67 laps remaining.

With 51 laps remaining, Wallace tracked the leader, Chase Briscoe, both on and off pit road following their respective pit services as the former was within striking distance of challenging the former through the long runs. By the time both Briscoe and Wallace cycled back up to first and second on the track, the battle for the lead brewed as Wallace started to reel in Briscoe through the turns and straightaways while lapped traffic played a role in briefly stalling Briscoe’s momentum. Despite narrowing the deficit down to a tenth of a second on multiple instances, Wallace was unable to navigate his way around Briscoe. As the laps dwindled, Wallace started to lose tire grip and his momentum amid his late challenges and reels on Briscoe, which allowed Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick to overtake Wallace within the final 10 laps. Wallace would then slowly slip out of the top-five mark and be overtaken by Chasers Austin Cindric, William Byron and Ryan Blaney before he took the checkered flag in eighth place.

With the result, Wallace notched his 15th top-10 result of the 2026 season, which is a career-high stat for the Alabama native in a single Cup season. He also recorded his fourth top-10 result in his 18th start at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and his fourth top-10 result through the first five Chase events of the 2026 season.

Prior to Las Vegas, Wallace was ranked in 10th place in the 2026 Chase standings and he trailed the points lead by 140 points. Despite retaining his points position, he shaved off three points from his deficit (137). Amid the disappointment in rallying from his early pit road penalty, navigating through humid conditions and falling short of notching his first victory of the 2026 season, Wallace was pleased with the outcome and gave props to his 23XI Racing pit crew that kept the driver of the No. 23 Toyota entry in contention in the closing laps.

“[I] just tried to replay every scenario,” Wallace said on USA Sports. “[Briscoe’s] car was just good enough to keep that buffer out in front of us. I tried to make one last charge at him, catch him sleeping into [Turn] 1 and just didn’t work and got super tight. That ultimately paid a price on our front tires. Fell off pretty hard there, but just that we had that [pit road] penalty. Trying to come from the back. It’s difficult in the Chase. You can’t have any mistakes. Pit crew rebounded, so I do appreciate that. Just a hard fought day. Just wasn’t meant to be.”

Bubba Wallace’s 2026 Chase for the NASCAR Cup Series championship resumes next Sunday, October 11, at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, for the Bank of America 400. Wallace holds a single top-five result in 10 prior Cup starts at Charlotte as he strives to remain within striking distance of his first Cup Series championship. The broadcast time of next Sunday’s 2026 Bank of America 400 event is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

Denny Hamlin loses points lead ground with 16th-place result at Las Vegas

Photo by Brecken Stock for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Denny Hamlin missed an opportunity to regain ground on points leader Kyle Larson with a 16th-place result in the 2026 South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 4. 

The three-time Daytona 500 champion from Chesterfield, Virginia, commenced his weekend at Vegas by securing his 53rd Cup Series career pole position and his fifth of the 2026 season a day prior to the main event. Once he took the green flag from pole position, he dominated by leading the first 34 laps before he made a scheduled pit stop under green a lap after. Hamlin would cycle his way back to the lead just before a caution for Zane Smith spinning in the fourth turn flew. During the caution period, split strategies ensued as Hamlin was among a handful of competitors who opted to return to pit road for service while teammates Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell remained on the track.

Despite restarting in 10th place for the next restart on Lap 49, Hamlin marched his way back towards the front and got up as high as fourth place as the laps in the first stage period dwindled. Then with three laps remaining in the stage period, Hamlin, who was trying to reel in teammate Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney for podium spots, got sideways while running towards the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4. This caused Hamlin to spin his No. 11 National Debt Relief/Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry XSE entry from the top to the bottom of the track as he came to a 360-sliding halt towards the entrance of pit road. With the event remaining under green flag conditions, Hamlin managed to proceed, but missed out on securing critical stage points from the first stage period as he ended up in 28th place.

Restarting in 23rd place for the second stage’s start on Lap 87, Hamlin navigated his way up within the top-15 mark at the Lap 100 mark before he dropped to 20th place 10 laps later. With the front splitter of Hamlin’s entry being damaged from his spin, the Virginia native could not march his way further forward as he settled in 14th place when the second stage period concluded on Lap 165, thus missing out on notching stage points for a second consecutive stage period.

Following the pit stops during the second stage period, Hamlin was poised to line up just outside the top-10 mark for the start of the third and final stage period. He, however, endured fuel pressure issues that caused him to fall off the pace during the caution period and drop back to 24th place. For the event’s remainder, Hamlin primarily raced within the top-20 mark before he took the checkered flag in 16th place for his second-lowest result through the first five Chase events of the 2026 Cup Series season.

Prior to Las Vegas, Hamlin, who emphasized the importance and needing to win to maintain his championship hopes a week ago at Kansas Speedway, trailed points leader Kyle Larson from the runner-up spot by 26 points. After Las Vegas and with Kyle Larson rallying to finish in second place, Hamlin’s deficit to the latter increased to 40.

“I guess there was marbles up there [when I spun],” Hamlin said on USA Sports. “[I was] Just trying to get back to track position that we lost. [I] Just went up there and gotten the marbles and spun out. Obviously, damaged the car to where it was nothing like it was before. There’s nothing you can do now post race. You just got to go on to the next race and see if you can find a way to win. Charlotte will be good for us, but today certainly didn’t live up to what we expected.”

With Las Vegas in the rearview mirror, Denny Hamlin shifts his focus to the next Chase event, which is the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. In 35 previous starts at Charlotte, Hamlin holds a single victory, which occurred in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600 event in May 2022. His best result at the venue in the fall is a runner-up result from the 2012 season as he strives to rally and regain the points ground lost to Larson while remaining in contention for his first Cup Series championship.

The 2026 Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway is scheduled to occur next Sunday, October 11, at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

Chase Briscoe earns redemptive Cup victory at Las Vegas

Photo by Brecken Stock for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Chase Briscoe rallied after being outdueled by Kyle Larson a week ago at Kansas Speedway, outdueling both Larson and Tyler Reddick on the final lap to win the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, October 4, and notch maximum points in the process.

The two-time Southern 500 champion from Mitchell, Indiana, led three times for a race-high 175 of 267 scheduled laps in an event where he qualified in fourth place behind his three Joe Gibbs Racing teammates and assumed the lead for the first time during the event’s first caution period on Lap 42 amid split pit strategies within the field. After leading the field to the ensuing restart on Lap 47, Briscoe proceeded to win the first stage period. Briscoe retained the lead for a majority of the second stage’s start before another cycle of green flag pit stops jumbled the leaderboard, but he managed to reel in and overtake Austin Cindric for the lead with three laps remaining to secure his second consecutive stage victory on Lap 165. 

Briscoe continued to dominate for a majority of the third and final stage period before another late cycle of green-flag pit stops that commenced with less than 60 laps remaining jumbled the leaderboard, but he managed to cycle back out in front with 40 laps remaining. After fending off late challenges by Bubba Wallace while navigating his way through lapped traffic, Briscoe was challenged by Kyle Larson as the laps dwindled. Amid Larson’s late charge, with Tyler Reddick also joining the battle nearing the final lap, Briscoe managed to fend off the challenges and motor away from the latter two wrecking entering the final turn while trying to reel in Briscoe for Briscoe to cash in on a dominant event in Sin City and maintain his NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes for the 2026 season.

With on-track qualifying determining the starting lineup on Saturday, October 3, Denny Hamlin secured his fifth Cup pole position of the 2026 season with a pole-winning lap of 186.787 mph in 28.910 seconds. Teammate Ty Gibbs qualified in second place with a lap of 186.677 mph in 28.927 seconds.

Prior to the event, Josh Berry and Noah Gragson dropped to the rear of the field after both wrecked separately during Saturday’s practice session, with Berry racing in a backup car and Gragson racing with unapproved adjustments (repairs) made to his primary entry.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, early trouble struck at the rear of the field as Noah Gragson bumped and sent Cody Ware spinning below the frontstretch’s apron. Amid Ware’s spin, which he proceeded without further contact, the event proceeded under green as the field cycled through the first two turns and the backstretch. When the field returned to the frontstretch, pole-sitter Denny Hamlin led the first lap over teammates Chase Briscoe and Ty Gibbs. Amid blazing temperatures around Las Vegas Motor Speedway and inside of the drivers’ cockpits that reached 98 degrees, Hamlin retained the lead through the fifth lap ahead of teammates Gibbs, Briscoe and Christopher Bell while Kyle Larson pursued in fifth place ahead of 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace.

Through the first 10 laps, the top-15 spots on the track were occupied by Chase contenders as Hamlin led by six-tenths of a second over Gibbs while Briscoe, Bell and Wallace, Larson, Reddick, William Byron, Austin Cindric, Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Daniel Suarez, Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney followed suit, respectively. Meanwhile, Joey Logano was the lowest-running Chase contender in 22nd place as Brad Keselowski was the highest-running non-Chaser in 16th place ahead of Michael McDowell, Alex Bowman, Riley Herbst, AJ Allmendinger and Ross Chastain, respectively.

Fifteen laps later, Hamlin extended his early advantage as he led by more than a second over Gibbs while Briscoe, Bell, Reddick and Wallace trailed in the top-six mark, respectively. Behind, Byron, Cindric, Hocevar and Elliott pursued in the top 10 while Larson, who had steadily fallen out of the top-10 mark over the previous 15 laps, slipped to 12th place as he was overtaken by Blaney. With Buescher and Suarez just trailing Larson on the track, Preece dropped to 18th place while Logano was up in 19th place. Amid the early competition, Hamlin stabilized his one-second advantage at the Lap 30 mark.

On Lap 33, Larson, who had fallen to 14th place, pitted his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry under green for fresh tires, fuel and adjustments. Chastain and Preece also pitted with Larson, which commenced the event’s first cycle of green-flag pit stops, before a bevy of competitors led by the leader Hamlin pitted by Lap 35. Chasers Gibbs, Briscoe, Bell, Byron, Cindric, and Buescher also pitted behind Hamlin before Reddick and Elliott pitted on Lap 36. As Logano also pitted, Wallace pitted during the next lap while Gibbs was penalized and forced to drive through pit road under reduced pace due to speeding on pit road during his green-flag pit service. With the event nearing its Lap 40 mark, Blaney, who was among a handful of competitors who have yet to pit, was leading while Larson was mired a lap down following his extensive green flag pit service due to adjustments from his early handling issues.

On Lap 41, Hamlin cycled his way back into the lead as Chasers Blaney, Hocevar and Suarez pitted their respective entries under green. Two laps later, the event’s first caution flew when Zane Smith slid and spun his No. 38 Losi RC Cars Ford Mustang Dark Horse entry towards the outside wall in Turns 3 and 4 after he sustained a flat tire as he was dodged by oncoming traffic. During the caution period, some led by Hamlin returned to pit road for service while the rest led by Briscoe and including Chasers Bell, Elliott, Blaney, Hocevar and Suarez remained on the track. In addition, Larson used the wave around to cycle back on the lead lap.

The event’s next restart on Lap 49 featured the leader Briscoe quickly steering to the right in front of teammate Bell as the field navigated around Las Vegas Motor Speedway for a full lap, where Briscoe led the next lap over Bell and Blaney. While Elliott occupying fourth place in front of Suarez, Hocevar, Wallace and the field, Suarez and Elliott battled for fourth place while Reddick, who was dealing with an alternator issue and who pitted during the recent caution, carved his way into sixth place after he overtook Hocevar on the track. Behind, Hamlin navigated his way into the eighth place ahead of Wallace and Michael McDowell as Reddick proceeded to overtake Hocevar for fifth place. Meanwhile, Larson was mired in 26th place while Briscoe led by nearly a second over Bell on Lap 55.

Just past the Lap 60 mark, Briscoe slightly extended his advantage by one-and-a-half seconds over Bell while Blaney, Suarez, Reddick, Hamlin, Hocevar, Wallace, McDowell and Cindric occupied the top-10 spots ahead of Elliott, Byron, Riley Herbst, Buescher and Alex Bowman, respectively. Meanwhile, Chasers Logano, Preece, Gibbs and Larson were mired in 18th, 21st, 22nd and 26th, respectively, as Briscoe proceeded to lead by nearly two seconds over Bell at the Lap 70 mark.

Then with three laps remaining in the first stage period, early trouble struck for Hamlin, who was trying to reel in Blaney for third place, when he slid sideways towards the outside wall through Turns 3 and 4 before he spun his No. 11 National Debt Relief Toyota Camry XSE entry below the track and towards the pit road entrance. Amid Hamlin’s issues, he proceeded and the event remained under green flag conditions as Hamlin, who managed to remain on the lead lap, plummeted towards the top-30 mark. 

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 80, Briscoe captured his first elusive Cup stage victory of the 2026 season. Bell, Blaney, Reddick, Cindric, Suarez, Wallace, Hocevar, Bowman and McDowell followed suit in the top 10, respectively. By then, eight of the 16 Chase contenders (Briscoe, Bell, Blaney, Reddick, Suarez, Cindric, Wallace and Hocevar) cashed in on the event’s first round of stage points while the remaining Chasers that include Buescher, Logano, Byron, Elliott, Gibbs, Preece, Larson and Hamlin were mired in 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 20th, 21st, 24th and 28th, respectively.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the field led by Briscoe pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Briscoe exited pit road first while Wallace, Suarez, Blaney, Bowman, Hocevar, Buescher, Bell, Logano and McDowell followed suit, respectively. During the pit stops, Cindric endured a slow pit service when the Jackman tripped over the front-tire changer while the changer was trying to tighten the right-front wheel. Reddick also endured an extensive pit service to have his alternator issue addressed while teammate Wallace was penalized for an equipment interference due to a wheel rolling from Wallace’s pit stall to Austin Dillon’s pit stall.

The second stage period started on Lap 87 as Briscoe and Suarez occupied the front row. At the start, Briscoe motored his No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE entry ahead of Suarez, Blaney and the field that fanned out to retain the lead through the first two turns and the backstretch. Amid a brief charge by Suarez, Briscoe led the next lap as the field fanned out as wide as four lanes through the frontstretch. While Briscoe maintained a steady lead over Suarez at the Lap 90 mark, Bowman occupied third place in front of Logano, Bell, Hocevar, Blaney, Buescher and Gibbs, respectively, while Cindric, Hamlin, Reddick, Preece and Wallace were all mired outside the top-20 mark.

On Lap 92, the caution returned due to debris detected at the pit entry. During this caution period, some led by Suarez and including Bowman, Hocevar, Gibbs, McDowell, Elliott, Larson, Byron, Cole Custer, Noah Gragson and Cindric pitted while the rest led by Briscoe remained on the track. 

As the event restarted on Lap 98, the field fanned out as Briscoe maintained the lead for a full circuit ahead of Logano. Briscoe proceeded to lead the Lap 100 mark as Logano, Blaney, Bell, Shane van Gisbergen, Buescher, Herbst, Keselowski, Suarez and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. followed suit in the top 10, respectively, ahead of Wallace, Austin Hill, Hamlin, Bowman, Gibbs, Reddick, Hocevar, Cindric, Chastain and Erik Jones. Meanwhile, Larson and Byron were mired in 22nd, 27th and 28th, respectively, while Preece was the lowest-running Chaser in 31st place. Amid the action-packed racing within the field, Briscoe extended his advantage up to a second on Lap 105 and by two seconds on Lap 110 while teammate Hamlin had fallen to 20th place while being three spots ahead of Larson.

Through the Lap 125 mark, Briscoe stabilized his advantage by more than a second over teammate Bell while Blaney, Logano, Buescher, van Gisbergen, Wallace, Herbst, Cindric and Hcoevar raced in the top 10 ahead of Gibbbs, Elliott, Suarez, Chastain and Reddick, respectively. Behind, Hamlin was in 16th place ahead of Byron and Larson was scored in 19th place while Preece was mired in 27th place while trailing the lead by more than 22 seconds. Seconds later, Buescher pitted from the top 10 not long after his teammate/co-owner Brad Keselowski and McDowell also pitted. 

By Lap 126, Logano and van Gisbergen pitted under green before Gibbs, Reddick, Stenhouse and Austin Dillon pitted their respective entries during the next lap. Briscoe then pitted from the lead on Lap 128 along with Wallace and Hamlin before Blaney pitted during the next lap. Bell, who cycled to a brief lead, then pitted from the lead on Lap 130 along with Josh Berry as Cindric cycled to the lead. Amid the mixed strategies ensuing within the field, Cindric retained the lead over Hocevar, Elliott, Byron, Suarez and Larson at the event’s halfway mark on Laps 133 and 134 while Bell reported a power steering issue to his entry. 

Nearing the Lap 140 mark, teammates Hocevar and Suarez pitted from second and seventh, respectively, on the track as Cindric led by more than two seconds over Elliott. By then, Hendrick Motorsports’ four competitors (Elliott, Byron, Larson and Bowman) occupied the remaining top-five spots behind Cindric while Briscoe and Bell were scored just outside of the top-10 mark in 11th and 12th, respectively. Meanwhile, Hamlin was mired in 23rd place while Buescher, Blaney, Logano, Wallace, Reddick and Gibbs were in 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 19th and 20th, respectively. As Briscoe continued his march forward, he was in fifth place by Lap 150 while the top-four competitors led by Cindric and including Elliott, Byron and Larson occupied second through fourth, with the latter four attempting to maintain their tires to the second stage’s conclusion.

Then on Lap 162, Briscoe, who despite reported a left-side tire going flat and had reeled in the top-four competitors, reeled in and overtook Cindric for the lead. Briscoe proceeded to achieve his second consecutive Cup stage victory of the event and of the 2026 season when the second stage period concluded on Lap 165. Cindric settled in second ahead of Bell, who managed to conclude the second stage period towards the front amid his power steering issues, while Blaney, Wallace, Logano, Elliott, Byron, Buescher and Larson were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, the latter 10 Chasers notched up the event’s second round of stage points while the remaining Chasers that include Reddick, Gibbs, Hamlin, Hocevar, Suarez and Preece were mired in 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 28th, respectively.

During the event’s second stage break period, the field led by Briscoe pitted for service. Following the pit stops, Briscoe retained the lead by exiting pit road first while Blaney, Cindric, Elliott, Wallace, Logano Buescher, Byron, Larson and Gibbs.

With 96 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Briscoe and Blaney occupied the front row. At the start, the field scrambled and fanned out for a full circuit as Blaney challenged Briscoe for the lead. Amid Blaney’s challenge, Briscoe managed to fend off the latter and lead the next lap. Amid a series of on-track battles and the field continuing to fan out, Briscoe extended his late advantage by more than a second with 90 laps remaining while Elliott, Wallace, Cindric, Reddick, Logano, Larson, Buescher, Byron and Gibbs followed suit in the top 11, respectively. Behind, Hamlin, who was battling fuel pressure issues and had to restart towards the rear of the field for failing to maintain pace when the fuel pressure issues occurred, was mired in 24th place ahead of teammate Bell and teammates Hocevar and Suarez were in 13th and 14th while Preece was in 30th.

Down to the final 80 laps, Briscoe increased his advantage by more than two seconds over Blaney while top-five contenders Wallace, Elliott and Cindric trailed by five seconds. As Reddick, Larson, Byron, Logano, Buescher and Gibbs continued to trail in the top-11 mark, respectively, Hocevar and Suarez continued to race in 13th and 14th, respectively, while Hamlin was mired in 20th place. Meanwhile, Bell, who was told to nurse his entry with the power steering unit broken home to the finish, was strapped in 25th place while Preece was the lowest-running Chaser in 29th place. As Briscoe proceeded to extend his lead up by more than three seconds with 75 laps remaining, his lead increased up to four seconds five laps later. 

As the event reached its final 60-lap mark, Briscoe stabilized his lead by more than three seconds over Wallace as Cindric, Blaney and Reddick occupied the top-five spots over Larson, Byron, Elliott, Logano and van Gisbergen. Behind, Gibbs slipped within the top-15 mark as he was mired with Buescher, Hocevar and Suarez while Hamlin was in 18th place. Behind, Bell was navigating his way into 24th place while Preece was mired a lap down in 28th place.

Five laps later, Gibbs pitted from the top-15 mark under green. Bowman and Austin Dillon pitted a lap later. Elliott then pitted from the top-10 mark another two laps later along with Keselowski, with Noah Gragson and Austin Hill having already pitted, before the leader Briscoe along with Wallace, Reddick, Larson, Byron, Logano and AJ Allmendinger pitted under green with 51 laps remaining. As the green flag pit stops ensued, Cindric, who cycled to a brief lead, pitted a lap later and teammate Blaney assumed the lead while Briscoe managed to exit pit road ahead of Wallace. 

More names including Hamlin, Buescher and Preece pitted as the laps dwindled before Suarez and Hocevar pitted with 47 laps remaining. Blaney then pitted from the lead a lap later, which allowed Bell to cycle to the lead as both Briscoe and Wallace reeled in from second and third, with Wallace also starting to reel in Briscoe. As Bell continued to remain on the track with the lead with 40 laps remaining, Briscoe narrowed the deficit down to six-tenths of a second from the runner-up spot while Wallace trailed Briscoe by three-tenths of a second. Meanwhile, Blaney, who has fresher tires than Briscoe and Wallace, was mired in eighth place and trailing the lead by 10 seconds before both Briscoe and Wallace overtook Bell by the next lap, with Briscoe cycling back to the lead.

With 35 laps remaining, Briscoe retained the lead by three-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Wallace while Larson, who was faster than the two leaders, trailed by more than three seconds in third place. As Bell pitted a lap later, Wallace narrowed the deficit down to a tenth of a second, but he could not execute an overtake on Briscoe as the latter continued to lead by two-tenths of a second with 30 laps remaining. Meanwhile, Larson trailed in third place by more than two seconds while Reddick, Cindric, Byron, Blaney, Elliott, van Gisbergen and Logano were in the top 10 ahead of Gibbs, Bowman, Buescher, Suarez, Allmendinger, Hamlin and Suarez, respectively.

Down to the final 25 laps, Briscoe, who had his lead shrink down to a tenth of a second four laps earlier, grew it up to nine-tenths of a second over Wallace as Larson started to reel in the two leaders while trailing by more than a second. Despite being mired in lapped traffic, Briscoe stabilized his advantage by eight-tenths of a second over Wallace while Larson only trailed Wallace by two-tenths of a second with 20 laps remaining. With more lapped traffic interfering Briscoe’s path, Wallace reduced Briscoe’s advantage down to three-tenths of a second while Larson remained within striking distance (six-tenths of a second) in third place with 15 laps remaining.

Then with 12 laps remaining, Larson overtook Wallace for the runner-up spot with a bold slide move in front of Wallace entering the frontstretch as the latter two trailed Briscoe, who continued to navigate his way through lapped traffic, by half a second. As Briscoe maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second for the next lap, Wallace started to lose ground and was overtaken by teammate Reddick, who had been stalking and slowly reeling in the three leaders, for third place another two laps later while Larson only trailed Briscoe by two-tenths of a second. With third-place Reddick trailing by nine-tenths of a second and teammate Wallace trailing by more than two seconds in fourth place, Larson trailed the leader Briscoe by three-tenths of a second with five laps remaining.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Briscoe remained in the lead by two-tenths of a second over a hard-charging Larson as Reddick only trailed by half a second. Larson used the outside lane through the first two turns to try and reel in Briscoe, but the latter maintained the advantage through the backstretch. Then through Turns 3 and 4, Larson tried to use the outside wall to try and gain a reeling advantage entering the frontstretch. Instead, he got loose entering the frontstretch and smacked the wall on the right side. In the process, Reddick collided into Larson and slid below through the frontstretch’s infield. Amid the last-lap carnage, Briscoe cruised to the race victory by more than a second. 

With the victory, Briscoe achieved his seventh NASCAR Cup Series career win in his 211th start, his second of the 2026 season, his first since Chicagoland Speedway in early July and his first at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Briscoe’s fall Las Vegas victory marked his fifth victory driving Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 19 entry along with the ninth victory of this season for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 16th victory for Toyota.

Prior to Las Vegas, Briscoe was ranked in eighth place in the 2026 Chase standings and trailed points leader Larson by 123 points. By sweeping all three stages of the 2026 South Point 400 event en route to the victory and leading the most laps (175), the Indiana native jumped to sixth place and is 84 points behind Larson while maintaining his hopes of being in contention for his first Cup Series championship approaching the final five Chase events. 

No. 19
Photo by Brecken Stock for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“We could add another win, but I don’t think I would’ve been able to get on the plane [if I had lost],” Briscoe said on the frontstretch on USA Sports. “[The No. 19 team] would all kick my butt. [Crew chief] James [Small], definitely. I was scared to death to see him if I didn’t pull that one off. What an amazing day. So thankful to get this Bass Pro Shops, Tracker [Boats] Toyota back to Victory Lane. It’s been not a rough year, but just not the results that we necessarily want. Honestly, [I was looking] more [to] the windshield, except for when Larson would get really, really close. The aero is such a big deal. [Turns] 1 and 2, I felt like, if I could just get somewhat cover where he was at, it’s a huge guessing game. I knew in [Turns] 3 and 4, if I just hit the bottom properly and slow down, which I’m normally not good at, that he was gonna have a hard time getting by me. Glad I was able to hold on. Last week was not a very fun mental place to be after throwing one away. Just super cool. ”

Following the final-lap incident, Larson managed to limp his entry, which was scraped on the right side, into the runner-up spot, while Reddick managed to claim third place despite his spin through the frontstretch and drive through pit road. 

For Larson, his late rally from losing a lap to the leaders and managing handling issues enabled him to secure his fifth consecutive top-five result through the Chase’s first five events and his fourth in a row within the top-two spots. The runner-up result provided a bittersweet moment for Larson, who sported a special yellow, blue and red livery to his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry while paying tribute to the late two-time Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, during Busch’s hometown event at Las Vegas. Despite ending up a spot short of notching back-to-back victories over Briscoe, Larson extended his points lead from 26 to 40 in the Chase standings and remains in contention for his title defense and third title overall.

No. 5
Photo by Brecken Stock for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“[Today] was a fight,” Larson said. “[I] just tried to stay patient, but my tires were getting burned off by the time I got there. [I] Tried to do what I could to try to win. I moved up I feel like at the right time and did a decent job with it. [I] Was trying to push hard through [Turns] 3 and 4, build some momentum at him to get by him down the straightaway. [I] Just got really loose and over-corrected it into the wall. Thankfully, [I] was able to limp it home. Thankfully, Reddick was able to come away third still as well. That got exciting. I wish we could’ve won in this paint scheme and honoring Kyle [Busch] because that would’ve been very Kyle Busch fashion, but yeah, a great fight again by our team. Happy I’m plus 40 [in the standings], but I also look at it like, ‘Dang, if we could’ve just fired off more in the ballpark, we could’ve had another 10 points minimum. We’ll just keep learning and keep after it.” 

For Reddick, who rallied from early alternator issues, his third-place result marks his second top-three result in the 2026 Chase and his 13th top-five result overall. The result kept Reddick in seventh place in the standings, but he managed to decrease his points deficit to 106. Nevertheless, he was left with mixed emotions as he still trails the points lead by triple digits.

No. 45
Photo by Brecken Stock for SpeedwayMedia.com.

“We just had to dig deep,” Reddick said. “Unfortunately, at the point, it’s pretty much norm to have issues all day long for us on this team. That’s just what we’re used to. So we know what to do. We know how to fight through it. We fought through everything that we had really well today. It’s just still, yeah, we gained five points. Whoop-de-doo. We have to capitalized when we have Toyota Camrys as fast as this. We have to win those races. The key to that is being clean and executing. We just haven’t done that in a very long time.”

Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney finished in the top five while William Byron, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen and Joey Logano completed the top 10 in the final running order. With nine of 16 Chase contenders (Briscoe, Larson, Reddick, Cindric, Blaney, Byron, Elliott, Wallace and Logano) finishing in the top 10, the remaining Chasers, including Carson Hocevar, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell and Ryan Preece, finished 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th, 23rd and 28th, respectively.

The fifth Chase event of the 2026 Cup Series season produced 12 lead changes among seven leaders and four cautions for 21 laps. In addition, 21 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Race Results:

  1. Chase Briscoe, 175 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
  2. Kyle Larson
  3. Tyler Reddick, one lap led
  4. Austin Cindric, 33 laps led
  5. Ryan Blaney, 10 laps led
  6. William Byron
  7. Chase Elliott
  8. Bubba Wallace, one lap led
  9. Shane van Gisbergen
  10. Joey Logano
  11. Alex Bowman
  12. Carson Hocevar
  13. Chris Buescher
  14. Daniel Suarez
  15. AJ Allmendinger
  16. Denny Hamlin, 39 laps led
  17. Ty Gibbs
  18. Riley Herbst
  19. Austin Dillon
  20. Noah Gragson
  21. Michael McDowell
  22. Austin Hill, one lap down
  23. Christopher Bell, one lap down, eight laps led
  24. Brad Keselowski, one lap down
  25. Erik Jones, one lap down
  26. Josh Berry, one lap down
  27. Cole Custer, one lap down
  28. Ryan Preece, two laps down
  29. John Hunter Nemechek, two laps down
  30. Ross Chastain, two laps down
  31. Ty Dillon, two laps down
  32. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., three laps down
  33. Todd Gilliland, three laps down
  34. Cody Ware, four laps down
  35. Connor Zilisch, five laps down
  36. Zane Smith, five laps down

*Bold indicates Chase Drivers

Following the fifth Chase event of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season, Kyle Larson continues to lead the standings by 40 points over Denny Hamlin, 55 over Christopher Bell, 71 over Joey Logano, 80 over Ryan Blaney, and 84 over Chase Briscoe. The rest of the 16-car Chase field is displayed below.

Chase Standings:

  1. Kyle Larson
  2. Denny Hamlin -40
  3. Christopher Bell -55
  4. Joey Logano -71
  5. Ryan Blaney -80
  6. Chase Briscoe -84
  7. Tyler Reddick -106
  8. Ty Gibbs -110
  9. Austin Cindric -128
  10. Bubba Wallace -137
  11. Carson Hocevar -158
  12. William Byron -160
  13. Chase Elliott -163
  14. Daniel Suarez -195
  15. Chris Buescher -196
  16. Ryan Preece -200

With the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series’ Chase reaching its halfway mark, the next Chase event on the schedule is the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The event is scheduled for next Sunday, October 11, and will air at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM, and HBO MAX.

TOYOTA RACING – NCS Las Vegas Post-Race Report – 10.04.26

BRISCOE DRIVES TOYOTA TO VICTORY LANE IN VEGAS
Chase Briscoe delivers Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing third straight Las Vegas triumph

LAS VEGAS (October 4, 2026) – Chase Briscoe delivered a dominating performance for Team Toyota winning both stages and claiming his first Las Vegas victory on Sunday evening. Briscoe scored the third straight win for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota at the track. It is Briscoe’s second win of the season (Chicagoland), and seventh of his career.

Despite running top-six for the early portions of the race several members of Team Toyota battled adversity throughout the race, including Tyler Reddick, who rebounded to finish third after changing a battery. Both Bubba Wallace and Ty Gibbs recovered after pit road penalties, while Denny Hamlin (spin) and Christopher Bell (power steering failure) both suffered woes while battling for the race lead. With five races remaining in the season, Hamlin and Bell continue to battle for the title with Hamlin 40 points out of the lead and Bell 55 points back.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 31 of 36 – 400.5 miles, 267 laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, CHASE BRISCOE

2nd, Kyle Larson*

3rd, TYLER REDDICK

4th, Austin Cindric*

5th, Ryan Blaney*

8th, BUBBA WALLACE

16th, DENNY HAMLIN

17th, TY GIBBS

18th, RILEY HERBST

23rd, CHRISTOPHER BELL

25th, ERIK JONES

29th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK

*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

CHASE BRISCOE, No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry XSE, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How uneasy was today’s race?

“It was definitely uneasy on the long run. On the short run, I felt phenomenal. I don’t know what else I could have needed. After 30 or so laps, I would kind of be hanging on. It would seem like even if I could stretch it even four seconds, they would ultimately catch me right before we pitted. I’ll be honest, with 35 to go, I was thinking I don’t know if I am going to be able to pull this off after leading all day. James (Small, crew chief) made an adjustment at the end and that was a huge deal there. It was definitely an exciting race from my point of view. I know the middle part, maybe not so much, but at the end it was like cat and mouse game of a couple of different guys, and then there was that group of seven or eight lap cars. It is really cool to get Bass Pro Shops, Toyota, Free Bird, Columbia Bank, Mobil 1, Zep, Lance Crackers, WIX Filters – all of our partners in victory lane. It has not been a terrible year, but it hasn’t been the year we’ve wanted, so this is really cool.”

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Can you talk about what happened in the closing laps there?

“That pretty much sums up what today was like. Just one thing after another for us. Just really proud of everyone’s effort on this Jordan Brand Toyota Camry. We didn’t lose a lap changing the battery there, and we able to drive back to the front – it just took too long. It put us in a spot where we had to be perfect on that final run, and unfortunately, we had some more mistakes and we came out behind the 5 (Kyle Larson) after we got by him in the first part of that run. I think ultimately that was the difference. If we could have stayed ahead of him leaving pit road, I think we get to those cars first and maybe don’t burn up as much. I think we could have won today.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

CHEVROLET NCS AT LAS VEGAS 2: Post-Race Report

NASCAR Cup Series
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
South Point 400
Team Chevy Post-Race Report
October 4, 2026

Larson Keeps Top-Five Streak, Points Lead Alive at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

 A valiant last-lap effort by the reigning champion, Kyle Larson, saw the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team lead the manufacturer with a second-place finish in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While it was a challenging day of battling handling issues throughout the first-two stages, it was the final run that saw the team back in race winning contention that ultimately continued their top-five streak in The Chase alive. Officially reaching the halfway point of the title run, Larson will head to Charlotte Motor Speedway with a 40-point lead over Denny Hamlin.

Four Chevrolet-powered machines earned results within the top-10 at the Nevada-based oval with Larson leading his Hendrick Motorsports teammates and fellow Chase title contenders, William Byron and Chase Elliott, in the sixth and seventh positions, respectively, with Trackhouse Racing’s Shane van Gisbergen driving to an impressive oval performance to earn a ninth-place result.

RACE RECAP:

Stage One:

Showing speed early in yesterday’s practice session, Kyle Larson went on to lead Team Chevy in qualifying with a sixth-place starting position for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. While maintaining the position for the opening laps of the stage, the points leader made an early report that his Chevrolet was edgy and lacking grip. While fighting the handling issues, Larson fell outside the top-10 as the race approached the first green flag pit cycle that ultimately began on Lap 34. Crew Chief, Cliff Daniels, was the first to call his driver to pit road for a lengthy stop that included a major front-end adjustment to try to help the balance of his Chevrolet. Buried in traffic and one lap down, it was only a 10-lap run before the first caution of the day flew for the No. 38. Varying pit strategies saw Daniels make the call to stay out and take the wave around to lineup 30th for the restart and 31 laps to go in the opening stage. Among the eight teams on the lead lap that chose to stay out included title contender, Daniel Suarez, who ultimately earned a hard fought six-place finish to lead Team Chevy to the end of Stage One.

Stage Two:

Despite a challenging opening stage that resulted in a 23rd-place finish, Larson reported that the first adjustment made an improvement but he was still lacking grip in the rear of his Chevrolet. Now just facing smaller adjustments to continue the progress, it was a standard four-tire and fuel stop that put the No. 5 team in the 18th position for the start of Stage Two. The culmination of a two-position gain in the race off pit road and a pit road penalty for the No. 23 saw Suarez inherit a spot on the front row to lead the field to the green flag for Stage Two. While settled into second for the opening laps of the stage, Suarez kept the Stage One winner, Chase Briscoe, right within reach – managing a three-second margin for a 14-lap run that ended with a caution for debris. While the No. 19 team stayed out, a late call by Crew Chief, Ryan Sparks, brought Suarez to pit road to lead a handful of cars for a two-tire stop. While it was a split strategy throughout the field, all of Chevrolet’s Chase drivers chose to pit for right-side tires, while also putting them in a position on fuel that lent the opportunity to make it to the end of stage. On the alternate strategy, the Stephen Doran-led team opted to capitalize on the track position and forgo the trip to pit road, boosting the No. 97 up to fifth for the restart. Van Gisbergen put on an impressive showing during the green flag run, maintaining a top-six running position despite the disadvantage of older tires. Just past the halfway mark of the stage saw the start of the green flag pit cycle for those that didn’t pit under the caution. The trio of Hendrick Motorsports Chase contenders made the gamble to run the stage out with Chase Elliott cycling up to second and leading Byron (third) and Larson (fourth) for the stretch to the second green-white checkered flag. While those on fresher tires started to make a charge late in the stage, the trio put up a valiant effort to all drive to a points-earning effort.

Final Stage:

The No. 9 pit crew powered their driver to a two-position gain in the race off pit road during the stage break, putting Elliott in fourth to lead the Bowtie brigade to the start of the final stage. With a green flag run building, Elliott maintained a top-five running position while still fighting the handling in the rear of his Chevrolet. Through yet another green flag pit cycle, the trio of Hendrick Motorsports drivers quickly cycled back up into the top-10 for what was building for a long run to the finish. While the first-two stages were a challenge for the No. 5 team, it was the final run of the race that saw the reigning champions back in race winning contention. While hovering around a three-second deficit, Larson quickly closed in on then-race leader, Briscoe, to just one-second with 20 laps to go. Enduring a flurry of lap traffic in the closing laps, Larson made the pass for second with 12 laps to go and quickly went to work on the battle for the lead. Reaching the rear of the No. 19 in lap traffic, Larson made a valiant last-lap effort before going on to cash-in on a strong second-place finish and lead Chevrolet to the checkered flag and the halfway point of The Chase.

 Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results
Pos. Driver

2nd – Kyle Larson
6th – William Byron
7th – Chase Elliott
9th – Shane van Gisbergen

Chevrolet’s season statistics with 30 NASCAR Cup Series races complete:

Wins: 8
Poles: 6
Top-Fives: 52
Top 10s: 105
Stage Wins: 21

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Chase will continue at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Bank of America 400 on Sunday, October 11, at 3 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on the USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
Finished: 19th

“Proud of the work from everyone on the No. 3 Toys for Tots Chevrolet team. Our car was better on the long runs, and we struggled all race on the restarts and shorter runs. We kept working at it, but the car was just too loose overall and we lacked grip and downforce. We’ll take our 19th place finish, leave Las Vegas Motor Speedway with plenty of notes for next spring and now get to work for Charlotte next week.”

Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 2nd

“It was a fight all day long for this No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet team. I was surprised about how far off we were there in that first run. I was just doing all I could to hold onto it and get to the pit stop. Cliff (Daniels, crew chief) said it was going to be a lengthy pit stop, but I didn’t know it was going to be that long. We came out a lap down. I think, thankfully, that caution came out and we could take the wave around. I think that really saved us from being stuck a lap down a lot longer. My car got better, but getting track position was just difficult. We just chipped away at it all race long. We had a good green flag pit cycle, and I could tell I was gaining on him (Chase Briscoe, race winner) pretty quickly. I just tried to stay patient, but my tires were getting kind of burnt off by the time I got there. I did what I could to try and win. We did a decent job with it, but I was just trying to push it through (turns) three and four to build some momentum at him and try to get by him down the straightaway. I just got really loose and overcorrected it into the wall. Thankfully, I was able to limp it home. It got exciting, for sure. I wish I could have won in this paint scheme while honoring Kyle because that would have been in very Kyle Busch fashion, but again, it was a great fight by this team.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 6th

“We were just kind of in the back-half of the top-10 throughout most of the day. We just couldn’t really advance past that. And then under the green flag run, we would just get kind of stuck. I thought that during the last run, our No. 24 HP Chevrolet got tighter. We just needed a little bit more.”

Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 7th

“I thought our No. 9 NAPA Chevy was, honestly, pretty good most of the day. We ran long with the No. 2 (Austin Cindric) there and the right-front came apart. For whatever reason, after that, I just kept getting looser and looser. I just kind of faded back a little bit at the end. We took a bunch of fuel and that didn’t help for those runs that went green. But overall, I thought it was a pretty solid day. It’s nice to have two solid days back-to-back for this team. There were some high spots in there. I thought our car did some really good things at different times throughout the day. I had some good feels at different points, and it was definitely something that we can build off of.”

Austin Hill, No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 22nd

“Solid day for our BetMGM team. All in all, to leave here with a top-25 is a stepping stone for our group. On the initial run, we were really good and drove forward. Gained over 12 spots in the first stage and put ourselves in a decent spot. As the race went on, our Chevrolet got tight, especially on fire off. Andy (Street, crew chief) and the guys kept working on the balance and got the front end in a good spot, but then we were too loose on the last run at the end. We will keep building as much as possible in these last handful of weeks.”

Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 21st

“It was a up and down day in Vegas, not the result we wanted, but today was just so unpredictable. Staying out, two tires, or four tires were all options and late in those runs was really where it made a difference with tire life. There was a time where we were running in the top 15 for some of the day, then the strategy didn’t come back to us the way we had hoped. Regardless, I feel like it was a step in the right direction with our 1.5-mile program. Special thank you to Fly Alliance for their support this weekend, hopefully we can continue to progress with our intermediate setups next weekend in Charlotte.”

About General Motors

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

GM Motorsports, including the Cadillac Formula 1® Team develops and proves advanced technologies in the most demanding environments, accelerating innovation in performance, safety, efficiency, and electrification for its production vehicles. Cadillac Racing is one of the leading manufacturers in the IMSA and FIA World Endurance Championships (WEC). Chevrolet competes in single seaters in the US IndyCar series, and in NASCAR with multiple team partners and drivers. Corvette customer teams compete in GT series across the globe including IMSA and WEC. Learn more at GM.com.

All Three Team Penske Ford Mustangs Post Top 10 Finishes in Vegas Cup Race

Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
South Point 400 — Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Sunday, October 4, 2026

Ford Racing Finishing Results:

4th – Austin Cindric

5th – Ryan Blaney

10th – Joey Logano

13th – Chris Buescher

20th – Noah Gragson

24th – Brad Keselowski

26th – Josh Berry

28th – Ryan Preece

33rd – Todd Gilliland

36th – Zane Smith

AUSTIN CINDRIC, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang Dark Horse – A LITTLE BITTERSWEET TODAY? “Yeah, obviously we overcame a bit today, but to come up with a solid finish in our Autotrader Ford Mustang. I feel like we had a car that was pretty good and close to capable of winning today. There was a lot of deja vu from last week with the leaders fighting for the win and still giving us a shot there, but I’m just proud of everybody on the 2 car. We were able to bring two really fast cars two weeks in a row and we’re really starting to execute really well throughout this stretch.” WHAT DO YOU ATTRIBUTE YOUR STRENGTH ON THE MILE-AND-A-HALF TRACKS TO? “I think we’ve got a good notebook and I think Brian and all the guys do a great job weighing these things out. It wasn’t an easy weekend. We didn’t start the race necessarily as close as we needed to and didn’t start practice as close as we needed to, but the guys worked on it all day and gave us some strengths that we didn’t have before. It takes a great team. That’s what it takes to be good at this level on a consistent basis and I just want to win.” YOUR BEST FINISH HERE AT LAS VEGAS, BUT IT HAD SOME DRAMA. “We definitely had to work for it there, but the guys did a great job with the strategy and adjustments throughout the day. I just wish that third stage would have played out a little bit more favorably for us. I thought we had a good enough car to at least go contend. I wouldn’t say I’m the best guy out there, but I thought we were one of the best.”

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Duracell Ford Mustang Dark Horse – “I definitely felt decent. Our long run pace was good, but not enough to overcome the short run pace that I would lose. The 19 got really far away there and start of the third stage I lost a couple of more spots. I then found a little bit and ran along and just tried to get a tire advantage and kind of got back to right around where we were. Overall, it was a good day. Our mile-and-a-half program is definitely getting better. Three cars in the top 10, that’s a really good day for our group, so I appreciate Team Penske for continuing to work on it, Ford Racing, Menards, Duracell, everybody who puts a lot into our program. We’ll keep digging and keep locking in and go at it week to week.” WHERE DO YOU PUT YOURSELF NOW WITH BEING 80 POINTS BACK GOING TO CHARLOTTE? DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE STILL IN THE FIGHT? “Yeah. Hopefully, we can put together a day like we just did with good stage points and top fives, stuff like that. That’s what you’ve got to do. Our mindset, no matter where you’re at or how many points ahead or behind you are, you keep going to the racetrack and try to win the race and continue to try to fight for all you can. It’s nice that we gained a little bit on the leader, so that’s good. We’ll just try to do the same next week and try to piece it together one race at a time.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HOW WOULD YOU BREAK DOWN YOUR RACE TODAY? “It was okay. We got up there and got some stage points in the second, so that was okay. I saw the front for a second, but we either have short run or long run speed – pick which one you want, but you can’t have them both. That’s kind of where it seemed we were, and then we just got lucky because the rear gear was smoking hot. I was probably too aggressive with some stuff there, but it worked out that we made it. I feel lucky we made it.” YOU TALKED ABOUT JUST TRYING TO HANG IN THERE WITH THESE THREE INTERMEDIATES. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE? “I think we’re 71 behind, so we lost a couple but it could have been worse. We’ll just keep trying.”

ACI Motorsports Clinches Second Porsche Carrera Cup Class Title of 2026

Marco Cirone Sweeps Road Atlanta Rounds to Lock Down Carrera Cup Masters Class Championship with Two Races Remaining

BRASELTON, Georgia (October 4, 2026) – ACI Motorsports locked down its second IMSA Porsche Carrera Cup North America title of the 2026 season when Marco Cirone and the No. 88 Mark Motors Porsche 911 Cup swept the doubleheader Thursday and Friday during Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.

Cirone fought hard in hot and muggy twin races to capture a pair of pole positions, a pair of wins and the fastest race lap in Thursday’s sprint to extend his Masters class point lead. Cirone walks away from Road Atlanta with a 68-point lead in the championship with only 56 points available in the finale at Circuit of the Americas later in October.

It didn’t come easy. Cirone was fighting for grip at the end of the first 40-minute race, but still crossed the finish line ahead of his nearest championship rival, Scott Blind, by less than a second. Round two featured its own challenges, but Cirone won that race by 1.4 seconds to secure the title.

The victories were the 11th and 12th Porsche Carrera Cup class wins for Cirone. The champion-elect earns his first crown with one doubleheader round remaining in the season.

The title is already the second Porsche Carrera Cup title for ACI Motorsports. Pro-Am class driver Patrick Mulcahy clinched his championship one race weekend ago at Indianapolis. Mulcahy swept his class in the No. 54 Juice Head Porsche 911 Cup.

The Cirone and Mulcahy titles are the second and third for ACI Motorsports in the six-year history of Porsche Carrera Cup North America.

Janne Stiak and John Jodoin added top 10 finishes overall and in the Pro class at Road Atlanta.

Stiak started race one by sweeping around the outside to jump from fourth on the grid to second place. He kept his No. 40 Scooter’s Coffee Porsche 911 Cup in that position for 24 of 29 laps while defending hard. Two of his competitors slipped by to drop the 19-year-old to fourth, and an additional 10-second penalty for blocking post-race dropped him to seventh in the final standings. Stiak rebounded from that on Friday to earn a fourth-place finish.

John Jodoin finished 11th in his No. 39 Race Caddy Porsche 911 Cup on Thursday, then climbed forward one position to earn a top 10 in race two.

Richard Edge and Matt Smith earned identical finishing positions each race in the Masters class. Edge scored a pair of fourth-place class finishes at Road Atlanta, while Smith finished sixth on both occasions. Edge and his No. 18 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup car crossed the finish line in second, but an unfortunate penalty from race control deemed Edge to be blocking in the battle. The ensuing 10 second punishment relegated him to fourth.

Next up for ACI Motorsports in Carrera Cup is the season-ending and eighth doubleheader race weekend of the year at Circuit of The Americas (COTA), October 23 – 25.

Curt Swearingin, ACI Motorsports Team Principal: “Across the whole team, the effort has shown. The guys at the workshop, the guys at the track, the drivers, everyone, it’s a team effort. It’s been week to week to week, we have another race next week and then we come back and finish this off after that at COTA. It’s been a tough stretch, but everything has been awesome with the success we’ve had. Marco did a great job to wrap up this championship, we’re so proud and happy for him.”

Marco Cirone, Driver – No. 88 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup: “Nothing is over until it’s really over. My competitor is a fabulous driver and I know they won’t give up right until the end. We have one more weekend to go, if the team keeps giving me a fabulous car it will be a great year. The two wins were critical. The team has stepped it up and I want to thank all of my friends back home. Mark Motors especially, I couldn’t do it without them.”

Richard Edge, Driver – No. 18 ACI Motorsports Porsche 911 Cup: “It was a really intense battle. I did my best to defend against Scott Blind, but the tires were going away from me there at the end. I kept my eyes forward. He was beating me in certain sectors and I would pull away in certain turns. I kept getting closer to Marco, but we had Walker behind Blind. I am so tired.”

About ACI Motorsports: ACI Motorsports is a professional Porsche racing team and motorsports preparation shop headquartered in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with additional operations at Road Atlanta in Georgia. The team actively competes in several prestigious racing series, including Porsche Carrera Cup North America, SRO Pirelli GT4, GT America Powered by AWS and more. Additional information can be found at www.acimotorsports.com.

STEVE FAST ROLLS TO JBS EQUIPMENT NHRA PRO MOD SERIES WIN DURING RECORD-SETTING WEEKEND IN ST. LOUIS

MADISON, Ill. (Oct. 4, 2026) – Two-time world champion Stevie “Fast” Jackson picked up his first win in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Series presented by Elite Motorsports since the 2022 season on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, defeating Stan Shelton in the final round as part of this weekend’s NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals.

It was the 10th of 11 races in the category and this weekend’s event was powered by M&M Transmission and Jerry Bickel Race Cars.

The race was also the fourth of five races in the Road to the Championship playoffs and featured some of the biggest performances in NHRA Pro Mod history.

The quickest run in series history happened over each of the final three qualifying sessions, capped off by a historic run from No. 1 qualifier Chip King, who became the first NHRA Pro Mod driver to reach the 5.50s with a titanic blast of 5.596-seconds at 257.24 during the final qualifying session on Saturday.

Sunday, though, belonged to the two-time champ, who got the win when Shelton went red in the final round. Jackson, who qualified fourth, would have been tough to beat with a reaction time of .019 and an impressive run of 5.634 at 255.48.

It handed Jackson his 14th career victory and first in four years, finishing off a day that also included round wins against Kevin Rivenbark, Mike Thielen and reigning world champion J.R. Gray.

“It’s really awesome when you go through adversity and get to come out the other side,” Jackson said. “This is a really hard place to win. Seeing these fans out in the grandstands, that’s what gets us fired up and it was awesome this weekend. We’ve had a really good car and have a good handle on it.”

Shelton reached the final round for the first time this season after taking down Billy Banaka, Justin Bond and Jason Collins.

The wild weekend also threw the points race into chaos, as Mike Stavrinos, who was the points leader heading into the weekend, fell in the first round. Bond is now the points leader with one race remaining, leading Stavrinos by 17 points (or less than one round). Derek Menholt is third at 54 points behind and Gray is 67 points back in fourth.

The JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports closes out its 2026 season on Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as part of the MOPAR NHRA Las Vegas Nationals powered by Dodge.


MADISON, Ill. — Final finish order (1-16) at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the tenth of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

PRO MODIFIED:

  1. Steve Jackson; 2. Stan Shelton; 3. JR Gray; 4. Jason Collins; 5. Justin Bond; 6. Mike

Castellana; 7. Mike Thielen; 8. Chip King; 9. Billy Banaka; 10. Kevin Rivenbark; 11. Jimmy

Widener; 12. Shane Gray; 13. Lyle Barnett; 14. Derek Menholt; 15. Nick Januik; 16. Mike

Stavrinos.

MADISON, Ill. — Sunday’s final results from the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the tenth of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

Pro Modified — Steve Jackson, Chevy Camaro, 5.634, 255.48 def. Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, Foul – Red Light.

MADISON, Ill. — Final round-by-round results from the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the tenth of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

PRO MODIFIED:

ROUND ONE — Justin Bond, Chevy Camaro, 5.633, 255.43 def. Jimmy Widener, Chevy Corvette, 5.692, 251.86; JR Gray, Camaro, 5.610, 255.19 def. Lyle Barnett, Camaro, 5.715, 251.81; Mike Castellana, Camaro, 5.659, 252.57 def. Derek Menholt, Corvette, 5.927, 174.48; Steve Jackson, Camaro, 5.612, 255.92 def. Kevin Rivenbark, Ford Mustang, 5.682, 252.90; Jason Collins, Camaro, 5.632, 255.39 def. Mike Stavrinos, Camaro, 8.205, 112.21; Stan Shelton, Mustang, 5.639, 256.36 def. Billy Banaka,

Camaro, 5.678, 253.75; Mike Thielen, Mustang, 5.666, 249.81 def. Nick Januik, Camaro, 6.968, 119.34; Chip King, Dodge Charger, 5.618, 255.43 def. Shane Gray, Camaro, 5.694, 250.55;

QUARTERFINALS — J. Gray, 5.655, 253.66 def. King, 5.736, 245.76; Shelton, 5.670, 255.34 def. Bond, 5.638, 255.73; Jackson, 5.645, 254.86 def. Thielen, 5.699, 250.13; Collins, 5.678, 253.80 def. Castellana, 5.684, 247.75;

SEMIFINALS — Shelton, 5.671, 254.95 def. Collins, Broke; Jackson, 5.632, 256.02 def. J. Gray, 15.112, 54.16;

FINAL — Jackson, 5.634, 255.48 def. Shelton, Foul – Red Light.

MADISON, Ill. — Point standings (top 10) following the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the tenth of 11 events in the JBS Equipment NHRA Pro Mod Drag Racing Series presented by Elite Motorsports.

Pro Modified

  1. Justin Bond, 1,079; 2. Mike Stavrinos, 1,062; 3. Derek Menholt, 1,025; 4. JR Gray, 1,012; 5. Billy Banaka, 979; 6. Stan Shelton, 957; 7. Mike Thielen, 916; 8. Lyle Barnett, 890; 9. Kevin Rivenbark, 868; 10. Chip King, 847.

LANGDON, PROCK, A. STANFIELD AND HERRERA WIN NAPA AUTO PARTS NHRA MIDWEST NATIONALS

  • Langdon gets fourth straight win of 2026
  • Prock gets past Vandergriff in FC duel
  • A. Stanfield defeats father in PS final
  • Herrera gets fourth straight St. Louis win

MADISON, Ill. (Oct. 4, 2026) – Top Fuel points leader Shawn Langdon won his fourth straight race of the season on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway, defeating first-time finalist Will Smith in the championship round at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals.

Austin Prock (Funny Car), Aaron Stanfield (Pro Stock) and Gaige Herrera (Pro Stock Motorcycle) also won the 17th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season and the third of six races in the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

Langdon, who qualified No. 1, went 3.732-seconds at 335.90 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Kalitta Air dragster to power past Smith, who suffered tire smoke early in the run. It handed Langdon his eighth win this year and kept him undefeated at the halfway point of the Countdown to the Championship playoffs.

En route to his 30th career victory, Langdon knocked off Tony Schumacher, Leah Pruett and Justin Ashley to reach the final round, turning in a series of standout performances, including a track-record blast of 341.68 in the first round. After a memorable victory in Indy to close the regular season, Langdon and his team have rolled to three straight playoff wins, showcasing a plethora of dominant runs during this spectacular playoff stretch.

His points lead now stands at a whopping 116 points over teammate Doug Kalitta, who fell in the opening round, and a massive 225 points over third-place Tony Stewart.

“The results we’re showing now come from the hard work of the last couple years. I’ve had a lot of faith and confidence in this race team,” Langdon said. “I knew the capabilities this team had. It was just a matter of things coming together, and I really feel like this year a lot of things have come together.

“We’ve been good when we needed to be good, but we’ve been great when we needed to be great. Every time I hit the gas, I know I’m going to have a really dang good race car. Hopefully I don’t mess that up. With what we’ve done, we’re going to have a big target on our backs. People are going to be gunning for us. It’s up to us to rise to the occasion and do even better at the last three races.”

Smith reached his first career final round thanks to round wins against Maddi Gordon, Stewart and Shawn Reed.

In Funny Car, Austin Prock got the best of Jordan Vandergriff when it mattered on Sunday in St. Louis, delivering an impressive run of 3.909 at 332.84 in his 12,000-horsepower Motorcraft Ford Mustang in the final round to move to third in points.

It is Prock’s second victory this season and first in St. Louis, keeping the back-to-back world champion in the title conversation. He had performed well since May, but had only one win to show for it, coming up just short throughout the summer and early in the Countdown.

But that changed on Sunday in St. Louis, as he charged to the final round by taking down a loaded lineup of Ron Capps, J.R. Todd and No. 1 qualifier Jack Beckman, who were all ahead of him in points heading into eliminations. That’s not the case anymore, and Prock then delivered a strong .045 reaction time in the championship round, leading wire-to-wire against Vandergriff to get his 23rd career victory.

It pushed him up to third in points, as the Funny Car standout for Tasca Racing is now 106 points behind leader Matt Hagan with three races remaining.

“This was a big win. For the points, for our family, for our team — this is the time to get hot,” Prock said. “After everything we’ve been through this year, all the hours we haven’t slept and seven days a week working at this, it really pays off when you get a win. We’re hot right now, and we’ve been hot for the last 12 races. We just haven’t been able to finish the job.

“We had a really dominant Ford Mustang this weekend. We had to run through a lot of hitters today. Each round was like a final round. Everybody we beat was in front of us in the Countdown. It was an epic way to cap it off. You don’t have days like this very often. When you run through four hitters like that, that’s like winning two races in one.

“We’re just over 100 points out of the lead. We’re in striking distance now going into Dallas and I’m really excited for these next three races.”

Vandergriff advanced to his sixth final round of 2026 after defeating Cruz Pedregon, John Force Racing teammate Alexis DeJoria and Hagan. He stayed second in points and now trails Hagan by 72 points.

Aaron Stanfield got the best of his father, Greg, in the Pro Stock final round on Sunday, getting the holeshot victory over the points leader with a run of 6.556 at 209.20 in his Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage/Melling Performance/Janac Brothers Racing Pro Stock car for Elite Motorsports, which also stayed undefeated in the Countdown to the Championship.

Greg was 6-1 against his son previously and 1-0 in final rounds, but Aaron got the last laugh on Sunday thanks to a brilliant .018 reaction time. That was just enough to keep Greg’s 6.547 at 209.85 at bay at the finish line, earning his third victory of 2026.

It’s also Stanfield’s 17th career victory, as he knocked off Deric Kramer, Matt Hartford and Troy Coughlin Jr. to reach the final round.

He follows wins by Coughlin and his father to keep Elite Motorsports surging in the playoffs, as Stanfield also moved to seventh in points with the memorable victory.

“It’s hard to get to the final round alone, and to be able to share it with my dad is pretty special,” Stanfield said. “He’s taught me absolutely everything I know in a race car. I told him I was fixing to show him what he taught me. We’re going to race as hard as we can possibly race. A thousandth at the stripe — it doesn’t get any better than that.

“At the start of the day, I would definitely say my car kind of pulled me along. As the day went on, I started finding myself on the Tree, and it ended up with me in the final round with my dad. As a whole, the entire Elite team ran really well this weekend. We just need to keep that trajectory.”

Greg built on his points lead by advancing to the final round for the fourth time this year, defeating Mason McGaha, Jeg Coughlin Jr. and Dallas Glenn along the way. His lead is now 71 points over Glenn and 81 more than Hartford.

It was teammate versus teammate in the finals for the second straight race, but this time Pro Stock Motorcycle’s Gaige Herrera got the best of points leader Richard Gadson, going a strong 6.710 at 200.98 on his RevZilla/Motul/Vance & Hines Suzuki to defeat Gadson’s 6.763 at 200.08.

The victory handed Herrera his fourth straight win at World Wide Technology Raceway, a spectacular run at the key Countdown race. He was outstanding this weekend, too, breaking the track record en route to qualifying No. 1 with a 6.644, and then defeating Michael Phillips and Ryan Oehler to reach the final round.

He became the third different rider in as many races to win in the Countdown, closing in on Gadson’s points lead. Herrera now trails his teammate by just 32 points with three races remaining, which means a thrilling duel between the two teammates who have won the last three world titles could be coming.

“The Countdown, the last six races, is when it all matters,” Herrera said. “Getting this win here in St. Louis means a lot. St. Louis holds a special place for me. I don’t know what it is with this place, but it’s always been very good to me. I wish we had all the races here.

“Racing Richard in the final puts a lot of pressure on me. He’s the man on the tree. He’s very consistent, and it was awesome to race him in the final. I felt like I was trying to push myself too much the last couple races. This whole weekend, I just reminded myself: I’m living the dream, I’m having fun and that’s what it’s all about.

“This is a big deal for me. Points-wise, we gained a little bit on my teammate. He still has the points lead, but it’s going to be a dogfight.”

Gadson, who stayed in the points lead thanks to his seventh finals appearance of the season, defeated Chase Van Sant, Matt Smith and Martin winner John Hall on Sunday.

The NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series returns to action Oct. 14-18 with the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex in Dallas.


MADISON, Ill. — Final finish order (1-16) at the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the 17th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

TOP FUEL:

  1. Shawn Langdon; 2. Will Smith; 3. Justin Ashley; 4. Shawn Reed; 5. Tony Stewart; 6. Leah Pruett; 7. Antron Brown; 8. Jasmine Salinas; 9. Billy Torrence; 10. Kyle Wurtzel; 11. Tony Schumacher; 12. Clay Millican; 13. Doug Kalitta; 14. Maddi Gordon; 15. Spencer Massey; 16. Josh Hart.

FUNNY CAR:

  1. Austin Prock; 2. Jordan Vandergriff; 3. Jack Beckman; 4. Matt Hagan; 5. J.R. Todd; 6. Daniel Wilkerson; 7. Spencer Hyde; 8. Alexis DeJoria; 9. Ron Capps; 10. Dale Creasy Jr.; 11. Bobby Bode; 12. Dave Richards; 13. Terry Haddock; 14. Cruz Pedregon; 15. Chad Green; 16. Blake Alexander.

PRO STOCK:

  1. Aaron Stanfield; 2. Greg Stanfield; 3. Dallas Glenn; 4. Troy Coughlin Jr.; 5. Greg Anderson; 6. Matt Hartford; 7. Cody Anderson; 8. Jeg Coughlin; 9. Matt Latino; 10. Deric Kramer; 11. Eric Latino; 12. Chris Vang; 13. Stephen Bell; 14. Erica Enders; 15. Mason McGaha; 16. Kenny Delco.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

  1. Gaige Herrera; 2. Richard Gadson; 3. Ryan Oehler; 4. John Hall; 5. Joey Gladstone; 6. Marc Ingwersen; 7. Matt Smith; 8. Clayton Howey; 9. Kelly Clontz; 10. Chase Van Sant; 11. Geno Scali; 12. Steve Johnson; 13. Malcolm Phillips Jr.; 14. Angie Smith.

MADISON, Ill. — Sunday’s final results from the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway. The race is the 17th of 20 in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

Top Fuel — Shawn Langdon, 3.732 seconds, 335.90 mph def. Will Smith, 4.024 seconds, 269.03 mph.

Funny Car — Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.909, 332.84 def. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.926, 325.37.

Pro Stock — Aaron Stanfield, Chevy Camaro, 6.556, 209.20 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.547, 209.85.

Pro Stock Motorcycle — Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.710, 200.98 def. Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.763, 200.08.

Competition Eliminator — Christopher Dodd, Chevy Cobalt, 8.286, 133.33 def. Scott Linder, Pontiac Gran Am, 13.534, 76.06.

Super Stock — Jimmy Hidalgo Jr., Pontiac Firebird, 9.359, 127.78 def. Jacob Delaune, Dodge Challenger, 9.759, 133.84.

Stock Eliminator — Johnny Diekema, Chevy Corvette, 9.719, 137.44 def. Brett Saurbaugh, Corvette, 9.837, 133.08.

Super Comp — James Glenn, Dragster, 8.903, 173.38 def. Michael Holcombe, Dragster, 8.908, 179.14.

Super Gas — Kris Whitfield, Ford T, 9.905, 147.88 def. Todd Pullen, Chevy Corvette, 9.910, 171.16.

Top Dragster — Luke Bogacki, Dragster, 6.806, 190.19 def. Alaia Isenhower, Dragster, 6.922, 189.36.

Pro Modified — Steve Jackson, Chevy Camaro, 5.634, 255.48 def. Stan Shelton, Ford Mustang, Foul – Red Light.

Factory Stock Showdown — Jonathan Allegrucci, Ford Mustang, 7.640, 179.92 def. Scott Libersher, Chevy Camaro, 12.567, 86.19.

MADISON, Ill. — Final round-by-round results from the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the 17th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series:

TOP FUEL:

ROUND ONE — Tony Stewart, 5.322, 229.24 def. Josh Hart, 7.912, 93.86; Jasmine Salinas, 3.716, 337.92 def. Spencer Massey, 4.988, 143.03; Will Smith, 3.722, 333.00 def. Maddi Gordon, 4.847, 151.51; Antron Brown, 3.735, 336.15 def. Clay Millican, 4.529, 173.45; Shawn Langdon, 3.680, 341.68 def. Tony Schumacher, 3.749, 331.94; Justin Ashley, 3.766, 332.02 def. Billy Torrence, 3.708, 338.43; Shawn Reed, 3.706, 336.15 def. Doug Kalitta, 4.683, 157.76; Leah Pruett, 3.735, 328.30 def. Kyle Wurtzel, 3.733, 333.00;

QUARTERFINALS — Smith, 3.721, 331.69 def. Stewart, 3.762, 333.82; Reed, 3.758, 332.10 def. Brown, 7.850, 81.93; Langdon, 3.714, 337.83 def. Pruett, 3.770, 332.59; Ashley, 3.764, 332.75 def. Salinas, 9.618, 83.33;

SEMIFINALS — Smith, 3.994, 275.17 def. Reed, 4.164, 255.10; Langdon, 3.733, 336.65 def. Ashley, 3.810, 330.88;

FINAL — Langdon, 3.732, 335.90 def. Smith, 4.024, 269.03.

FUNNY CAR:

ROUND ONE — Spencer Hyde, Ford Mustang, 6.985, 159.64 def. Chad Green, Mustang, 7.353, 133.98; Austin Prock, Mustang, 3.872, 334.90 def. Ron Capps, Toyota GR Supra, 3.937, 322.11; Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.935, 331.12 def. Terry Haddock, Mustang, 6.341, 117.77; Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.864, 332.84 def. Dale Creasy Jr., Charger, 4.221, 261.37; Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.874, 329.91 def. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 4.667, 175.27; J.R. Todd, GR Supra, 4.345, 205.04 def. Blake Alexander,

Toyota Supra, 11.458, 80.33; Jordan Vandergriff, Camaro, 3.896, 324.51 def. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 6.921, 96.42; Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 4.006, 315.93 def. Dave Richards, Mustang, 4.753, 168.75;

QUARTERFINALS — Hagan, 3.925, 331.28 def. Hyde, 11.170, 81.32; Prock, 3.872, 333.66 def. Todd, 10.691, 80.44; Beckman, 3.870, 331.28 def. Wilkerson, 10.720, 81.43; Vandergriff, 3.952, 327.59 def. DeJoria, Foul – Red Light;

SEMIFINALS — Vandergriff, 3.939, 327.82 def. Hagan, 6.158, 148.51; Prock, 3.906, 329.91 def. Beckman, 3.903, 329.42;

FINAL — Prock, 3.909, 332.84 def. Vandergriff, 3.926, 325.37.

PRO STOCK:

ROUND ONE — Cody Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.501, 209.75 def. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.534, 210.93; Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.513, 210.57 def. Matt Latino, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.485, 210.67 def. Eric Latino, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.496, 210.93 def. Stephen Bell, Camaro, 6.532, 209.65; Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.500, 210.57 def. Deric Kramer, Camaro, Foul – Red Light; Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.482, 209.88 def. Kenny Delco, Camaro, Foul – Red

Light; Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.480, 211.36 def. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.530, 209.56; Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.479, 211.30 def. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.539, 210.34;

QUARTERFINALS — A. Stanfield, 6.528, 209.65 def. Hartford, 6.521, 209.98; Glenn, 6.518, 209.65 def. G. Anderson, 6.518, 209.56; Coughlin Jr., 6.518, 209.92 def. C. Anderson, 6.529, 208.88; G. Stanfield, 6.508, 210.44 def. Coughlin, 6.540, 210.08;

SEMIFINALS — A. Stanfield, 7.037, 206.32 def. Coughlin Jr., 9.099, 113.64; G. Stanfield, 6.525, 209.23 def. Glenn, 6.576, 208.91;

FINAL — A. Stanfield, 6.556, 209.20 def. G. Stanfield, 6.547, 209.85.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE:

ROUND ONE — Richard Gadson, Suzuki, 6.755, 200.14 def. Chase Van Sant, Suzuki, 6.850, 196.93; Marc Ingwersen, 6.864, 195.00 def. Angie Smith, Buell, 17.375, 41.88; John Hall, Buell, 6.744, 200.62 def. Steve Johnson, Suzuki, Foul – Red Light; Joey Gladstone, Buell, 6.747, 199.94 def. Kelly Clontz, Suzuki, 6.833, 197.77; Ryan Oehler, 6.724, 198.70 def. Clayton Howey, Buell, 6.801, 195.68; Matt Smith, Buell, 6.693, 202.79 def. Geno Scali, Suzuki, 6.853, 197.05; Gaige Herrera, Suzuki, 6.693, 201.49 def. Malcolm Phillips Jr., Suzuki, 6.912, 193.38;

QUARTERFINALS — Hall, 6.818, 197.80 def. Gladstone, 6.823, 197.97; Oehler, 6.751, 198.52 def. Ingwersen, 6.922, 195.03; Herrera, 6.703, 201.01 was unopposed; Gadson, 6.760, 199.58 def. M. Smith, 6.930, 167.84;

SEMIFINALS — Gadson, 6.764, 199.94 def. Hall, 6.854, 194.46; Herrera, 6.710, 200.62 def. Oehler, 6.765, 198.41;

FINAL — Herrera, 6.710, 200.98 def. Gadson, 6.763, 200.08.

MADISON, Ill. — Point standings (top 10) following the 15th annual NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals at World Wide Technology Raceway, the 17th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag

Racing Series –

Top Fuel

  1. Shawn Langdon, 2,459; 2. Doug Kalitta, 2,343; 3. Tony Stewart, 2,234; 4. Leah Pruett, 2,224; 5. Will Smith, 2,209; 6. Antron Brown, 2,207; 7. Billy Torrence, 2,166; 8. Maddi Gordon, 2,165; 9. Josh Hart, 2,164; 10. Justin Ashley, 2,154.

Funny Car

  1. Matt Hagan, 2,402; 2. Jordan Vandergriff, 2,330; 3. Austin Prock, 2,296; 4. Jack Beckman, 2,279; 5. J.R. Todd, 2,270; 6. Ron Capps, 2,240; 7. Alexis DeJoria, 2,215; 8. Daniel Wilkerson, 2,174; 9. Chad Green, 2,123; 10. Spencer Hyde, 2,117.

Pro Stock

  1. Greg Stanfield, 2,381; 2. Dallas Glenn, 2,310; 3. Matt Hartford, 2,300; 4. Greg Anderson, 2,272; 5. Troy Coughlin Jr., 2,257; 6. Cody Anderson, 2,218; 7. Aaron Stanfield, 2,210; 8. Jeg Coughlin, 2,195; 9. Matt Latino, 2,170; 10. Erica Enders, 2,153.

Pro Stock Motorcycle

  1. Richard Gadson, 2,380; 2. Gaige Herrera, 2,348; 3. John Hall, 2,275; 4. Matt Smith, 2,267; 5. Ryan Oehler, 2,261; 6. Angie Smith, 2,230; 7. Jianna Evaristo, 2,228; 8. Chase Van Sant, 2,188; 9. Clayton Howey, 2,126; 10. Steve Johnson, 2,099.

The Fastest Laps Ever Recorded in NASCAR History

Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels

Throughout NASCAR history, drivers have achieved and recorded unbelievable speeds. While modern stock cars have grown through aerodynamics and competition, they lack the raw power of NASCAR’s 1980s era. For any motorsport fan, including those curious about the racing markets offered by Irish bookmakers, these records offer insight into track history and just how fast a stock car can be.

An important distinction is needed when talking about NASCAR’s fastest laps: the difference between a fastest lap and a qualifying lap. A qualifying lap gives the driver the space to go all out on a single lap. These conditions won’t occur during a typical race because of other cars, fuel weight and management, tire wear, and overall strategy. Because of this, qualifying laps are the go-to for setting lap records.

  1. Bill Elliott High-speed Record at Talladega Superspeedway
  • Average Speed during Qualifying Lap – 212.809 mph
  • Time of Lap – 44.998 Seconds

Nearly forty years ago on April 30, 1987, Bill Elliott set an amazing record at Talladega inside his No. 9 Ford Thunderbird. This remains the all-time stock car speed record, and NASCAR recognizes it as the fastest qualifying speed in history.

While stock cars of the past lacked the efficiency and aerodynamics of today’s, Elliott benefited greatly from raw horsepower. During this period, restrictor plates hadn’t been introduced to the sport yet, allowing his machine to have considerably more power than today’s stock cars. Once NASCAR introduced these plates, speeds dropped as safety standards rose.

  1. The Record at the Notorious Daytona Speedway
  • Average Speed during Qualifying Lap – 210.364 mph
  • Time of Lap – 42.783 seconds

Elliott also set this record during the era of super-powered cars on February 9, 1987, shortly before his momentous record at Talladega Superspeedway. The speeds Elliott put on display for this record only set up his future record.

A fun fact about this record at Daytona is that Elliott also went on to win the Daytona 500. This showed clear dominance and speed among the other competitors in the field at the time.

While those two laps remain the fastest so far, here are other amazing records achieved; some of them occurred much more recently:

  • Michigan International Speedway – Jeff Gordon at 206.558 mph with a time of 34.857 seconds, 2014.
  • Texas Motor Speedway – Kurt Busch, 200.915 mph in 26.877 seconds, 2017.
  • Atlanta Motor Speedway – Geoff Bodine at 197.487 mph with a time of 28.074 seconds, 1997.
  1. Introduction of Restrictor Plates

The times set during the 1980s are special among NASCAR fans. NASCAR hadn’t yet implemented restrictions and allowed cars to utilize their full power potential. The season after Elliott’s’s records, NASCAR implemented restrictions that are now standard and, as they’ve noted, reduced overall qualifying times.

Ultimately, this decision standardized stock car racing, allowing drivers to focus more on the driving itself rather than simply building a stronger machine. It also improved safety, making the sport much safer for drivers and teams.

  1. Have Modernized Cars Caught Up?

Nowadays, modern NASCAR stock cars are incredibly advanced and sophisticated. A stock car’s overall strength is no longer measured by top speed or qualifying time. Regulations, aerodynamic benefits, engine tuning and specifications, track layout, and safety concerns all affect a modern car’s performance.

While modern cars achieve similar speed numbers, technically speaking, they operate under a completely different rulebook than the cars of the 1980s. For comparison, current NASCAR records have reached speeds slightly above 200mph recently, but it’s much harder for these cars to achieve record-breaking 212 mph+ speeds.

  1. Conclusion

We are nearly four decades after Elliott’s meteoric qualifying run. While his run remains the fastest qualifying lap in NASCAR’s history, it also reminds us of the rules of that era. With current regulations focused on the spirit of competition and safety, breaking Elliott’s record would require more than a faster car. For now, the future may surprise us, but the time set in 1987 will remain in motorsport history.