Briscoe Holds On To Win Eero 400 at Chicagoland!

Chase Briscoe celebrates Eero 400 win by doing a burnout! (Riley Ogle | Motorsports Today)

JOLIET, I.L. - The NASCAR Cup Series returned to Chicagoland Speedway for the Eero 400, Sunday, July 5th, for the first time since 2019. The stands were packed out as Chicagoland announced a sellout in the tracks return. Hendrick Motorpsorts driver William Byron dominated the race early, but come the end of 400 miles, it Joe Gibbs Racing's Chase Briscoe who barely held on for his first win of the season over teammate Christopher Bell!

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Denny Hamlin started the race on pole but was unable to fully capitalize with the lead early, as Kyle Larson took the lead on lap six. Hamlin did get the lead back on lap 19 but lost firm control from Larson again on the lap 38 restart after the second caution for incident of the day.

As for the man who swept the stages, it wasn't until lap 69, where William Byron finally inherited the lead from Penske Racing's Austin Cindric who was on 10 lap older tires than Byron, who was on four fresh tires. Byron went on to lead the final to lead the final eleven laps of the stage.

In stage two Byron briefly held the lead for four laps from lap 87 to lap 90, but lost the lead to Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing, who proceeded to lead the next 34 laps. Byron did not fully inherit the lead for long term again until 144 where he led the next 22 laps in route to completing the stage sweep.

Unfortunately for Byron though, despite having control of the race, and leading 45 more laps, it was strategy of the Toyota's that became the difference maker in defeat. Chase Briscoe short pit Byron by a lap, allowing him to jump in front.

On lap 222, Briscoe took the lead and Byron never caught back. Byron in fact faded, finishing inside the top five with a 4th place finish.

The strategy that almost won, was Briscoes teammate Christopher Bell, who played an overcut strategy, resulting in him having fresher tires than Briscoe. In the closing laps, Bell got to his bumper and attempted to challenge passing Briscoe cleanly.

For Bell though unfortunately, Briscoe did not falter under pressure. Briscoe held the outside firmly without slipping not allowing Bell an inch to put him in a vulnerable position. Across the line on lap 267, Chase Briscoe held on for his first win of 2026.

OTHER NOTABLES:

For Hendrick Motorsports despite William Byron fading late, it was another weekend of strong promise. Kyle Larson led 23 laps prior his misfortune and Byron led a season high 94 laps. But another big story came from the car that's struggled most for them this season, and that is Alex Bowman.

Bowman started the day 12th and progressed nicely through the day. He failed to score stage points in the first stage but rallied to an 8th place effort in stage two. Bowman was a mainstay in the top ten the entirety of stage three, and perfect execution and speed late allowed him to tally a 5th place finish. The effort was arguably Bowman's strongest of 2026 and was his third top five of the season.

Corey Heim returned for the first time in the NASCAR Cup Series since his win back at Naval Base Coranado at the San Diego Street Course and showed another strong performance.

While Heim led one lap during a pit cycle, the effort was a miraculous charge all day. Heim started the race in 28th position and come the end of 400 miles, found himself with a 9th place effort, making it back-to-back top ten finishes for the future rookie.

Lastly, the playoff cutline got a bunch closer with a wide variety of days for many.

Shane Van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing had a tough day and a run in with Richard Childress Racing's Austin Hill early in the race leading to an eventual 25th place finish.

While Austin Cindric got eliminated from the in-season tournament after finishing behind Alex Bowman, Cindric had a meaningful day that helped towards the cutline. Cindric scored a 13th place finish expanding his gap to 27 to Ryan Preece who fell to outside the cutline.

Speaking of Preece, the day was filled with pure misfortune and never a true opportunity to make the most of his day. On lap one, he tangled with Rookie Connor Zilisch causing all four of his tires to go flat. As a result, Preece lost four laps due to the incident putting him behind.

Preece did actually make those laps up due to there being multiple cautions, but the tires and the damage to the underbody proved to be too much as he finished 32nd one lap down. Preece exits -4 point to the cutline.

The person at the cutline you ask? That belongs to Erik Jones who finished 15th with an average day. For Jones its an opportunity to capitalize on a favorable schedule moving forward.

UP NEXT:

The NASCAR Cup Series heads back south to Atlanta, Georgia to make its second trip of the season to EchoPark Speedway for the Quaker State 400. Coverage of the race can be found on TNT with the green flag slated for prime time at 7:00 P.M. ET.

Like this weekend, Motorsports Today will have live coverage at both EchoPark Speedway, as well as coverage at Lime Rock Park for both the Arca Menards Series and Craftsman Truck Series on Friday and Saturday. You can follow along with us on X @Mtrsprtstoday, Instagram @Motorsports_Today, Youtube and Tiktok @MotorsportsToday, and here on MotorsportsToday.net