Chase Briscoe Gets Lucky in Vegas with a Sweep to Victory
Kelsey Christman - Staff Writer
Las Vegas, NV- The NASCAR Cup Series returned out west to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400. This race marked the halfway point of the Chase as it was the fifth race of the postseason. Denny Hamlin scored the pole as Toyota scored a top-five sweep during qualifying. The four Joe Gibbs Racing teammates were followed by 23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick to lead the field to green. Josh Berry and Noah Gragson started in the rear after they both wrecked during practice.
Contact occurred upon the drop of the green flag when Cody Ware spun at the start/finish line after contact with Gragson. Racing continued under green until the first green-flag pit cycle began.
Twenty-six drivers were able to pit during the green-flag cycle before a caution came out. After returning to the track, Zane Smith spun in Turn 4 with a flat right-rear tire to bring out the caution lights. During Ty Gibbs' pit stop prior to the yellow, he was caught speeding entering pit road, resulting in a pass-through penalty for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Denny Hamlin pitted a second time during this period.
The field returned to green with 30 laps remaining in the first stage. Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell led the field back to green, continuing to show their team’s speed. With just two laps remaining in the stage, Hamlin spun from fourth place in Turn 4, but no caution came out as the field continued. The incident cost Hamlin vital stage points as the championship battle grows tighter each week. Briscoe claimed the stage win, with eight Chase drivers gaining stage points.
Stage Two stayed green with the exception of an early debris caution on Lap 93. Briscoe claimed his second stage win of the day. During the stage, Christopher Bell reported power steering issues beginning on Lap 133. Struggles continued for Hamlin as he remained one of three Chase drivers yet to score stage points before reporting fuel pressure issues prior to the restart.
Briscoe continued to lead the field into the final stage as he battled Bubba Wallace for the win. With 28 laps remaining, Kyle Larson joined the fight at the front after working his way through the field.
Larson passed Wallace with 11 laps remaining, setting up a final battle between the championship leader and Briscoe. Briscoe held off Larson through the closing laps, while Larson made contact with the outside wall and Tyler Reddick on the final lap to go sliding through the infield.
Briscoe held on to capture the South Point 400 and sweep both stages. Larson finished second, followed by Reddick, Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney. William Byron, Chase Elliott, Wallace, Shane van Gisbergen and Joey Logano completed the top 10.
The victory was a major playoff statement for Briscoe as the Cup Series reached the halfway point of the Chase. Larson’s runner-up finish helped him maintain the championship lead with forty points above the next driver, while Hamlin’s difficult afternoon left him needing to make up ground with five races remaining.
UP NEXT:
The NASCAR Cup Series continues The Chase as they return home to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 400 on Sunday, October 11th. The race will air on USA at 5:30pm EST.
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