2026 NASCAR Bank of America 400 (Charlotte) Race Recap

By Adam Carabine

The second half of The Chase began this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series ‘played a home game’ at Charlotte Motor Speedway for the Bank of America 400.  Chase Briscoe repeated his winning ways, visiting Victory Lane for the second straight week.  Christopher Bell made a late push and nearly upset the 19, but Briscoe held on for the win.   

Bank of America 400 Top 5 Finishers:

Top 5 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Charlotte

What Happened in the Bank of America 400?

The Cup Series’ fall return to Charlotte Motor Speedway had some thrills and spills on Sunday.  With practice and qualifying once again rained out, the starting lineup was set by the NASCAR metric, meaning Kyle Larson started on the pole. He looked strong early, and essentially stayed up front all the way until winning Stage One. 

In Stage Two, Christopher Bell and his team showed some mettle. A mixture of savvy car adjustments and some well-timed assertiveness behind the wheel had Bell taking over the lead. 

Chase Briscoe was in the mix all day, but didn’t seem to have enough speed to contend.  That changed in the final stage, as a fast pit stop put him in a great position to lead the race.  With a caution coming out with around 60 to go, Briscoe took the lead and kept it until the very end.  Christopher Bell charged late and nearly got him off the final corner, but Briscoe held on for a photo finish.

Bell was notably frustrated after the race, but he’ll be able to take solace in the fact that his P2 finish moved him two points behind Denny Hamlin for P3 in the Championship Standings.  Hamlin finished one spot ahead of leader Kyle Larson, but Larson had him beat on stage points.  The gap from Larson to Denny is now 49 points in the hunt for the Championship.

You can check out the full results of the Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Craftsman Truck Series races here.

For a more comprehensive look, stick around to see how it all shook down, lap-by-lap!

2026 Bank of America 400 Lap-by-Lap Recap

Lap 1:  Green flag.  It’s Kyle Larson on pole, and last week’s winner Chase Briscoe beside him on the front row.

Lap 5:  Tyler Reddick moves around Briscoe for P2.  Larson’s lead is already 1 second.

Lap 12:  Corey Heim in the 67 has already moved up 11 spots since the start.

Lap 25:  Reddick is making some gains, cutting Larson's lead from 1.4 seconds to 0.9.

Lap 31:  Now Austin Cindric has caught up to Reddick and they’re battling for P2.

Lap 32:  Cindric takes the spot from Reddick.

Lap 36:  CAUTION – Competition Caution after practice and qualifying were rained out. 

Lap 38:  Larson wins the race off of pit road. 

Lap 41:  Back to green – It’s Larson and Briscoe again.  There’s a big stack-up in Turn One.  Initially it looks like a masterful save by Ty Gibbs, but he sustained too much damage after hitting the wall, and he ends up spinning, taking out Brad Keselowski with him.  CAUTION comes out again.

Lap 47:  Green flag – Larson and Briscoe.  Bubba Wallace, seemingly out of nowhere, makes it three-wide and takes the lead!

Lap 59:  Bubba had a fast short-run car, but Larson has caught up to him.  A quick battle, but Larson retakes the lead.

Lap 77:  CAUTION – Big wreck!  Alex Bowman got loose while below Bubba Wallace, overcorrected, and spun up, taking out Wallace with a huge hit.  William Byron was an innocent bystander and couldn’t get checked up in time.  The three of them would end up with DNFs after this incident.

Because the caution came out with 4 to go in Stage One, this ends the stage.  Kyle Larson wins, followed by 19, 20, 2, 45, 7, 67, 77, 17, 12.

Lap 87:  Back to green to start Stage Two.  It’s the Larson and Briscoe show again up front.

Lap 108:  Christopher Bell takes the lead!

Lap 117:  CAUTION – John Hunter Nemechek goes around on his own – looks like a flat tire.

Lap 118:  Not a ton of damage at first for JHN, but he drove his car back to pit road too quickly, the tire came apart, and tore up the right front of the car. 

Lap 123:  Green flag – Bell and Larson.  Hamlin gives Larson the business and gets by him for P3.  Larson fades back after the contact, but seems no worse for wear.

Lap 138:  Bell’s lead is up to 2 seconds now.  Ryan Blaney behind him, then Hamlin, Reddick and Larson.

Lap 165:  Bell wins Stage Two – Followed by 12, 11, 5, 45, 2, 19, 21, 9, 77.

Lap 167:  Speeding penalty for Chase Elliott, he’ll restart in the rear.

Lap 173:  The final stage is GREEN.  Blaney and Larson on the front row.  Bell decisively takes the lead from P3 on the restart.

Lap 180:  It’s still Bell leading.  Then Briscoe, Blaney, Larson and Hamlin.

Lap 200:  Briscoe is making some time up on Bell in the lead.  Bell had a 2 second lead, but now it’s 1.1s. Briscoe’s making quick work riding the fence.

Lap 205:  CAUTION - Gray Gaulding in the 66 spins after getting his nose cut off by Tyler Reddick.

Lap 207:  Rough stop for Ryan Blaney on pit road, he loses five spots.

Lap 211:  Green flag – an amazing pit stop by Chase Briscoe’s team puts him out front, and then Bell beside him.

Lap 218:  50 to go.  Briscoe with Bell right behind him.  Then it’s Hamlin, Larson and Reddick rounding out the Top 5.

Lap 228:  It seems like Bell’s car is faster, but he’s not able to make the pass on Briscoe who is defending well.

Lap 233:  Briscoe’s car might be better on the long run – he’s extending his lead now.

Lap 243:  Briscoe’s lead is now 2 seconds over Bell.

Lap 245:  Both Bell and Reddick are struggling with loose cars.  Bell has lost almost another second to the leader, while Reddick has fallen to P7.

Lap 246:  Ryan Blaney is the fastest car on track.  But with 22 laps left, and 6 seconds between him and the lead, it’s going to be tough to make up the time fast enough.

Lap 255:  Briscoe’s now having a few difficulties managing lapped traffic.  With a healthy lead over Bell, he might just be trying to save his equipment. His lead has fallen to 2 seconds again.

Lap 259:  Huge wobble by Denny Hamlin, Blaney ends up capitalizing and taking P3 from him.

Lap 261:  Josh Berry on an impressive run takes P5 from Larson.

Lap 266:  Bell is now a second back – is there enough time?  A lap and a half!

Lap 267:  CRAZY FINISH.  We would later learn that Briscoe had a right front tire coming apart.  Christopher Bell just kept gaining and gaining, suddenly they were side-by-side coming off of Turn 4 on the last lap.  Bell unintentionally made contact and the two cars got sideways for a minute.  It was a photo finish for the two drivers, with Briscoe ahead by a nose!

Chase Briscoe holds on and gets the victory, his second in a row! 

Chase Briscoe Wins Second Straight Race, Earns His Third Win of the Year

This was Chase Briscoe’s 3rd win of 2026 after a win at Chicagoland earlier this year, and a win last weekend in Las Vegas.  This was his 8th win of his Cup Series career, in his 212th start.  It was also his first win at Charlotte. 

Briscoe moves from 6th to 4th in the Chase Standings.  He was 84 points behind leader Kyle Larson, but gained nineteen points on him after this second win in a row.

What's Next?  

Next weekend is the seventh race of The Chase, as NASCAR heads out west to visit Phoenix Raceway.  Ryan Blaney won the spring race there earlier this year.  This is the first time in a while that the fall Phoenix race won’t be the final race of the year as this year’s finale has been moved to Homestead-Miami.