2026 NASCAR South Point 400 (Las Vegas) Race Recap

By Adam Carabine

The Chase reached the halfway point this past weekend, with a return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the South Point 400.  Chase Briscoe exorcised last week’s demons and found his way to Victory Lane after a dominating day. Despite a late charge from Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick, he took the win and moved himself up into the Top 6 of the Chase Standings.     

South Point 400 Top 5 Finishers:

Top 5 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Las Vegas

What Happened in the South Point 400?

The race had some lulls along the way, but it shaped its way toward a very dramatic finish. Chase Briscoe dominated the day, leading 175 laps.  However, it was not a completely clean path to the finish for the 19 car.  As the laps ticked down, Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick were right on his tail, and Briscoe was navigating lapped traffic.  A dramatic final turn saw Larson hit the outside wall and collect Tyler Reddick, who spun toward pit road. Larson somehow managed to keep going and finish second, while Reddick crossed the finish line in third despite being down on pit road.  Briscoe, grateful for the drama behind him, crossed the finish line first, earning his second win on the season (after his win earlier at Chicagoland).

Denny Hamlin’s Chase odds took another hit, as he spun late in the first stage.  The damage wasn’t enough to end his day, but he struggled to find real speed again, and finished P16.  Combined with Kyle Larson’s P2 finish, that created a 40-point gap 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 South Point 400 Lap-by-Lap Recap

Lap 1:  Green flag to start the race.  Denny Hamlin on the pole, with teammate Ty Gibbs beside him.  Somehow Cody Ware spins right at the start-finish line, but he gets it collected and there is no caution.

Lap 8:  Another tribute for Kyle Busch, particularly touching as Busch was a Las Vegas native.  Fans waved flags, raised 8 fingers in the air, and celebrated the late driver.

Lap 20:  Kyle Larson has dropped a bunch of spots, he’s not pleased with his car.  The first six cars on the track are all Toyotas.

Lap 29:  Ryan Blaney has moved up 10 spots since the start, now he’s in 10th.  Sounds like green flag pit stops are coming up in about 10 or so laps.

Lap 34:  Larson is the first to pit, and they take 26 seconds to make some major adjustments on pit road.  That’ll set him back quite a bit, but they’re hopeful they’ve fixed some of the problems. 

Lap 35:  More takers on pit road, as no one wants to be left behind.

Lap 38:  Ty Gibbs gets a pass-through penalty for speeding on pit road.

Lap 39:  Larson’s long pit stop has now put him a lap down.

Lap 41:  Final few pitters here.  Tyler Reddick is reporting a voltage issue, and it might be affecting his cool suit.  (It’s notably the hottest race of the year)

Lap 42:  Denny Hamlin is back to the lead as the pit cycle is nearly fully done.  Chase Briscoe is P2, then Christopher Bell.

Lap 44:  CAUTION – Zane Smith spins on his own.

Lap 46:  Some pitters here, but not many as pit road opens under this caution.

Lap 50:  Green flag, Chase Briscoe and Christopher Bell on the front row.

Lap 78:  Denny Hamlin SPINS with three to go in the stage!  There’s no caution!

Lap 80:  Chase Briscoe wins Stage One, followed by 20, 12, 45, 2, 7, 23, 77, 48, 71.

Lap 82:  Slow stop on pit road for Austin Cindric as a couple of his pit crew trip over each other.  Tyler Reddick pitted multiple times during this stage break to replace a battery and try to diagnose his voltage issue.

Lap 88:  Stage Two is green.  Chase Briscoe and Daniel Suarez.

Lap 93:  CAUTION – Debris at the end of pit road.

Lap 96:  A fairly even split of drivers pitting and staying out here.

Lap 99:  Green flag, Briscoe and Joey Logano this time.

Lap 120:  The Top 5 right now – Briscoe, Bell, Blaney, Logano, and Chris Buescher.

Lap 126:  40 to go in Stage Two, and green flag pit stops are starting up again.  Brad Keselowski is the first one down pit road.

Lap 130:  Briscoe pits from the lead.

Lap 143:  Not everyone has pit yet, Briscoe is going to be the leader once the cycle is complete, but he’s still in 6th with fresh tires and fuel.

Lap 155:  Briscoe up to P5, as it looks like the others who haven’t pit are going to try to stretch this to the end of the stage.

Lap 158:  Briscoe’s fresh tires are making a huge difference.  He’s up to P2 now.

Lap 163:  Briscoe takes the lead back from Austin Cindric.

Lap 165:  Chase Briscoe wins Stage Two.  Followed by 2, 20, 12, 23, 22, 9, 24, 17, 5.

Lap 172:  Final stage is green, Briscoe and Blaney.  It’s a good restart for Blaney but Briscoe does get to keep the lead.

Lap 213:  Ty Gibbs is the first to pit.  There’s 55 left in the race, which is pushing it but doable.

Lap 216:  More and more pit road takers after Ty Gibbs opened the floodgates.  Briscoe pits from the lead too.

Lap 219:  Briscoe will hold serve on pit road.  The cycle isn’t complete yet, but he’ll retake the lead.  However, keep an eye on Bubba Wallace, who’s on his tail!

Lap 221:  Ryan Blaney pits quite a bit later than the others.  He’s losing time to their fresher tires, but maybe his tires will last longer at the end?  That’s the hope for him, at least.

Lap 227:  Christopher Bell leads, but still hasn’t pit.  Briscoe is right behind him.

Lap 228:  Both Briscoe and Wallace pass Bell, he’s still not pitting.

Lap 233:  35 to go, Bubba Wallace is only 0.2s behind Briscoe for the lead. 

Lap 238:  Wallace took a run at Briscoe for the lead.  Briscoe managed to block, and it slowed him down a bit.  Meanwhile, Kyle Larson is P3 and catching up.

Lap 242:  Briscoe now coming up to some lapped traffic.  A bunch of cars all stuck together which could be a challenge to navigate.  Wallace and Larson are lurking, waiting for their chance.

Lap 249:  The traffic is slowing Briscoe up! 

Lap 253:  Briscoe is still in the lead.  Wallace is 0.3s back, Larson is 0.7s back, and watch out for Tyler Reddick also making gains, he’s 1.4s back.

Lap 256:  Larson passes Bubba Wallace for P2!

Lap 258:  10 laps left.  The gap between first and fourth is only one second!  Briscoe still holds the lead.

Lap 259:  Reddick passes Bubba Wallace now, he’s up to P3. 

Lap 264:  Now Reddick is on Larson’s tail for P2 – is there enough time left?

Lap 265:  3 to go – Briscoe’s lead is 0.5 seconds.

Lap 266:  Now the Top Three are all nose to tail!

Lap 267:  Final lap!  As they come around the final corner, Larson pushes too hard and hits the outside wall.  He ends up coming down and cutting off Tyler Reddick’s nose, sending him spinning toward pit road. 

Chase Briscoe holds on and gets the victory!  Larson finishes P2, and Reddick, even though he’s now down on pit road, crosses the start-finish line in third. 

Chase Briscoe Earns His Second Win of the Year

This was Chase Briscoe’s second win of 2026 after a win at Chicagoland earlier this year.  This was his 7th win of his Cup Series career, in his 211th start.  It was also his first win at Las Vegas. 

Briscoe moves up to 6th in the Chase Standings.  He’s still 84 points behind leader Kyle Larson, but has some positive momentum on his side. 

What's Next?  

Next weekend is the sixth race of The Chase, as NASCAR returns home to Charlotte Motor Speedway.  Originally, this race was to be held on the Roval, but NASCAR swapped it for the oval earlier this year.  Daniel Suarez won the Coca-Cola 600 earlier this year at Charlotte.