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Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images By Adam Carabine Now that we are fully in The Chase, we’ll be continuing Power Rankings for all of the Chase Drivers each week leading up to the Championship, no matter where they lie within our formula. Power Rankings now include our forecasted point totals, and where we see drivers finishing in this year's standings. While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture. StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs, with the heaviest emphasis placed on data from the last five races. Let's look at our playoff drivers: Ryan Preece – This week: 18 – Last week: 20 Points Forecast: 2,213 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 16th Chris Buescher – This week: 17 – Last week: 19 Points Forecast: 2,218 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 15th William Byron – This week: 15 – Last week: 13 Points Forecast: 2,245 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 13th Daniel Suarez – This week: 13 – Last week: 15 Points Forecast: 2,234 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 14th Ty Gibbs – This week: 12 – Last week: 10 Points Forecast: 2,303 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 8th Bubba Wallace – This week: 11 – Last week: 11 Points Forecast: 2,271 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 11th Chase Elliott – This week: 10 – Last week: 9 Points Forecast: 2,286 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 10th Carson Hocevar – This week: 9 – Last week: 9 Points Forecast: 2,268 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 12th Austin Cindric – This week: 8 – Last week: 7 Points Forecast: 2,299 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 9th Tyler Reddick – This week: 7 – Last week: 8 Points Forecast: 2,380 Championship Forecast: 0.28% Finishing Position Forecast: 7th Denny Hamlin – This week: 6 – Last week: 5 Points Forecast: 2,414 Championship Forecast: 6.33% Finishing Position Forecast: 4th Joey Logano – This week: 5 – Last week: 2 Points Forecast: 2,400 Championship Forecast: 2.09% Finishing Position Forecast: 6th Chase Briscoe – This week: 4 – Last week: 3 Points Forecast: 2,420 Championship Forecast: 9.40% Finishing Position Forecast: 3rd Christopher Bell – This week: 3 – Last week: 4 Points Forecast: 2,436 Championship Forecast: 25.34% Finishing Position Forecast: 3rd Ryan Blaney – This week: 2 – Last week: 6 Points Forecast: 2,407 Championship Forecast: 3.91% Finishing Position Forecast: 5th Kyle Larson – This week: 1 – Last week: 1 Points Forecast: 2,448 Championship Forecast: 50.62% Finishing Position Forecast: 1st Biggest Movers Austin Dillon – This week: 29 – Last week: 22 Falls 7 places Zane Smith – This week: 23 – Last week: 33 Gains 10 places Rest of the List 14. Josh Berry LW: 16 +2 15. Ross Chastain LW: 14 -1 19. SVG LW: 19 -- 20. Brad Keselowski LW: 17 -3 21. Todd Gilliland LW: 25 +4 22. AJ Allmendinger LW: 21 -1 23. Zane Smith LW: 33 +10 24. Noah Gragson LW: 30 +6 25. Erik Jones LW: 26 +1 26. Michael McDowell LW: 24 -2 27. Alex Bowman LW: 23 -4 28. Riley Herbst LW: 31 +3 29. Austin Dillon LW: 22 -7 30. JH Nemechek LW: 27 -3 31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 29 -2 32. Connor Zilisch LW: 28 -4 33. Cole Custer LW: 32 -1 34. Ty Dillon LW: 35 +1 35. Cody Ware LW: 34 -1

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images By Adam Carabine The Chase continued this weekend, as the NASCAR Cup Series headed out west to Phoenix Raceway for the Freeway Insurance 500. It was a calamity for the Championship leader Kyle Larson, a disappointment for Denny Hamlin, and a big weight off of Tyler Reddick’s shoulders as he returned to Victory Lane for the first time since April. Freeway Insurance 500 Top 5 Finishers: 1. Tyler Reddick 2. Ryan Blaney 3. Chase Elliott 4. Christopher Bell 5. Corey Heim Top 5 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Phoenix 1. Kyle Larson 2,370 2. Christopher Bell 2,365 3. Chase Briscoe 2,346 4. Denny Hamlin 2,339 5. Ryan Blaney 2,330 What Happened in the Freeway Insurance 500? Forget what you thought you knew about this year’s Championship Standings, as Phoenix Raceway served up a giant question mark at the Freeway Insurance 500 on Sunday. Championship leader Kyle Larson’s struggles began in qualifying, leading him to start the day in 22nd. The day went pretty sour from there for the 5 team. After missing bonus points at the end of both stages, he was finally put out of his misery on lap 283, as a blown right front tire had him hitting the wall and ending his day early. While he still has the lead in the Championship, he’s only five points up on Christopher Bell now. Denny Hamlin would have loved a day to capitalize on Larson’s mistakes, but a costly pit road speeding penalty had him finish a lap down. Joey Logano looked strong early, and he went on to sweep both stages. Unfortunately, some poor pit road performance took him out of contention late. A smart pit call by Tyler Reddick and his team had him starting fourth on the final restart. He had two fresh tires, but the three cars in front of him had stayed out on 9-lap older tires. He claimed he didn’t get the best jump on the restart, but there was a hole there, and his fresh tires took him right up to the front. He held on to win for the first time since April, earning his sixth win on the 2026 season. 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 Freeway Insurance 500 Lap-by-Lap Recap Lap 1: Ryan Blaney won the pole and starts the race with teammate Joey Logano next to him. Lap 5: Kyle Larson, who started 22nd, has made up 5 spots already. Lap 16: Larson has stalled out now in 17th – hasn’t moved in over ten laps. Christopher Bell moves into third after passing Chase Briscoe. Lap 31: Keep an eye on Josh Berry, he’s now up four spots, to P5. Lap 44: CAUTION – Incident on track with Riley Herbst and Michael McDowell. It seems like they were at each other’s throats for a few laps, and finally the frustration bubbled over. Herbst tried to do a bump-and-run on McDowell. McDowell spun, but bounced off the wall and back into Herbst, causing them both to wreck. Lap 46: Mixture of two-tire and four-tire stops on pit road here. Leader Blaney was one of the few to take four and lost a ton of spots under this caution. Lap 51: Back to green, now it’s Denny Hamlin and William Byron at the front. Lap 53: Joey Logano, who took four tires as well, makes quick work of the leaders and gets to the front of the pack. Lap 60: Logano wins Stage One, followed by 11, 20, 12, 19, 24, 9, 1, 45, 21. (Notably no stage points for Kyle Larson) Lap 63: Logano wins the race off pit road and keeps the lead. Lap 67: Green flag, but Christopher Bell has a great restart and takes the lead! Lap 80: The weather is starting to shift. It’s getting warmer, the sun’s coming out. This could impact the way these cars handle. Lap 92: Ryan Blaney has made his way up to P2 with his four fresh tires from the last pit stop. Bell still leads. Lap 103: Now Logano takes P2 away from Blaney. Larson update – still in 22nd. Lap 113: Blaney is having some tire issues, thinks his tire is coming apart. He’s fading back, and is passed by Josh Berry. Lap 117: Blaney has now fallen to fifth as he’s passed by Chase Briscoe. Lap 120: Green flag pit stops starting. Blaney says he can’t hold onto it anymore. Lap 123: Bell pits from the lead. Lap 125: Brad Keselowski spins at the entrance of pit road after making contact with Connor Zilisch’s bumper! He manages to get it straight again, and it stays green. Lap 128: Logano now pits from the lead. Lap 129: Bell has made his way to the front again after the pit cycle has completed. Lap 151: Issues for Erik Jones, he’s on pit road with damage, but again it stays green. Lap 155: Josh Berry is up to second now! Lap 157: CAUTION – Austin Dillon has hit the wall. Lap 159: Great pit stop by the 22 team, and Logano gets the lead off pit road. Lap 161: Larson had gone a lap down, but takes the wave-around here to get back on the lead lap. Lap 164: Green flag – Logano and Bell. But pretty quickly Chase Briscoe takes P2. Lap 178: Bubba Wallace is making a charge now, he’s passed Blaney for P5. Lap 185: Joey Logano holds the lead to sweep the stages! He wins Stage Two, followed by 19, 20, 21, 23, 12, 45, 11, 34, 9. Lap 189: Slow stops on pit road for both Bell and Blaney, Logano holds serve and keeps the lead. Lap 194: Green flag – Logano and Briscoe on the front row. Lap 203: Bubba Wallace now gets P2, his car looks fast. Lap 209: Logano reporting a bit of a vibration from the lead. Lap 221: Denny Hamlin has a tire going down! He limps it to pit road, and it stays green. Lap 223: CAUTION – Cody Ware also has a tire go down but he hits the wall hard. Lap 224: Originally it looked like Hamlin might be the free pass here after pitting a few laps before Ware’s crash, but it turns out he SPED on pit road. He’ll still be a lap down now and have to start at the tail end. Lap 227: A slow stop for Joey Logano, he loses four spots on pit road. Bubba Wallace and the 23 team capitalize and take the lead. Lap 231: Green flag – Bubba and Chase Briscoe. Lap 250: It’s Bubba Wallace leading, then Chase Briscoe, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Blaney rounding out the top 5. Lap 257: Now Joey Logano reporting a voltage issue? Could be an alternator problem. Lap 263: Kyle Larson is the first to hit pit road, green flag stops starting! Lap 270: Many others have come to pit road now, and leader Bubba Wallace comes this lap. Lap 275: Ty Gibbs had made his way to the lead but now pits, essentially ending the cycle. Bubba Wallace gets back to the lead. Lap 278: Ty Dillon with a tire down now, he makes it to pit road with no caution. Lap 279: Now it’s John Hunter Nemechek’s turn! Great job by these guys to limp it to pit road with a blown tire. Still no caution. Lap 283: CAUTION – Spoke too soon. Kyle Larson’s day goes from bad to worse as he also has a tire go down. He hits the outside wall and this will end his day prematurely. Lap 285: Pit road is open. Bunch of two-tire stops again, as we’re now only 28 laps to the end of the race. Tyler Reddick takes two and he wins the race off of pit road, though Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott and Ty Gibbs all stayed out on old tires. Bubba Wallace is busted for SPEEDING on pit road and will start at the rear. Lap 291: A strange moment where NASCAR reportedly miscommunicated some penalty information and the restart is pushed back a few laps. They all have to choose their lanes one more time. Lap 294: Finally green again, It’s Briscoe and Elliott on the front row on older tires. Lap 296: Tyler Reddick makes it four-wide at one point to get to P2, and then stalks down leader Briscoe to take the lead himself! Lap 302: 11 to go. Reddick leads Blaney by 1.25s. Then it’s Elliott, Bell, and Corey Heim. Lap 304: Briscoe’s older tires gamble hasn’t paid off, he’s faded back to P7. Lap 308: 5 to go, and Blaney is starting to make up some ground on Reddick, but it might not be enough. The lead is now one second. Lap 312: Reddick hangs on and WINS the race! Tyler Reddick Keeps His Championship Hopes Alive, Wins Sixth of the Year This was Tyler Reddick’s sixth win in 2026, and the 14th of his Cup Series career. This win comes in his 251st Cup Start. He’s now only 56 points back from the Championship lead, though that may be a tall order with only three races left on the schedule. Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin were the two losers on the day. Larson maintains his spot atop the standings for now, but his lead has shrunk to just five points after the DNF. There are now six drivers within 56 points of Larson. Denny Hamlin moved down two spots in the standings to fourth after the speeding penalty later in the race had him finish a lap down. What's Next? Next weekend is the eighth race of The Chase, as NASCAR visits what is likely to be the biggest wildcard of this year’s postseason, Talladega Superspeedway. Talladega was the site of Carson Hocevar’s first Cup Series win earlier this spring. A lot can happen at the drafting tracks, and this is the last one of this season. Will the standings get shaken up even more?

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Series Results from the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 at Phoenix Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Logo NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Results from the Timberland Pro 200 at Phoenix Timberland Pro 200 Logo NASCAR Cup Series Results from the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Freeway Insurance 500 Logo

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of Stats Saturday. This weekend the Cup Series travels to Avondale, Arizona for the Freeway Insurance 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix is a 1-mile oval with a signature dogleg just past the start/finish line. It served as the Championship Race for the past six years, though that has changed in 2026. The track opened in 1964, but the Cup Series didn’t start racing there until 1988. Alan Kulwicki won the first race there in this series that year. Ryan Blaney won this race last year, and also won earlier here in the spring. Sunday’s race will be 312 laps long (for a total of 312 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 60 – 185 – 312. Pit road speed is 45 mph, and the caution vehicle runs at 50 mph. The fuel window is 95-105 laps, though tires will likely wear before that. This year, the NASCAR Cup Series has run 8,662 laps, for 11,628.29 miles so far this season. No drivers have completed all of them, but Denny Hamlin is the closest, running just two laps down. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Kyle Larson 10.04 over 24 races (1 win) Denny Hamlin 10.36 over 42 races (2 wins) Ryan Blaney 10.43 over 21 races (2 wins) William Byron 11.88 over 17 races (1 win) Christopher Bell 12.08 over 13 races (2 wins) Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Cody Ware 29.70 over 10 races Connor Zilisch 29.00 over 1 race Zane Smith 27.33 over 6 races Michael McDowell 27.06 over 31 races Riley Herbst 26.00 over 3 races Phoenix is a 1-mile track, and for the purposes of this article it is looked as a short track. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Joey Logano 11.37 over 204 races (15 wins) Christopher Bell 11.77 over 73 races (7 wins) Denny Hamlin 11.84 over 239 races (24 wins) Ryan Blaney 12.49 over 121 races (7 wins) Chase Elliott 12.55 over 117 races (5 wins) Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Cody Ware 31.50 over 48 races Riley Herbst 28.07 over 20 races Michael McDowell 26.19 over 181 races Ty Dillon 25.33 over 93 races Zane Smith 24.66 over 34 races Kevin Harvick is the winningest driver at Phoenix, having won there 9 times. Jimmie Johnson and Joey Logano are tied for the second-most wins, with 4 each. Drivers who ran their first Cup Series race at Phoenix: No One -- Drivers who earned their first Cup Series win at Phoenix: Chase Briscoe 40th Start Drivers whose most recent Cup Series Victory was at Phoenix: No One -- Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix: Brad Keselowski (has won at 17 other tracks) Tyler Reddick (has won at 11 other tracks) Alex Bowman (has won at 8 other tracks) Chris Buescher (has won at 6 other tracks) SVG (has won at 5 other tracks) Based on average finish, no drivers list Phoenix as their BEST or WORST track. Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers: Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Ty Gibbs +388 pts Daniel Suarez +340 pts Austin Cindric +245 pts Carson Hocevar +232 pts Denny Hamlin +229 pts Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Alex Bowman -301 pts (missed 4 races with vertigo) William Byron -289 pts Ross Chastain -180 pts Chase Elliott -158 pts JH Nemechek -109 pts Next, let’s look at who’s having their best and worst career year by Average Finish: Best Career Year Tyler Reddick 12.06 Ty Gibbs 12.94 Daniel Suarez 15.22 Austin Cindric 15.75 Carson Hocevar 16.13 SVG 18.34 Riley Herbst 22.69 Worst Career Year Cole Custer 24.78 Zane Smith 22.44 The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position. (55 for 1st, 35 for 2nd, 34 for 3rd, etc.) No stage points or playoff points count. Manufacturer Standings Toyota 1,412 Chevrolet 1,264 Ford 1,191 Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis: Chartered Team Standings Joe Gibbs 1,246 Penske 1,126 23XI 1,124 Hendrick 1,074 Spire 919 RFK 898 Trackhouse 844 Front Row 694 Legacy MC 637 RCR 593 Kaulig 580 Wood Bros 474 Hyak 437 Haas Factory 403 Rick Ware 231 At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions. Here are the leaders this year: Stage Point Leaders Ryan Blaney 275 Kyle Larson 271 Denny Hamlin 252 Christopher Bell 235 Ty Gibbs 231 Chase Briscoe 214 Joey Logano 188 Tyler Reddick 188 Austin Cindric 164 Bubba Wallace 148 Milestone Watch Josh Berry Looking for his 10th Career Top 5 Carson Hocevar Looking for his 10th Career Top 5 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Looking for his 30th Career Top 5 Ty Gibbs Looking for his 30th Career Top 5 Ryan Blaney Looking for his 190th Career Top 10 Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks: Winless Streaks Cole Custer 165 races Erik Jones 149 races Michael McDowell 116 races Brad Keselowski 91 races AJ Allmendinger 88 races Chris Buescher 76 races Alex Bowman 76 races Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 73 races Josh Berry 63 races Austin Cindric 58 races The race begins Sunday, October 18th at 3:00 pm EST (12:00 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, it’s time for another edition of O’Reilly Stats. Here we break down the upcoming race and let you know who to watch for. This weekend the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series travels to Avondale, Arizona for the Timberland Pro 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix is a 1-mile oval with a signature dogleg just past the start/finish line. It served as the Championship Race for the past six years, though that has changed in 2026. The track opened in 1964, but the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series didn’t race there until 1999. Jeff Gordon won the first race there in this series that year. Justin Allgaier won the race here earlier this year. Saturday’s race will be 200 laps long (for a total of 200 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 45 – 90 – 200. Pit road speed is 45 mph, and the caution vehicle runs at 50 mph. The fuel window is 88-95 laps, but tires will likely wear before that. This year, the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series has run 4,879 laps, for 6,727.73 miles so far. No driver has completed 100% of all laps, but Brennan Poole is 4 laps down. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Jesse Love 4.00 over 5 races (1 win) Sammy Smith 8.75 over 8 races (1 win) Justin Allgaier 9.16 over 32 races (3 wins) Sheldon Creed 9.30 over 10 races Taylor Gray 9.33 over 3 races Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Lavar Scott 33.00 over 1 race Josh Bilicki 27.67 over 9 races Dean Thompson 26.33 over 3 races Kyle Sieg 25.40 over 10 races Ryan Ellis 24.88 over 8 races Phoenix is a 1-mile track, and for the purposes of this article it is looked as a short track. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Taylor Gray 11.43 over 21 races (1 win) Justin Allgaier 12.04 over 166 races (13 wins) Sammy Smith 12.08 over 38 races (2 wins) Sheldon Creed 12.73 over 44 races (1 win) Harrison Burton 13.24 over 41 races (1 win) Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Josh Bilicki 29.37 over 37 races Lavar Scott 26.93 over 10 races Blaine Perkins 26.43 over 38 races Ryan Ellis 26.37 over 55 races Kyle Sieg 24.51 over 40 races Kyle Busch is the winningest driver in this series at Phoenix. He won 11 times here. Carl Edwards had four wins. As far as current drivers go, Justin Allgaier has three. Drivers who ran their first O’Reilly’s Series race at Phoenix: Ryan Sieg 2013 – P21 Blaine Perkins 2021 – P24 Parker Retzlaff 2022 – P36 Drivers who earned their first O’Reilly’s Series win at Phoenix: Sammy Smith 13th Start Drivers whose most recent O’Reilly Series Victory was at Phoenix: No One -- Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix: Austin Hill (has won at 8 other tracks) Sam Mayer (has won at 6 other tracks) Harrison Burton (has won at 4 other tracks) Corey Day (has won at 4 other tracks) Sheldon Creed (has won at 3 other tracks) Based on average finish, no driver lists Phoenix as their BEST or WORST track. Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers: Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Sheldon Creed +303 pts Justin Allgaier +180 pts William Sawalich +171 pts Jeremy Clements +71 pts Sammy Smith +68 pts Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Harrison Burton -245 pts Jeb Burton -200 pts Sam Mayer -133 pts Ryan Ellis -89 pts Dean Thompson -63 pts Next, let’s look at who’s having their best and worst career year by Average Finish: Best Career Year Sheldon Creed 9.41 Sammy Smith 12.28 Parker Retzlaff 12.93 William Sawalich 16.28 Anthony Alfredo 17.86 Dean Thompson 18.69 Blaine Perkins 23.14 Worst Career Year Ryan Ellis 27.10 Kyle Sieg 24.38 Jeb Burton 22.07 Harrison Burton 20.76 Rookie of the Year Battle Patrick Staropoli 385 Lavar Scott 309 The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position. (55 for 1st, 35 for 2nd, 34 for 3rd, etc.) No stage points or playoff points count. Manufacturer Standings Chevrolet 1,534 Toyota 995 Ford 202 Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis: Chartered Team Standings JR Motorsports 1,269 Joe Gibbs 992 RCR 936 Haas Factory 920 Viking 791 Hendrick 776 RSS 677 Sam Hunt 653 Jordan Anderson 646 Alpha Prime 576 SS-Green Light 501 DGM 475 Peterson 460 Jeremy Clements 448 Big Machine 385 Young’s 385 Joey Gase 175 At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions. Here are the leaders this year: Stage Point Leaders Justin Allgaier 373 #1 Car 320 #88 Car 252 Jesse Love 244 Sam Mayer 229 Corey Day 200 Sheldon Creed 185 Brent Crews 167 Austin Hill 148 Taylor Gray 146 Milestone Watch Sammy Smith Looking for his 30th Career Top 5 Sam Mayer Looking for his 90th Career Top 10 Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks: Winless Streaks Jeremy Clements 138 races Jeb Burton 119 races Harrison Burton 96 races Sammy Smith 52 races Sam Mayer 40 races William Sawalich 21 races Taylor Gray 19 races Austin Hill 11 races Brandon Jones 9 races Justin Allgaier 8 races The race begins Saturday, October 17th at 7:30 pm EST (4:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

By Adam Carabine Happy weekend everyone, you might be familiar with the Cup Series’ Stats Saturday article, but this year we are branching it out to the Top 3 Series. It’s now time for another Truck Stats Thursday. This weekend the Craftsman Truck Series travels to Avondale, Arizona for the Zero Carbon Bioethanol 150 Powered by POET at Phoenix Raceway. Phoenix is a 1-mile oval with a signature dogleg just past the start/finish line. It served as the Championship Race for the past six years, though that has changed in 2026. The track opened in 1964, but the Truck Series didn’t exist until 1995. Mike Skinner won the first race there in this series that year. Corey Heim won this race last year. Friday’s race will be 150 laps long (for a total of 150 miles), with stage breaks occurring at 45 – 95 – 150. The fuel window is 72-78 laps, though tires will likely wear before that. Pit road speed is 45 mph, while the Caution Car runs at 50 mph. This year, the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series has run 3,305 laps, for 3,931.76 miles so far this season. No driver has completed all of them, but Gio Ruggiero is the closest, 11 laps behind. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Chandler Smith 3.60 over 5 races (1 win) Kaden Honeycutt 6.75 over 4 races Layne Riggs 9.00 over 3 races Stewart Friesen 9.44 over 9 races (1 win) Ty Majeski 9.60 over 5 races (1 win) Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Phoenix: Kris Wright 32.00 over 1 race Gio Ruggiero 31.00 over 1 race Dawson Sutton 27.00 over 2 races Frankie Muniz 26.50 over 2 races Cole Butcher 23.00 over 1 race Phoenix is a 1-mile track, and for the purposes of this article it is looked as a short track. Top 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Layne Riggs 6.17 over 29 races (6 wins) Grant Enfinger 8.84 over 81 races (5 wins) Ty Majeski 9.78 over 45 races (5 wins) Chandler Smith 9.98 over 40 races (4 wins) Kaden Honeycutt 10.31 over 31 races (1 win) Bottom 5 Career Average Finishers at Short Tracks: Frankie Muniz 28.56 over 15 races Kris Wright 26.98 over 19 races Cole Butcher 22.05 over 9 races Dawson Sutton 20.46 over 18 races Tanner Gray 18.58 over 56 races Drivers who ran their first Truck Series race at Phoenix: Ty Majeski 2019 – P11 Drivers who WON their first Truck Series race at Phoenix: No One -- Drivers whose most recent Truck Series Victory was at Phoenix: Ty Majeski 2024 Notable drivers who have not won at Phoenix: Grant Enfinger (has won at 12 other tracks) Layne Riggs (has won at 10 other tracks) Ben Rhodes (has won at 7 other tracks) Kaden Honeycutt (has won at 3 other tracks) Justin Haley (has won at 3 other tracks) Based on average finish, Ty Majeski lists Phoenix as as his BEST track, while Gio Ruggiero lists it as his WORST. Based on their point pace, let’s have a look at how this season is comparing to last season for drivers: Drivers Faring Better than in 2025 Kaden Honeycutt +214 pts Layne Riggs +172 pts Stewart Friesen +144 pts Chandler Smith +77 pts Andres Perez de Lara +24 pts Drivers Faring Worse than in 2025 Tyler Ankrum -237 pts Ty Majeski -179 pts Grant Enfinger -144 pts Daniel Hemric -111 pts Tanner Gray -89 pts Next, let’s look at who’s having their best and worst career year by Average Finish: Best Career Year Kaden Honeycutt 8.10 Worst Career Year Frankie Muniz 26.48 Dawson Sutton 20.76 Andres Perez de Lara 19.05 Grant Enfinger 17.62 Justin Haley 16.52 Ty Majeski 16.19 Ben Rhodes 15.90 Gio Ruggiero 12.48 Rookie of the Year Battle Brenden Queen 364 Cole Butcher 258 Mini Tyrell 256 The Manufacturer Standings are calculated by awarding points to the highest finisher for each manufacturer according to their finishing position. (55 for 1st, 35 for 2nd, 34 for 3rd, etc.) No stage points or playoff points count. Manufacturer Standings Ford 898 Toyota 844 Chevrolet 797 RAM 545 Here is the same formula, but used on a team-vs-team basis: Chartered Team Standings Front Row 1,277 TRICON 1,210 Spire 998 ThorSport 994 McAnally-Hilgemann 983 Niece 882 Kaulig RAM 830 CR7 649 Halmar Friesen 638 Rackley WAR 520 Reaume Bros 459 Freedom Racing 314 At each stage break, the Top 10 drivers are awarded points based on their finishing positions. Here are the leaders this year: Stage Point Leaders Layne Riggs 273 Kaden Honeycutt 235 Chandler Smith 177 #77 Truck 161 Ty Majeski 145 Christian Eckes 144 #1 Truck 133 #7 Truck 123 Gio Ruggiero 106 Grant Enfinger 102 Milestone Watch Christian Eckes Looking for his 10th Career Truck Series Win Chandler Smith Looking for his 10th Career Truck Series Win Kaden Honeycutt Looking for his 20th Career Top 5 Chandler Smith Looking for his 40th Career Top 5 Ben Rhodes Looking for his 70th Career Top 5 Jake Garcia Looking for his 30th Career Top 10 Justin Haley Looking for his 40th Career Top 10 Stewart Friesen Looking for his 100th Career Top 10 Here are the top 10 longest active winless streaks: Winless Streaks Ben Rhodes 81 races Ty Majeski 46 races Daniel Hemric 41 races Tyler Ankrum 39 races Justin Haley 26 races Christian Eckes 24 races Stewart Friesen 24 races Gio Ruggiero 23 races Grant Enfinger 7 races Chandler Smith 6 races The race begins Friday, October 16th at 7:30 pm EST (4:30 pm PST) – Enjoy the race everyone! Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @RacingRefresh Is there an error? Is there a stat missing that you’d like to see? Let us know!

Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images By Adam Carabine Now that we are fully in The Chase, we’ll be continuing Power Rankings for all of the Chase Drivers each week leading up to the Championship, no matter where they lie within our formula. Power Rankings now include our forecasted point totals, and where we see drivers finishing in this year's standings. While finishing position is important, it’s not always indicative of the full picture. StatChat rankings are determined using a large number of statistical inputs, with the heaviest emphasis placed on data from the last five races. Let's look at our playoff drivers: Ryan Preece – This week: 20 – Last week: 16 Points Forecast: 2,211 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 16th Chris Buescher – This week: 19 – Last week: 22 Points Forecast: 2,221 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 15th Daniel Suarez – This week: 15 – Last week: 19 Points Forecast: 2,222 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 14th William Byron – This week: 13 – Last week: 12 Points Forecast: 2,246 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 13th Chase Elliott – This week: 12 – Last week: 13 Points Forecast: 2,268 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 10th Bubba Wallace – This week: 11 – Last week: 8 Points Forecast: 2,264 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 11th Ty Gibbs – This week: 10 – Last week: 10 Points Forecast: 2,298 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 9th Carson Hocevar – This week: 9 – Last week: 11 Points Forecast: 2,261 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 12th Tyler Reddick – This week: 8 – Last week: 9 Points Forecast: 2,339 Championship Forecast: 0.002% Finishing Position Forecast: 7th Austin Cindric – This week: 7 – Last week: 7 Points Forecast: 2,300 Championship Forecast: 0.00% Finishing Position Forecast: 8th Ryan Blaney – This week: 6 – Last week: 6 Points Forecast: 2,385 Championship Forecast: 0.51% Finishing Position Forecast: 5th Denny Hamlin – This week: 5 – Last week: 4 Points Forecast: 2,420 Championship Forecast: 6.07% Finishing Position Forecast: 2nd Christopher Bell – This week: 4 – Last week: 3 Points Forecast: 2,412 Championship Forecast: 3.33% Finishing Position Forecast: 3rd Chase Briscoe – This week: 3 – Last week: 5 Points Forecast: 2,400 Championship Forecast: 1.62% Finishing Position Forecast: 4th Joey Logano – This week: 2 – Last week: 2 Points Forecast: 2,372 Championship Forecast: 0.16% Finishing Position Forecast: 6th Kyle Larson – This week: 1 – Last week: 1 Points Forecast: 2,472 Championship Forecast: 87.60% Finishing Position Forecast: 1st Biggest Movers Zane Smith – This week: 33 – Last week: 28 Falls 5 places Alex Bowman – This week: 23 – Last week: 18 Falls 5 places Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – This week: 29 – Last week: 33 Gains 4 places Austin Dillon – This week: 22 – Last week: 26 Gains 4 places Daniel Suarez – This week: 15 – Last week: 19 Gains 4 places Rest of the List 14. Ross Chastain LW: 17 +3 16. Josh Berry LW: 15 -1 17. Brad Keselowski LW: 14 -3 18. SVG LW: 21 +3 21. AJ Allmendinger LW: 20 -1 22. Austin Dillon LW: 26 +4 23. Alex Bowman LW: 18 -5 24. Michael McDowell LW: 25 +1 25. Todd Gilliland LW: 23 -2 26. Erik Jones LW: 24 -2 27. JH Nemechek LW: 27 -- 28. Connor Zilisch LW: 29 +1 29. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 33 +4 30. Noah Gragson LW: 33 +3 31. Riley Herbst LW: 30 -1 32. Cole Custer LW: 32 -- 33. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. LW: 29 -4 34. Cody Ware LW: 35 +1 35. Ty Dillon LW: 34 -1

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images 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: 1. Chase Briscoe 2. Christopher Bell 3. Ryan Blaney 4. Josh Berry 5. Denny Hamlin Top 5 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Charlotte 1. Kyle Larson 2,367 2. Denny Hamlin 2,318 3. Christopher Bell 2,316 4. Chase Briscoe 2,302 5. Ryan Blaney 2,282 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.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Series Results from the Ecosave 200 at Charlotte Ecosave 200 Logo NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Results from the Blue Cross NC 300 at Charlotte Blue Cross NC 300 Logo NASCAR Cup Series Results from the Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Bank of America 400 Logo

Photo from www.x.com/f1 By Ryan Wu George Russell capitalized on his pole position to win the closest race in Formula 1 in 24 years. Russell started from pole after Championship leader Kimi Antonelli crashed out during qualifying and looked to pull away to a dominant race win. However, chaos ensued when two safety cars nullified his 10 second lead and allowed Max Verstappen to close the gap. The final lap then began and Russell had generated a small lead but a Valtteri Bottas crash at Turn 15 brought out the yellow flags which forced the two drivers vying for the race win to slow down and allowed Verstappen to gain further ground. Russell then reported that he had a turbo failure and the two cars essentially had a drag race towards the finish in which Russell ultimately won by 0.196 seconds. Race control at the end of the race shared that a virtual safety car was not deployed as they deemed that drivers could have cut the apex at Turn 15 to avoid Bottas’ stranded car. Their decision ultimately proved to be the right one from an entertainment perspective as it allowed for a dramatic finish. Isack Hadjar rounded out the podium places which gave Red Bull its first double podium finish of 2026 and brought the team within 43 points of McLaren for third place in the Constructors Championship Race Recap All 22 drivers managed to get through the opening lap of the race unscathed as Oscar Piastri jumped a spot to claim second place over Charles Leclerc when the lights went out. Antonelli was up to ninth position by lap 23 as he sliced and diced his way up the order and Lando Norris narrowly avoided disaster as he locked up into turn one on lap 30 to drop from seventh to ninth place. It appeared as if the race would progress without much drama until a lap later when Alex Albon crashed on lap 31 which required the deployment of the safety car. Once racing resumed, the two Alpines collided into turn 1 and took out Norris as well. It was an unfortunate end to the day for Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto as Alpine was looking at a likely double points finish. This incident drew the ire of the reigning World Champion Norris as he was quoted after the race saying “Just some drivers that shouldn’t be in Formula 1, to be honest.” comments for which he has since apologized to Colapinto. Colapinto had missed his breaking point and collided with Gasly who then hit Norris. Just behind them, Arvid Lindblad of the Racing Bulls also hit his own teammate Liam Lawson but both drivers managed to stay within the race and Lindblad claimed a great points finish by crossing the line in seventh with his own drag race with Esteban Ocon in a fight to claim the position. The race ultimately ended with six drivers not finishing and the win by Russell along with a 5th place finish by Antonelli closed the Championship points gap to 66 points in favor of the Italian phenom. With eight races remaining, it was a massive result for the English driver vying for his maiden title. Racing Refresh Driver of the Day George Russell, Mercedes Final Points Finishing Positions 1st: George Russell 2nd: Max Verstappen 3rd: Isack Hadjar 4th: Charles Leclerc 5th: Kimi Antonelli 6th: Lewis Hamilton 7th: Arvid Lindblad 8th: Esteban Ocon 9th: Oliver Bearman 10th: Carlos Sainz Next on the F1 Schedule: Bahrain Grand Prix: October 2nd-4th

Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images 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: 1. Chase Briscoe 2. Kyle Larson 3. Tyler Reddick 4. Austin Cindric 5. Ryan Blaney Top 5 NASCAR Cup Series Chase Standings After Las Vegas 1. Kyle Larson 2,318 2. Denny Hamlin 2,278 3. Christopher Bell 2,263 4. Joey Logano 2,247 5. Ryan Blaney 2,238 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.

by Crystal Clay LAS VEGAS — Chase Briscoe came to Las Vegas looking to put Kansas behind him. He left with the trophy—and, by his own joking account, avoided a rough flight home with crew chief James Small. “I don’t think I would have been able to get on the plane. They would have all kicked my butt,” Briscoe said after Sunday’s South Point 400. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) When a reporter reminded him that Small had threatened to throw him off the building if he lost again, Briscoe added, “I was scared to death to see him if I didn’t pull that one off.” Briscoe made sure he wouldn’t have to find out. He swept both stages, led 175 of 267 laps and held on to win by 1.376 seconds for his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season. The win moved him up two spots in the Chase standings with five races remaining. The margin looked comfortable on the results sheet, but the closing laps were anything but. Larson and Tyler Reddick cut Briscoe’s lead to less than four-tenths of a second with a lap to go. Larson hit the wall in the final corner while pushing toward Briscoe, and Reddick made contact with Larson before sliding across the infield grass. Larson recovered to finish second and Reddick slid across the finish in third. Briscoe said he watched mostly through the windshield, checking the mirror when Larson got close. The aero effect made it a guessing game. In Turns 1 and 2, Briscoe tried to cover Larson’s line. In Turns 3 and 4, he focused on hitting the bottom and slowing the corner enough to make a pass difficult. “I hope that was a good race,” Briscoe said. “From my seat there at the end, I don’t know what else you could want from a cat and mouse standpoint.” The Kansas loss had been hard to shake. Briscoe said he’d been in “a not very fun mental place” after losing the lead late the week before. This time, with Larson charging, Briscoe held on. Small said the final 10 laps were stressful, with the No. 19 navigating a thick pack of traffic. He said Briscoe’s car handled traffic better than it had at Kansas, although balancing the car in clean and dirty air remained difficult. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 04: Chase Briscoe, driver of the #19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, takes a bow in tribute to the late Kyle Busch after winning the NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on October 04, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) The win carried extra meaning during a weekend honoring Kyle Busch, who died in May. Busch was a Las Vegas native, and Briscoe said winning at his hometown track was meaningful. Larson, whose No. 5 carried a tribute paint scheme, said he wished he could have won in the car honoring Busch. Joe Gibbs said the tributes reflected how much Busch meant to people throughout the sport. Winning at Busch’s home track made the moment especially significant for the team. “On the front stretch to be able to do a bow, it was special for sure. Yeah, just miss him, truthfully. Still doesn’t feel real,” said Briscoe. Larson’s second-place finish increased his championship lead over Denny Hamlin from 26 points to 40. Hamlin finished 16th after a mid-race spin. Christopher Bell finished 23rd after losing power steering, while Ty Gibbs who started on row 1 finished 17th. Five races remain in the Chase. Briscoe knew the win didn’t erase the Kansas disappointment. But it kept him in the title fight…and, for now, off the roof.

By Crystal Clay LAS VEGAS —The old adage “never meet your heroes” doesn’t quite fit Cam Carraway. The candy-loving kid who rooted for Kyle Busch and his unapologetic persona grew into “Cam-Man,” a 16 year old Castro Valley, California racer with a larger-than-life identity of his own. Carraway was deeply devastated when he learned of Busch’s untimely passing. In the weeks that followed, he struggled to process the loss. His mother, April, said he still talks about how empty race weekends feel and how unfair the loss was to him. Kyle Busch poses with young fan Cam Carraway at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Carraway says Busch inspired him to race. Courtesy the Carraway family. “I felt like something was missing, taken from me,” Carraway said. Busch “The Candyman” was the driver who first drew Carraway into racing. As a young child, Carraway watched NASCAR on repeat and gravitated toward Busch’s red No.18 Skittles car. “I loved candy, and one of my favorites was Skittles. So I gravitated toward that red Skittles car.” — Cam Carraway His parents, April and Raymond, had no racing background. But when 6-year-old Cam saw children racing quarter midgets at their local fairgrounds and told his mother he wanted to give it a try, they found him lessons so he could learn the basics before taking the track. “I got a little bit of race experience,” he said. “Once I ran my first-ever race, I never stopped.” Cam Carraway holds a checkered flag while sitting in a quarter midget as his father, Raymond, stands behind him. Courtesy the Carraway family. Carraway has since had opportunities to speak with Busch as a youth reporter and through his behind-the-scenes series, “A Cam’s Eye View,” where he shares his racing life and supports causes including Joshua’s Gift, an autism-awareness nonprofit. He holds the memory of racing against Busch at Millbridge Speedway in an A-class micro sprint close to his heart. He’s also raced with Busch’s son, Brexton, at Madera Speedway, where they were teammates competing in different classes. The Kyle Busch Classic brought Carraway back to the Las Vegas Bullring, a track he knows well. He started 11th in the Nascimiento Motorsports No. 21 car and finished ninth after recovering a late-race spin in Turn 2. The Bullring is part of Carraway’s own history. Just like Busch, he made his first late model start there and remembers racing quarter midgets at a track near the Las Vegas Strip. He also attended his first NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to see Busch. Cam Carraway poses with his parents, April and Raymond, and Pit Boss, the Las Vegas Motor Speedway mascot, beside his late model at The Bullring. (2023) Courtesy the Carraway family. “Vegas is our second home,” he said. “There’s just a lot of core memories in my life that I’ve made at this racetrack.” The weekend carries special meaning for Busch’s family and fans. The Las Vegas native and his older brother, Kurt, grew up racing at The Bullring. At the Kyle Busch Classic, Busch’s family was on hand as his son, Brexton, waved the green flag for the CARS Tour West Pro Late Model race. The night before, Carraway joined the Busch family and other industry professionals as Busch was inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame. If he had one more chance to speak with Busch, Carraway said, he would thank him for his impact. “I just can’t thank you enough for the influence you’ve had on the sport and on my life,” he said. Carraway has his eyes set on his future in racing. He practiced in an ARCA ride for the first time last week and feels ready for an opportunity to compete in the series next season. Busch’s competitive drive and personality helped shape the racer and Carraway hopes to become: a winner who leaves a strong impression on fans. The 2-time NASCAR Champion’s influence on Carraway went beyond the results. “When I was that little, I didn’t understand why people didn’t like Kyle Busch that much,” Carraway said. He later came to understand some of the criticism, but remained drawn to Busch’s magnetic personality. Carraway hopes to win consistently and build a personality fans will remember, too. Carraway with the backdrop of the iconic Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas. (Courtesy the Carraway family). NASCAR’s return to Las Vegas — its first stop in Busch’s hometown since his death — brings a weekend of tributes to the track where the brothers got their starts. Larson will drive a Busch tribute car in Sunday’s South Point 400, and Kurt will bring the field the green flag as the honorary pace car driver. The speedway also honored Busch with a Lap 8 “Moment of Rowdy,” a display of his championship car and trophy, and permanent tributes, including streets named Rowdy Road and Busch Brothers Drive. For Carraway, the weekend is a chance to remember the driver who first inspired him and to keep carrying that influence onto the track at a place he calls home.

by Crystal Clay LAS VEGAS — Corey Day thought Carson Kvapil had him beat. Then Day found speed up by the wall. The Hendrick Motorsports rookie and Kvapil traded the lead four times in the final 12 laps of Saturday’s Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After Kvapil moved ahead with three laps remaining, Day surged back past him on the next lap and held on to win by 0.287 seconds. Courtesy Yulanda Gilliam/PBY Media. Day, 20, started from the pole, won the opening stage and led a career-high 136 of 201 laps. The victory was his third in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and his first since Dover earlier this season. “I really thought that was it,” Day said of Kvapil getting to his inside late in the race. “I didn’t think there was really another lane that I could get by him in.” Day had spent much of the race running in the middle lane, but found grip near the fence when he needed it. “Fortunately enough, I just kind of went to the fence and found speed there,” he said. “I was able to get back to his inside, and I put him away there for a couple laps. He got back to me, but, yeah, I was just able to find enough.” The move came with Day’s car tight and Kvapil’s loose, the drivers said afterward. Day kept his foot down through the closing laps, even as he brushed the wall. “I thought that was my best opportunity to win, was to stay on the throttle as hard as I could,” Day said. “I wasn’t listening, that’s for sure.” Kvapil, 23, led three laps and was looking for his third win of the season, after victories at Indianapolis and Iowa. He said his car worked well on the bottom, but Day’s late run on the high side made the difference. “I knew once I got in front of him what would be best for me was to run the bottom,” Kvapil said. “He ran the top and just hit a perfect corner.” Day called the battle a potential race-of-the-year candidate, though he said being the driver under attack was more stressful than fun. He had led most of the race and didn’t want to give away the win in the closing laps. The result also mattered for Day’s championship hopes. He entered the race fifth in the standings, with five races remaining, and said his team needed a strong points day after a difficult stretch. Day also called Las Vegas his favorite track, recalling that it was the site of his first top-five run in a stock car. Reigning series champion Jesse Love finished third. Brent Crews was fourth, followed by Taylor Gray and Sam Mayer, who rebounded to finish sixth after a pit-road penalty sent him to the rear during the Stage 2 break. Mayer had won the second stage and led 40 laps. The race was a setback for regular-season champion Justin Allgaier. On Lap 55, he was collected when Brandon Jones’ car drifted into his No. 7 Chevrolet in Turn 2. Both drivers were towed to the garage. Allgaier returned with 84 laps remaining and completed one lap, finishing 34th. He dropped from second to fourth in the standings, 31 points behind leader Sheldon Creed. “It’s been pretty frustrating,” Allgaier said. “But we’ll go next week and try to win another race.” The NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway next Saturday for the Blue Cross NC 250.

NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Results from the Focused Health 302 at Las Vegas Focused Health 302 Logo NASCAR Cup Series Results from the South Point 400 at Las Vegas South Point 400 Logo