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Chase Briscoe Brings the Desert Heat in Las Vegas

Chase Briscoe Brings the Desert Heat in Las Vegas
Photo Credit to Joe Gibbs Racing via Twitter/X

NASCAR

Chase Briscoe Capitalizes with Dominant Las Vegas Chase Race

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – From the agony of defeat last week to the spoils of victory, Chase Briscoe let it ride in Las Vegas. Seven days after a heartbreaking Chase loss, the No. 19 Toyota led the way for much of this Sunday’s show in Sin City. Sweeping all three stages, Briscoe may have just kickstarted another late season surge.

A top-four qualifying lockout for Joe Gibbs Racing led to a stage sweep for Chase Briscoe. One of their fast Toyotas ran into trouble, however, late in the opening run, when Denny Hamlin spun. The No. 11 Toyota went from leading laps and being in the top-five to limping a wounded ride home in 16th-place.

Up front, meanwhile, Briscoe never relented and was in control for the remainder of the race. In shades of Kansas last week, Kyle Larson proved to be a late challenger. The No. 5 grew ever-so-larger in Briscoe’s rearview mirror, until the last lap. Out of turn four coming to the checkers, Larson broke loose and pounded the outside wall. Trying to make an evasive maneuver, Tyler Reddick slammed into Larson as well, with Briscoe cruising to the victory. A week removed from a devastating late loss, Briscoe is now the one left celebrating in Sin City.

“Yeah absolutely, I mean, not really,” Briscoe said when asked if Las Vegas made up for Kansas. “We could have had another win, but yeah, I wouldn’t have — I don’t think I would have been able to get on the plane. They would have all kicked my butt.”

“I was scared to death to see [James Small, crew chief] if I didn’t pull that one off. What an amazing day. Thank you to all you fans. It was so hot out here, and you guys were still out here. I hope that was a good race. From my seat there at the end, I don’t know what else you could want from a cat and mouse standpoint.”

“So thankful to get this Bass Pro Shops Tracker Toyota back in victory lane. It’s not been a rough year, but not the results we necessarily want. Glad to get all of our partners back in victory lane. Just so many people that are a part of this deal. Yeah, just so thankful to get back in victory lane. Happy birthday to Brooks. The twins’ birthday is this weekend. Just say hey to my grandpa. He got taken to the hospital today. I’m hoping he was watching, and hopefully he enjoyed it.”

“Honestly more of the windshield, except for when Larson would get really, really close. The aero is such a big deal. In [turns] one and two I felt like if I could somewhat cover where he was at. It was a huge guessing game. But in [turns] three and four I knew if I hit the bottom properly and slowed down, which I’m normally not very good at, he was going to have a hard time getting by me. Just glad I was able to hold on. Last week was not a very fun mental place to be after kind of throwing one away. Yeah, really cool, like I said, to get in victory lane. Johnny Morris is here, JP, Barry Tarpon, and all the grandkids. Just super cool.”

Behind the front trio at the finish were the Penske duo of Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney. Cindric now has back-to-back top-fives while Blaney trimmed a bit off his points gap. Kyle Larson is still in command of The Chase standings, now by 40 points.

The Chase rolls onward next week from Charlotte Motor Speedway. The Bank of America 400 marks the first fall date on the intermediate oval since 2017, a third-straight 1.5-mile track in 2026. The green flag will fly Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Written by Peter Stratta

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Photo Credit to Joe Gibbs Racing on Twitter/X

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