Bubba Wallace Escapes Violent Wreck As Chase Briscoe Edges Christopher Bell In Charlotte Photo Finish

Chase Briscoe won Sunday’s Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, beating Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell by 0.029 seconds in one of the closest finishes in the track’s history.

It was the second-closest finish ever at Charlotte and the closest NASCAR Cup Series finish of the 2026 season. The victory was Briscoe’s second in a row, following his win at Las Vegas the week before, and his third of the year.

Briscoe looked in control after his pit crew put him in the lead on the final stop of the afternoon, and he built a more than two-second advantage. But his car’s handling faded in lapped traffic, and Bell closed the gap over the final laps.

On the last lap, Bell dove to the inside of Briscoe through the final corner, and the two cars made contact coming out of Turn 4. Both slid sideways as the drivers fought to keep control, then drag-raced to the checkered flag. Bell got loose in the scramble, giving Briscoe just enough room to hold on.

Ryan Blaney finished third and Josh Berry fourth.

The race was the Cup Series’ first fall event on Charlotte’s 1.5-mile oval since 2017, after several years on the track’s road course layout. All three of Briscoe’s 2026 wins have come on 1.5-mile tracks.

Wallace, Bowman walk away from hard hit

The day’s most frightening moment came on lap 77, when Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman and William Byron were involved in a violent crash.

Bowman tried to pass Wallace for fifth when his car snapped around. He overcorrected up the track and slammed into Wallace’s No. 23 Toyota.

All the drivers climbed out on their own, though it took Wallace a couple of minutes to exit his car. Officials evaluated and released Wallace and Bowman from the infield care center.

Bowman took the blame afterward. “I overcorrected,” he said, adding bluntly that he had done a poor job.

More trouble followed the checkered flag when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Michael McDowell got into a scuffle on track. The cause of the dispute was unclear at first.

Championship picture tightens

Points leader Kyle Larson finished sixth, his worst result of the 10-race Chase so far. He still extended his lead to 49 points over Denny Hamlin.

Bell sits third, 51 points back, while Briscoe’s back-to-back wins have moved him to within 65 points of Larson.

Larson has dominated the Chase, finishing no worse than sixth and winning twice.

Four races remain in the season, at Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami.

Sunday’s finish was a welcome burst of drama for a postseason that has produced few close finishes. According to OutKick, it was the tightest finish at Charlotte since Jimmie Johnson edged Bobby Labonte in the 2005 Coca-Cola 600.

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Article by USports Editors