Briscoe edges teammate Bell in historic photo finish at Charlotte Motor Speedway
CONCORD, N.C. — Chase Briscoe narrowly defeated his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell on Sunday, surviving a failing tire to capture the Bank of America 400 in the second-closest finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history.
Briscoe appeared to be cruising to victory with a lead of over one second on the final lap when a right-front tire began to deflate. As Briscoe attempted to nurse his No. 19 Toyota to the checkered flag, Bell mounted a furious charge from five car lengths back to pull door-to-door exiting Turn 4.
The two teammates collided and drag-raced to the finish line, with Briscoe prevailing by a scant .029 seconds.
“With about six to go, I could notice my car quit turning and I felt my right front starting to go down,” Briscoe said. “Second-closest finish in Charlotte Motor Speedway history, but probably the biggest gap ever blown in the last four laps. I’m just glad we still got the win.”
The victory is Briscoe’s third of the NASCAR Cup Series season and his second consecutive win following a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The performance propels the 31-year-old Indiana native from eighth to fourth in the playoff standings with only four races remaining in the season.
Bell’s runner-up finish keeps him third in the championship standings, 51 points behind series leader and defending champion Kyle Larson. Larson started on the pole and led a race-high 97 laps before finishing sixth.
Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by Josh Berry in fourth and Denny Hamlin in fifth.
“I don’t know what happened, that [Briscoe] slowed down, but I got a lot closer than I thought I would,” Bell said after the race. “Whenever I got beside of him, I thought I stalled him. I kind of got out of shape. I guess I should’ve stayed into him a little bit harder and tried to nose him to the line.”
Winning team owner Joe Gibbs praised his organization’s execution under intense pressure, noting the stellar performance of his pit crews. Crew Chief James Small credited Briscoe’s relentless behind-the-scenes work ethic for the team’s late-season surge.
