JOLIET, Ill. — In a dramatic return to the 1.5-mile oval of Chicagoland Speedway after a seven-year hiatus, Mitchell, Indiana’s own Chase Briscoe captured his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the 2026 season on Sunday night, July 5.
Wheeling the red, white, and blue No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Briscoe held off a ferocious late-race charge from teammate Christopher Bell to win the contest. The triumph snapped a 20-race winless streak for Briscoe, marking his sixth career Cup Series victory in his 199th career start.
“How about that race? What an unbelievable weekend,” Briscoe told TNT Sports in victory lane. “I feel so American winning in the red, white, and blue Bass Pro car, Fourth of July weekend, 250 years. Did not see this coming.”
While William Byron dominated early by sweeping both stages, the race turned on strategy during a final cycle of green-flag pit stops with 53 laps remaining. Crew chief James Small called Briscoe down pit road from the runner-up spot one lap before Byron pitted. The undercut worked perfectly, allowing Briscoe to motor past Byron as the cars cycled back up to speed.
From there, it became a battle of teammates. Christopher Bell, remarkably racing with a fractured left wrist, mounted a furious charge over the final 10 laps to erase a one-second deficit. Navigating heavy lapped traffic, Briscoe used stellar defensive driving and spotter cues to shield the lead, taking the checkered flag just 0.276 seconds ahead of Bell. Denny Hamlin finished third, securing a dominant 1-2-3 podium sweep for Joe Gibbs Racing.
The race set a NASCAR record, with Toyota placing an unprecedented seven drivers in the top 10 (Briscoe, Bell, Hamlin, Bubba Wallace in 6th, Ty Gibbs in 8th, Corey Heim in 9th, and Riley Herbst in 10th).
Playoff Bound and Hometown Honors
The high-stakes victory completely reshapes Briscoe’s 2026 campaign. By capturing the checkered flag, he will now race for a spot in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs later this fall.
Additionally, Briscoe enjoyed the largest upward shift inside the top 10 in the official NASCAR Cup points standings, vaulting from 11th place straight up to 8th.
Meantime, back home in Southern Indiana, the celebration was instantaneous. To honor their local racing hero, residents and city officials in Mitchell raised a No. 19 checkered flag over City Hall on Sunday night, celebrating a milestone evening for the Lawrence County native.
