An intra-team battle led to an unforgettable finish in Sunday's Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, as Chase Briscoe withstood an incredible last-lap rally from Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell to prevail by a scant .029 seconds — the second-closest finish in speedway history.
What appeared to be a dominant romp to victory by Briscoe — who led by more than one second with one lap to go — turned into a barn-burner of a finish. Believing his No. 19 Toyota had a tire going flat, Briscoe tried to nurse his car to the checkered flag, but Bell had other plans.
Briscoe held the high line through Turns 3 and 4 on the final circuit, giving Bell the bottom and enough momentum to go from five car lengths back to door-to-door exiting Turn 4. Bell got loose coming to the line, slid up and bumped Briscoe, and the two teammates drag-raced to the stripe as an enthralled crowd roared its approval.
The win was Briscoe's third of the NASCAR Cup Series season, his second in a row and it enabled the 31-year-old Indiana native to move from eighth to fourth in the Chase standings with four races left in the season.
Ryan Blaney finished third with Josh Berry fourth and Denny Hamlin fifth. Series points leader and defending champion Kyle Larson started on the pole, led a race-high 97 laps and ended up sixth ahead of Shane van Gisbergen and Tyler Reddick. Joey Logano and Chris Buescher completed the top 10.
Bell's runner-up result kept him third in points, 51 markers behind Larson, who also won Stage 1. Bell captured Stage 2.
CHASE BRISCOE (NO. 19 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA, RACE WINNER): "It was a close race but there at the end, it was definitely going to be the longest run of the race. I felt really good about my car and I was able to keep a gap on Christopher (Bell) but with about six to go, I could notice my car quit turning and I felt my right front starting to go down. In Turn 4 (on the last lap) I started to get tight and I just couldn't do anything. 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."
JOE GIBBS (NO. 19 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA, WINNING TEAM OWNER): "Our pit crew was just outstanding, the last stop was unreal. So many good things going on with that car today. Just really proud of the 20 (Bell), the 11 (Hamlin), too. The 54 (Ty Gibbs) got hit early and had some bad luck but I'm just really proud of our people. ... James (Small) and Chase (Briscoe) have a great way of working together. It's a thrill for us to see (Briscoe) and James where they are now and running so well. It's really important for us. Those two are different but in some ways, it's really good. They have a way of pushing each other."
JAMES SMALL (NO. 19 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA, WINNING CREW CHIEF): "We're trying to get the most out of each other. Even last Monday (after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway), we had a meeting to go over ways we could've been better. But I'm so proud of (Briscoe). You're never going to see it, but (the success is) in the behind-the-scenes work. He's been chipping away at it. Today we even had adversity, the car wasn't as good as it needed to be in Stage 2 but we made some changes and he really came on there. I'm super proud of him. He's doing everything he needs to right now."
CHRISTOPHER BELL (NO. 20 JOE GIBBS RACING TOYOTA, RUNNER-UP): "I don't know what happened, that (Briscoe) slowed down, but I got a lot closer than I thought I would. I think I'm just in shock right now. I didn't think it was going to end like that. I was just out there logging laps. I stayed with him pretty good and I had a couple moments where I slid really bad and let him get away. The Camrys are really fast. We did a good job of controlling the race but we're so equal, it's just about whoever's out front. I just didn't expect to get there and 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. I thought I could nose him to the line and I didn't."
