Corey Day wins Charlotte NASCAR O'Reilly race with three-wide pass for the lead

Concord, N.C. (AP) — Chase Briscoe edged out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell by a half-car length in a photo finish to claim his second consecutive NASCAR playoff race, securing a spot to potentially win his first Cup Series championship. The incident unfolded on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where Briscoe took the lead by a mere half-car length after a close showdown with Bell.

This marked Briscoe's eighth career win, with three of those victories occurring this season. With 62 laps led, Briscoe narrowed the gap between himself and playoff leader Kyle Larson, who was 123 points ahead prior to the race at Las Vegas. Following this back-to-back triumph, Briscoe now sits in fourth place with four races remaining in the season.

Completed third in the race was Ryan Blaney, followed by Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson. Hamlin is currently 49 points behind Larson in the Chase standings, while Bell trails by 51 points. Kyle Larson, who entered the race with five top five finishes, including two victories in the postseason, started on pole based on NASCAR’s metric system after Saturday’s qualifying session was postponed due to rain.

Larson capitalized on the advantageous position, dominating the opening stage by leading 68 of the 80 laps, thereby earning maximum points in the first stage. However, several NASCAR contenders encountered difficulties in the first stage. Denny Hamlin was relegated to the back of the field after a loose tire during pit road stop, Ty Gibbs suffered a broken toe link in his Toyota, causing him to collide with the wall, Joey Logano collided with Gibbs, and Alex Bowman’s car spun up the track, causing crashes for the No. 24 and No. 23 teams.

NASCAR president Steve O'Donnell and CMS CEO Brian France bid farewell to the "roval" format, replacing it with the traditional 1 1/2-mile oval track for the upcoming fall races.