Briscoe sweeps Las Vegas, Petit Le Mans crowns four champions, Day takes the O'Reilly thriller: Week 41
Chase Briscoe sweeps Las Vegas, IMSA's Petit Le Mans crowns four WeatherTech champions, and Corey Day wins a last-lap O'Reilly thriller as the Cup Chase reaches its halfway point.
Chase Briscoe won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 4, sweeping both stages and leading 175 of 267 laps to beat Kyle Larson by 1.376 seconds for his second Cup win of 2026 — a week after Larson had beaten him in the closing laps at Kansas. 12
The same weekend decided two more championships. IMSA's 10-hour Motul Petit Le Mans ran Saturday at Road Atlanta and crowned four WeatherTech SportsCar Championship class champions, with Porsche Penske Motorsport taking the marque's first overall Petit Le Mans win in a prototype. 3 In the O'Reilly series at Las Vegas, 20-year-old Corey Day won a last-lap duel with Carson Kvapil, and at World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis, Shawn Langdon won his fourth straight Top Fuel race. 45
The week ahead belongs to Charlotte: the Truck, O'Reilly and Cup series all race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Oct. 9-11, with the fall Cup race back on the 1.5-mile oval for the first time since 2017. 67 Results here cover Sep. 28-Oct. 4; the watch list covers Oct. 5-11.
Cup: Briscoe sweeps Las Vegas as Larson's last-lap charge ends in the wall
Briscoe, in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, was the class of a hot, 90-degree afternoon at Las Vegas. He led 35 of the first 80 laps to win Stage 1, then hunted down Austin Cindric on much fresher tires with three laps left in Stage 2 to sweep the stage points. In the final run he cycled back to the front and held it, taking the checkered flag 1.376 seconds clear. 1
The margin flattered him. Larson and 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick had cut a four-tenths-of-a-second gap to nothing with a lap to go. Larson, chasing in Turn 4 on the final lap, got loose and slapped the outside wall; Reddick tagged him, slid across the infield grass and back onto pit road, yet both drivers recovered to keep second and third. 1 Larson ran a livery honoring the late two-time champion Kyle Busch, a Las Vegas native, in the series' first visit back to his hometown since he died in May. 1
Denny Hamlin, who won the Busch Light pole and led 39 of the first 80 laps, spun twice and finished 16th; his JGR teammates Ty Gibbs (a pit-speeding pass-through, on his 24th birthday) and Christopher Bell (a failing power-steering system over the second half) finished 17th and 23rd. Brad Keselowski, in his first race since news of his RFK Racing exit broke, came home 24th. Post-race inspection closed with no issues, confirming Briscoe as the winner. 12
| Finish | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Chase Briscoe 2 |
| 2 | Kyle Larson, +1.376 2 |
| 3 | Tyler Reddick 2 |
| 4 | Austin Cindric 2 |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney 2 |
| 6 | William Byron 2 |
| 7 | Chase Elliott 2 |
| 8 | Bubba Wallace 2 |
| 9 | Shane van Gisbergen 2 |
| 10 | Joey Logano 2 |
Van Gisbergen was the only top-10 finisher not in the Chase. Las Vegas was the fifth of ten Chase races, and the 2026 format is a straight ten-race points battle with no eliminations; the champion is decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 8. 1 Larson left Las Vegas with his lead up from 26 points to 40 over Hamlin, with Briscoe climbing two spots to sixth. 18
| Pos. | Driver | Behind Larson 8 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kyle Larson | Leader 8 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | −40 8 |
| 3 | Christopher Bell | −55 8 |
| 4 | Joey Logano | −71 8 |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | −80 8 |
| 6 | Chase Briscoe | −84 8 |
| 7 | Tyler Reddick | −106 8 |
| 8 | Ty Gibbs | −110 8 |
| 9 | Austin Cindric | −128 8 |
| 10 | Bubba Wallace | −137 8 |
| 11 | Carson Hocevar | −158 8 |
| 12 | William Byron | −160 8 |
| 13 | Chase Elliott | −163 8 |
| 14 | Daniel Suárez | −195 8 |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | −196 8 |
| 16 | Ryan Preece | −200 8 |
O'Reilly: Day wins the Vegas thriller as Allgaier's day unravels
Corey Day exchanged the lead with Carson Kvapil four times in the final 12 laps, twice brushing the wall, before making the winning pass with two laps left to take the 201-lap Focused Health 302 by 0.287 seconds. The 20-year-old Hendrick Motorsports rookie started from the pole, won Stage 1 and led a career-high 136 laps for his third career O'Reilly win. 49
Kvapil's second place moved him to second in the 12-driver Chase, 19 points behind Haas Factory Team's Sheldon Creed, who finished 13th. 4 Sam Mayer won Stage 2 and led 40 laps but had to rally from the rear after an uncontrolled-tire penalty on the stage break; he finished sixth. The day's biggest loser was Justin Allgaier, the regular-season points leader and six-time race winner, who was collected on Lap 55 when Brandon Jones' No. 20 Toyota drifted up into his No. 7 Chevrolet in Turn 2; Allgaier finished 34th and slid from second to fourth in the standings, 31 points back. 4
Post-race inspection disqualified the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Brandon Jones for four or more lug nuts not safe and secure, moving it to a last-place finish; the No. 88 and No. 92 cars will lose pit-stall selection for Charlotte. 4
| Finish | Driver |
|---|---|
| 1 | Corey Day 9 |
| 2 | Carson Kvapil, +0.287 9 |
| 3 | Jesse Love 9 |
| 4 | Brent Crews 9 |
| 5 | Taylor Gray 9 |
| 6 | Sam Mayer 9 |
| 7 | Jeremy Clements 9 |
| 8 | William Sawalich 9 |
| 9 | Austin Hill 9 |
| 10 | Anthony Alfredo 9 |
| Pos. | Driver | Behind Creed 9 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheldon Creed | Leader 9 |
| 2 | Carson Kvapil | −19 9 |
| 3 | Jesse Love | −22 9 |
| 4 | Justin Allgaier | −31 9 |
| 5 | Corey Day | −41 9 |
| 6 | Sam Mayer | −52 9 |
| 7 | Taylor Gray | −91 9 |
| 8 | Sammy Smith | −94 9 |
| 9 | Austin Hill | −100 9 |
| 10 | Parker Retzlaff | −117 9 |
| 11 | Brandon Jones | −129 9 |
| 12 | Rajah Caruth | −146 9 |
IMSA: Petit Le Mans crowns four champions
Porsche Penske Motorsport's No. 6 Porsche 963 of Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Matt Campbell won the 29th Motul Petit Le Mans outright on Saturday, taking Porsche's long-awaited first overall prototype victory at the 10-hour Road Atlanta classic. Vanthoor passed Earl Bamber's No. 31 Cadillac Whelen for the lead with 49 minutes left, then held off Sheldon van der Linde's No. 24 BMW M Team WRT by 1.205 seconds through the final half hour. 3
Wet weather, a record 16 full-course cautions and a 27-minute stoppage for nearby lightning turned the finale into an attrition race: only six of 11 GTP cars were running at the finish, and the No. 7 Porsche shared by Felipe Nasr, Julien Andlauer and Laurin Heinrich crashed out with 90 minutes to go, ending Heinrich's championship bid. 3 Jack Aitken won the GTP driver's title in the No. 31 Cadillac Whelen by simply taking the start — the first solo top-class champion in an IMSA-sanctioned series since Jörg Bergmeister — and the No. 31 entry and Cadillac took the team and manufacturer crowns. 3
In LMP2, George Kurtz, Alex Quinn and Toby Sowery won both the race and the championship in the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA, recovering from an early drive-through penalty and a rear-clip change to hold off the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition car of Tom Dillmann, Jeremy Clarke and Bijoy Garg by 0.666 seconds. Kurtz became the first repeat winner of the Jim Trueman Award, which carries a 2027 Le Mans invitation. 3
In GTD PRO, the No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo of Mattia Drudi, Valentin Hasse Clot and Marco Sorensen won in its first Michelin Endurance Cup start in the class, while Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen took the driver, team and Endurance Cup titles in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 Evo. In GTD, Philip Ellis, Russell Ward and Indy Dontje won the race and a third consecutive championship in the No. 57 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG, which also delivered Mercedes-AMG the manufacturer title; Orey Fidani's No. 13 Corvette took the Bob Akin Award. 10
| Class | Petit Le Mans winner | Season champion |
|---|---|---|
| GTP (overall) | No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 3 | Jack Aitken, No. 31 Cadillac Whelen 3 |
| LMP2 | No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR 3 | Kurtz / Quinn / Sowery, No. 04 3 |
| GTD PRO | No. 68 Car Blanche (Aston Martin) 10 | De Phillippi / Verhagen, No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW 10 |
| GTD | No. 57 Winward Racing (Mercedes-AMG) 10 | Ellis / Ward, No. 57 10 |
The Michelin Pilot Challenge closed its season one day earlier with the Fox Factory 120. Circle H Racing's Martin Sarukhanyan and Thomas Merrill won the GS race from 25th on the grid in the No. 14 Aston Martin, but the GS championship went to Austin Krainz and Stevan McAleer of the No. 27 AutoTechnic Racing BMW, who finished third. Bryson Morris and Mason Filippi won the TCR race and the class title for the No. 33 Bryan Herta Autosport Hyundai. 11
NHRA: Langdon's fourth straight in St. Louis
Shawn Langdon stayed unbeaten at the halfway point of the Countdown to the Championship, winning the NAPA Auto Parts NHRA Midwest Nationals on Oct. 4 at World Wide Technology Raceway for his fourth straight race win and his eighth of the season. Langdon, the No. 1 qualifier, beat first-time finalist Will Smith with a 3.732-second, 335.90-mph pass after a track-record 341.68 mph in the first round. It was Langdon's 30th career win, and it lifted his Top Fuel lead to 116 points over teammate Doug Kalitta and 225 over Tony Stewart with three races left. 5
In Funny Car, Austin Prock beat Jordan Vandergriff, 3.909 at 332.84 mph, for his second win of the season and moved up to third in points, 106 behind leader Matt Hagan; Vandergriff stayed second, 72 back. Aaron Stanfield holeshot his father and points leader Greg Stanfield in Pro Stock (.018-second reaction, 6.556 at 209.20), earning his third win of the year while Greg's lead held at 71 over Dallas Glenn and 81 over Matt Hartford. In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Gaige Herrera beat teammate and points leader Richard Gadson in the final, 6.710 at 200.98, for his fourth straight St. Louis win and to close within 32 points. 5
| Class | Winner | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Top Fuel | Shawn Langdon 5 | Will Smith 5 |
| Funny Car | Austin Prock 5 | Jordan Vandergriff 5 |
| Pro Stock | Aaron Stanfield 5 | Greg Stanfield 5 |
| Pro Stock Motorcycle | Gaige Herrera 5 | Richard Gadson 5 |
The series is off this weekend and returns for the Texas NHRA FallNationals at Texas Motorplex on Oct. 14-18. 5
ARCA and short tracks
- ARCA Menards Series West, Kyle Busch Classic, The Bullring at Las Vegas, Oct. 2: Rookie Taylor Mayhew won a spun-out overtime scramble ahead of Robbie Kennealy and Cole Denton, with pole-sitter Trevor Huddleston fifth after late contact. Hailie Deegan, who won the West Series round at Madera a week earlier, hit the wall with a flat tire two laps from the scheduled finish. 12
- World of Outlaws National Open, Williams Grove Speedway, Oct. 3: Chase Dietz won the $75,000-to-win 40-lap finale from the second starting spot, holding off Donny Schatz and Justin Peck. Bill Balog, who started on the pole, dropped out of the lead with a mechanical problem on Lap 9. 13
- SCCA National Championship Runoffs, Road America, Sep. 28-Oct. 4: The 63rd Runoffs crowned national champions in 24 classes. Tony Ave repeated in GT-1, Greg Gyann won a red-flagged Prototype 2 race by 0.340 seconds and Perry Richardson took the Prototype title in a photo finish. The headline story was 14-year-old Ybarra winning Formula F as the youngest Runoffs champion in history. 141516
- Stafford Speedway NAPA Championship Night and Fall Final, Oct. 2: Anthony Flannery won the 40-lap SK Modified feature and Keith Rocco sealed his fifth SK Modified track title. Adam Gray (Late Model), Tyler Barry (SK Light), Jeremy Lavoie (Limited Late Model) and Ryan Waterman (Street Stock) took the other track championships. Jon McKennedy dominated the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series NAPA Fall Final 80 the same night. 1718
- Riverhead Raceway Championship Weekend, Oct. 3-4: Owen Grennan won his second straight Buzz Chew Chevrolet NASCAR Modified feature, the Baldwin, Evans & Jarzombek 77, and with it the 2026 Riverhead Modified track championship. 19
Announcements and rules
- Keselowski and RFK Racing split: Brad Keselowski will leave RFK Racing after 2026, ending his run as the No. 6 Ford's driver and as a team co-owner. RFK president Chip Bowers said the team wanted Keselowski to move toward a competition role sooner than he wanted to stop driving; both sides said there was no dispute over direction. Keselowski, who already has a full-time Truck season on his list of options, says he is open to everything and hopes to have 2027 settled within two months. RFK says it will run three full-time Cup entries next season and is pursuing a third charter, and it has exercised its option to keep Ryan Preece in 2027. 2021
- Creed leaving the points lead for a new home: O'Reilly series points leader Sheldon Creed will leave Haas Factory Team and join Sam Hunt Racing in 2027 to drive the No. 26 Toyota GR Supra on a multi-year deal. 21
- Garcia to Front Row, McKee stays, JGR exits ARCA: Front Row Motorsports will put Jake Garcia in the No. 38 Ford F-150 with Quanta Services backing in 2027; Tristan McKee will return to Spire Motorsports for an expanded Truck schedule limited by his age; and Joe Gibbs Racing will shut down its ARCA Menards Series program after a final race at Phoenix. A report from The Athletic's Jordan Bianchi says Kasey Kahne could come out of retirement for a full-time Truck season with Spire in 2027. 21
- Talladega rules package set: For the Oct. 25 YellaWood 500, NASCAR will cut the Cup superspeedway rear spoiler to 3.5 inches — a further half-inch reduction from the package used at Daytona in August — and will set the stage lengths at 98, 143 and 188 laps, shortening the final two stages to 45 laps each to discourage fuel saving. 22
Oct. 5-11 watch list, in UTC
Times below are converted from Eastern Time, which is four hours behind UTC. 6
| Date and UTC time | Event and venue | Broadcast | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu. Oct. 8-Sun. Oct. 11 | SRO America finale, Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Series streams and event coverage | GT World Challenge America, GT America and TC America close their seasons, headlined by the Indianapolis 8 Hour. 23 |
| Fri. Oct. 9, 17:00 and 18:05 | Truck practice and qualifying, Charlotte Motor Speedway | FS2 | Sets the grid for Friday night's Truck race. 6 |
| Fri. Oct. 9, 21:00 | Truck Ecosave 200, Charlotte Motor Speedway | FOX | Opens the Charlotte triple-header weekend under the lights. 6 |
| Fri. Oct. 9-Sat. Oct. 10 | American Rally Association Lake Superior Performance Rally, Marquette, Michigan | ARA live timing and event coverage | Late-season national rally round on Michigan's Upper Peninsula forest roads. 24 |
| Sat. Oct. 10, 14:30 and 15:35 | O'Reilly practice and qualifying, Charlotte Motor Speedway | ESPN Unlimited | Grid for Saturday's 300-miler. 6 |
| Sat. Oct. 10, 17:00 and 18:05 | Cup practice and qualifying, Charlotte Motor Speedway | truTV | The Chase field's only on-track session before Sunday. 6 |
| Sat. Oct. 10, 20:00 | O'Reilly Blue Cross NC 300, Charlotte Motor Speedway | The CW, ESPN Unlimited | Sheldon Creed takes his points lead onto the oval. 6 |
| Sun. Oct. 11, 19:00 | Cup Bank of America 400, Charlotte Motor Speedway | USA Network, HBO Max | Sixth of ten Chase races; the fall Cup race returns to the 1.5-mile oval for the first time since 2017. 67 |
| Sun. Oct. 11, 20:15 | NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour World Series 150, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park | FloRacing, NASCAR Channel | The Modified Tour closes its season. 625 |
References
- 1
- 2NASCAR Race Results: Las Vegas (October 4, 2026)
racingnews.co
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6NASCAR weekly listings guide
nascar.com
- 7Bank of America 400 schedule
charlottemotorspeedway.com
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12ARCA Race Results: Las Vegas (October 2, 2026)
racingnews.co
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17Flannery, Wood, Anglace, Lafayette and Warren score Oct. 2 feature wins
staffordmotorspeedway.com
- 18Jon McKennedy wins the NAPA Fall Final
staffordmotorspeedway.com
- 19
- 20
- 212027 NASCAR Silly Season blog
josephsrigley.com
- 22
- 23GT World Challenge America 2026 calendar
gt-world-challenge-america.com
- 242026 ARA schedule
americanrallyassociation.org
- 25
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