Larson leads Cup standings by 49 after Charlotte
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 12, 2026
Briscoe wins Charlotte
Chase Briscoe gave himself another step in the championship picture at Charlotte Motor Speedway, edging Christopher Bell by 0.029 seconds to win the Bank of America 400. The victory was Briscoe’s second straight Cup Series win and his third of the season, a run that keeps him firmly in the mix as the final stretch of the year begins to take shape. Briscoe finished the race with just enough of a margin to hold off Bell, and the close finish underscored how little room there was for error at the front. Rain erased practice and qualifying before the race, and that left the starting lineup to NASCAR’s metrics. Kyle Larson was set to start on the pole under that system, which gave him track position heading into a race that turned into a tight battle for the win. The result also kept Briscoe moving forward at exactly the right time. He has now won back-to-back Cup Series races, and each one has added weight to his season totals and his standing among the top drivers in the series. Charlotte produced a race that came down to thousandths of a second at the finish and rewarded the driver who held off the field when the pressure was highest.
Larson keeps lead
His lead over Denny Hamlin grew to 49 points. Larson entered the weekend with a 40-point cushion over Hamlin, so he left Charlotte nine points better off in the chase for the championship. Larson now has 2,367 points, Hamlin has 2,318, Bell has 2,316 and Briscoe has 2,302. Larson also holds a 51-point edge over Bell and a 65-point margin over Briscoe. Those numbers keep him in control of the title race with four events left in the season. Larson did not win the race at Charlotte, but the standings still moved in his favor. His points total and the margins around him show how much work the rest of the contenders still have to do. With only four races remaining, every stage point and every finish carries more weight. Larson’s position at the top gives him a little room, but the chase behind him still has several drivers within striking distance if the final races break their way.
Hamlin slips fifth
Denny Hamlin finished fifth at Charlotte, but the day cost him ground in the standings after a pit-road safety violation wiped out his stage points. He lost nine points on the day, leaving him with a larger deficit to make up. That left Hamlin still second in the championship standings, but now with a larger deficit to make up. Bell also stayed close to the front of the title race, sitting third only two points behind Hamlin and 51 points behind Larson. Briscoe’s win pushed him to fourth, 65 points off the lead, while Ryan Blaney remained fifth and trails Larson by 85 points. The top of the standings stayed crowded, but the gap at the front now favors Larson as the series heads into its final four races. Charlotte did not deliver a major shakeup at the top, yet it did sharpen the margins. Hamlin’s fifth-place result kept him inside the title fight, but the lost stage points made the climb steeper. Blaney remains the nearest driver outside the top four, and his 85-point deficit gives him work to do as well. The championship race now turns to the remaining four events with Larson leading the way, Hamlin and Bell close behind and Briscoe still within range if the points swing back his way.
