Reelin' in the Win
eero 400: Chase Briscoe picked up his first win of the 2026 campaign by taking the checkered flag Sunday night at Chicagoland Speedway in the eero 400. It was Briscoe's sixth career win and fourth at JGR in the 19 Toyota. Briscoe ran up front for most of the day and capitalized late on pit strategy to take the lead on the final run to the checkered flag. Briscoe also impressively held off teammate Christopher Bell over the waning laps to pick up the win.
The race got off to a hot start when Zilisch and Preece wrecked off turn two on lap one. This is absolutely awful for CZ as his streak of bad luck continues. Things did settle down briefly until we had a pair of incidents that appeared to be retaliation. First up, Zane Smith wrecked himself while attempting to wipe out Carson Hocevar. Several laps after the race returned to green flag racing, SVG had enough of Austin Hill and his grunts. So, SVG shipped Hill into the wall, ending the 33 team's day. Both drivers who initiated contact were smart enough to stay silent or brush off the contact, but that didn't sway many people from assuming (likely correctly) that both drivers had intent with their contact. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, NASCAR does in response to these incidents. After those incidents, the race settled into smooth runs pretty much for the rest of the race. The only other caution for cause was when Kyle Larson hit the bumps in turns 3 and 4, spun out onto the front stretch, and became stuck in the infield grass. Post-Larson incident, the race really fell into a smooth run to the end with tires and pit strategy coming into play with the old, worn-out surface of Chicagoland. William Byron, who won both stages with a fast car and pit strategy, looked like he was going to be the car to beat with fresh air. Yet, the JGR Toyotas were always in the hunt as Briscoe, Bell, and Hamlin were always fighting to lead the Toyota charge to William Byron. It was Briscoe's crew chief, James Small, who rolled the dice first on pit strategy and put the 19 Bass Pro Shops car out front. From there, it was up to Briscoe to flawlessly execute the run to the checkered flag. It wasn't without challenges, but Briscoe navigated lap traffic and methodically took Bell's lane away from him during every charge. With a fast car, perfect strategy, and a star driver behind the wheel, Chase Briscoe stormed off turn four, reeled in the checkered flag, and won the first race back at Chicagoland since 2019.
Next up, NASCAR splits its weekend between Lime Rock Park and EchoPark Speedway. The Craftsman Truck Series takes on Lime Rock Park on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST on FS1 with the LiUNA 150. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series hits the track at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday evening at 7 p.m. EST on The CW with the Focused Health 250. The Cup Series headlines the weekend at EchoPark Speedway Sunday evening at 7 p.m. EST on TNT with the Quaker State 400.
Lime Rock and EchoPark Picks:
Trucks = Parker Kligerman
NOAPS = Rajah Caruth
Cup = Ryan Blaney
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