After coming up just short last week at Kansas, Chase Briscoe got his redemption by holding off a hard-charging Kyle Larson to secure the win at Las Vegas. Now, NASCAR heads home to North Carolina for the fall race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. While this race had been run on the improvised road course known as the roval since 2018, NASCAR now returns to the traditional oval format for the 2026 Bank of America 400.
As the rest of the field chases, Kyle Larson looks to keep up his recent form and maintain his championship lead. Can the #5 team continue to widen the gap or will a true contender emerge courtesy of a win at NASCAR’s home track?
Let’s dive in.
2026 Bank of America 400 Entry List
With NASCAR back on the East Coast and close to the home bases of most teams, it’s no surprise to see some non-charter entries back on the list this weekend. Corey Heim will once again be behind the wheel of the #67 for 23XI after winning twice earlier this year. Gray Gaulding will pilot the #66 for Garage 66, while BJ McLeod will man the #44 for NY Racing.
The Queen City turns up the intensity in The Chase. pic.twitter.com/1Wqiuc2dG8
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 6, 2026
While NASCAR has run this circuit many, many times, 2026’s race does have a bit of a different twist on it, with it being the first fall race run on the oval since 2018. The Coca-Cola 600 is run here every Memorial Day weekend, but that race bleeds into the nighttime, and I’m wondering how much this race being run exclusively during the day and being shorter will impact the setups of the cars come Sunday. We know that aeroblocking will play a massive role, as we saw last week at Vegas, but with how slick this track might be under the sun, I’m intrigued to see if it’s a little more difficult for the drivers out front to get their cars to do what they want.
Chase Standings
Las Vegas looked like it was setting up to be a disaster for the #5 team, with Denny Hamlin out front and Larson’s car needing massive adjustments as he went a lap down early in last week’s race. However, a spin by Hamlin and an incredible rally by Larson saw the #5 finish in second place and increase his lead over the #11.
- Kyle Larson
- Denny Hamlin -40
- Christopher Bell -55
- Joey Logano -71
- Ryan Blaney -80
- Chase Briscoe -84
- Tyler Reddick -106
- Ty Gibbs -110
- Austin Cindric -128
- Bubba Wallace -137
- Carson Hocevar -158
- William Byron -160
- Chase Elliott -163
- Daniel Suarez -195
- Chris Buescher -196
- Ryan Preece -200
Larson’s continued hot streak, even in the face of adversity, is indicative of a champion-level team. Yet, the conclusion of Las Vegas did see Larson slam the wall before finishing second. Larson has the pace, yes. However, Larson also has the tendency to make mistakes when pushing his car to the limit. That could lead to his lead evaporating quickly. Hamlin remains the best competition for the #5, but the pressure appears to be getting to him as well. One need look no further than his spin at the end of stage one at Vegas that ruined what could’ve been a massive point day for the #11. We’ll see if either driver makes another error this week at Charlotte to blow this Chase open.
2026 Bank of America 400 Race Predictions
Daniel Suarez went to Victory Lane in the Coca-Cola 600, but that victory came courtesy of weather, as the #99 was not the quickest car on the day. Christopher Bell in the #20 looked like the best car on the day, though his JGR teammates Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs weren’t far off.
Tyler Reddick finished strong in the #45, and that team finally showed some of the speed that they started the season with en route to a third-place finish at Las Vegas. Given how strong Toyota was here for the 600, don’t be shocked to see Reddick up front once more.
In the Ford camp, I have been extremely impressed by the speed of Austin Cindric on the 1.5-mile circuits over the past two weeks. However, the speed of the #2 is best on the long run, and it seems that, with stage racing, the amount of time for long-run speed to truly pay off simply isn’t there for Cindric to be a race winner. Still, I expect strong runs out of the Penske Trio of Cindric, Logano, and Blaney.
Took a tumble at @CLTMotorSpdwy. 😬 pic.twitter.com/SI0B7bNQbV
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) October 9, 2026
Finally, in the Chevrolet camp, all eyes remain on Larson. While Hendrick fared better last week at Vegas, the #5 seems to be the only HMS car with the ability to compete for the win on a weekly basis.
Ultimately, though, I have to stick with Toyota for my race winner pick. I think Tyler Reddick finally gets back to Victory Lane this week after rediscovering some pace at the end of Vegas last week.
Check out the schedule below so you don’t miss any on-track action this week!
Friday 10/09
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Qualifying – 1:05 p.m. CT on FS2
EcoSave 200 (NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series) – 4:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Kyle Busch Celebration of Life – 7:00 p.m. CT on FS1
Saturday 10/10
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Practice – 7:30 a.m. CT on the ESPN App
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Qualifying – 8:35 a.m. CT on the ESPN App
NASCAR Cup Series Practice – 10:00 a.m. CT on TruTV
NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying – 11:05 a.m. CT on TruTV
Blue Cross NC 300 (NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series) – 3:00 p.m. CT on the CW
Sunday 10/11
Bank of America 400 (NASCAR Cup Series) – 2:00 p.m. CT on USA and HBO Max
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