Overview
- Larson won the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday by passing Chase Briscoe with seven laps to go, led 235 of 267 laps, swept both stages, ran the fastest lap, and earned a maximum 76-point day.
- The victory pushed Larson into a roughly 26–27-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the Chase standings, making Larson the only driver with two Chase wins so far and increasing his margin over rivals such as Christopher Bell and Joey Logano.
- Denny Hamlin finished third but said he is “not quite as confident” after struggles with car balance and restarts, and he is aiming for big-point results on the upcoming 1.5-mile tracks to claw back ground.
- Weekend conditions affected the race order because rain washed out practice and qualifying, leaving lineups set by NASCAR’s metric with Joey Logano on pole and Ryan Blaney starting deep, and a multi-car restart crash that collected Carson Hocevar sent him to 33rd.
- The series now moves to Las Vegas next week, where performance on intermediate ovals, the ability to score stage points, and return of on-track qualifying could quickly alter the championship picture again.