Chase Briscoe held off teammate Christopher Bell by 0.276 seconds to win the inaugural eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday night, NASCAR's first race at the 1.5-mile oval in Joliet, Illinois since 2019, leading a Joe Gibbs Racing 1-2-3 finish with Denny Hamlin third.
It was Briscoe's sixth career Cup Series victory and his first of the 2026 season, and it came on the birthday of his crew chief James Small.
"I feel so American winning in the Bass Pro Shops red, white and blue car, Fourth of July weekend, 250 years," Briscoe said after climbing from the No. 19 Toyota. "James told me if I win today I get some chocolate, so I'm pretty fired up about that."
Briscoe took the lead through pit strategy, undercutting race leader William Byron by pitting one lap earlier during the final green flag stop on Lap 215.
Byron, who swept both stages and led a race-high 94 laps, could not stay with Briscoe on the final run. Bell closed rapidly in the last ten laps but washed up in dirty air on the white flag lap.
Hamlin passed Byron for third but brushed the wall in the closing laps, removing himself from win contention.
Tyler Reddick's championship hopes took another hit, a radiator failure sent him 36 laps down, finishing 36th.
He now trails Hamlin by 44 points in the standings, a dramatic reversal from the 129-point lead he held at Watkins Glen.
Seven Toyotas finished in the top ten, the most by any manufacturer in a single Cup race this season.