Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe come up short of first wins of 2026

NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell. ANDREW NELLES / THE TENNESSEAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe come up short of first wins of 2026

By Samuel Stubbs | Last updated Jun 1, 2026 12:53 AM ET

Neither Christopher Bell nor Chase Briscoe had won a NASCAR Cup Series race in 2026 going into Sunday's race at Nashville Superspeedway, and neither driver won the Cracker Barrel 400.

But they both came painstakingly close.

Bell, who looked to be driving to victory when the final caution came out with 13 laps to go, battled with eventual winner Denny Hamlin throughout the five-lap dash to the checkered flag, while Briscoe caught the two and made a daring three-wide move at the white flag to try and take the lead.

Hamlin, however, cleared both Bell and Briscoe with half a lap to go and scooted away to his second triumph of the season, leaving his two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates to settle for second and third, respectively.

WHAT A BATTLE. Denny Hamlin WINS at Nashville! pic.twitter.com/XssA3YXC8J
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 1, 2026

What Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe said

"I kept trying to back up my entries to get a big run and take them three-wide," Briscoe told Prime Video of the finish with Hamlin and Bell. "We're just all driving in too deep [on the final lap]. Hate that we weren't on the better end of it. Great day for JGR to be 1-2-3. Just wish we were the ones in first."

Bell also finished runner-up in last week's Coca-Cola 600 after a spirited battle with Hamlin that led to Hamlin finishing third as Daniel Suarez took the win. It was a different story on Sunday evening.

"Just disappointment," Bell told Prime Video. "I got no circumstances to blame but myself. I just didn't win the race. All there is to it. I really felt like I was in a pretty good spot being on the outside [of Hamlin]. Denny kept getting more and more aggressive... that brought the 19 in. I thought even when the 19 got the big run, it looked like he was going to go with me and give me a shove. Just lost the race."

Bell and Briscoe rose to seventh and 14th in the Cup Series standings after Sunday's race, respectively.

Samuel Stubbs

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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