By AMANDA VINCENT
Joey Logano claimed his third win of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season and became the third race winner in the first three races of the Chase Saturday night when he took the checkered flag in the Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
“I love NASCAR racing,” Logano said. This is so much frickin’ fun and to watch; to be a part of it is electric. Being here at Bristol. Hearing the fans scream and yell. What else can you want?”
Kyle Larson finished second, 1.248 seconds behind Logano. Carson Hocevar finished third in a side-by-side battle with Larson, and Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs rounded out the top-five.
Gibbs was the leader on a restart following a lap-486 caution for A.J. Allmendinger. Hocevar, then, took a brief lead before Logano took the top spot on lap 494.
Ryan Blaney led a race-high 202 laps of the 500-lap race. He was running second when he was turned by Hocevar on lap 458. Blaney’s resulting contact with the wall put him out of the race with a 33rd-place finish. The two drivers, then, fought things out after the race.
“Something is gonna happen,” Blaney warned after his exit from the race.
Gibbs took the lead from Blaney on lap 325. After Gibbs gave up that lead during a cycle of green-flag pit stops on lap 387, a Riley Herbst spin interrupted the cycle of stops with Blaney and Hocevar having yet to pit. Blaney was on pit road and drove through without stopping. That resulted in a commitment-line violation. Hocevar pitted during the caution and restarted as the race leader.
Gibbs passed Hocevar for the lead on lap 431. Then, Gibbs and Blaney restarted first and second after staying out during a lap-432 caution for an incident involving Cole Custer, Gibbs and Alex Bowman.
Hocevar was second to Gibbs when a William Byron spin brought out a caution on lap 443. They still were one-two at a lap-477 caution for Chase Elliott.
Logano won the opening 125-lap stage with Larson in second.
Larson started on the pole and led until a lap-40 competition caution. Logano led a group of five drivers who stayed out during the first yellow flag to assume the race lead.
Logano stayed out, again, during a lap-94 caution for Erik Jones. Larson also was among the drivers who stayed out during the second caution.
Team Penske swept the two 125-lap stages, as Logano’s teammate, Blaney, won stage two at lap 248. The stage was scheduled to go to lap 250 but was shortened by a caution for Cody Ware.
Gibbs was second and Logano third at the end of the second stage.
Blaney was first among 14 cars that stayed out after stage one and led throughout stage two.
Josh Berry finished the race in the sixth position. Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. finished seventh, Denny Hamlin eighth, Byron ninth and Ryan Preece 10th.
