3 NASCAR Chase Drivers Suffer Brutal Setbacks at Charlotte

For three NASCAR Cup Series championship contenders, Sunday's Bank of America 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was effectively over long before the checkered flag.

Bubba Wallace, William Byron and Ty Gibbs entered Charlotte hoping to gain ground in the championship Chase. Instead, all three finished 34th or worse, taking a significant hit with just four races remaining in the season.

None entered Sunday among the top three in points, but that hardly made the results less damaging. All three were already chasing championship leader Kyle Larson , and Charlotte offered an opportunity to close the gap.

Instead, the afternoon made their championship paths considerably more difficult.

Bubba Wallace and William Byron Caught in Violent Charlotte Crash

Wallace and Byron saw their races unravel in a frightening multi-car accident in Turn 2 near the end of Stage 1.

The incident began when Alex Bowman lost control of his No. 48 Chevrolet and shot up the track, collecting Wallace and Byron in a heavy collision.

Wallace's No. 23 Toyota sustained extensive damage. Safety personnel brought a stretcher to his car, but he was able to climb out and walk to the ambulance under his own power. He was subsequently evaluated and released from the infield care center.

The accident also ended Byron's afternoon, leaving Hendrick Motorsports with two badly damaged cars.

Wallace was credited with 37th place, while Byron finished 39th, last in the 39-car field. Bowman finished 38th.

Those results were particularly costly given where the two Chase drivers stood entering Charlotte.

Wallace began the race 10th in points, 137 behind Larson. Byron was 12th, facing a 160-point deficit.

Neither could afford to lose more ground, especially with so few races remaining.

Ty Gibbs Also Endures Miserable Charlotte Afternoon

Ty Gibbs wasn't involved in the Wallace-Byron accident, but his afternoon proved nearly as disappointing.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver finished 34th after completing 200 of the scheduled 267 laps, ending his race eight laps behind the leaders.

Gibbs entered Charlotte eighth in the standings, 110 points behind Larson. Of the three drivers, he began the afternoon with the strongest championship position.

That made his result particularly painful.

While Gibbs avoided the massive wreck that eliminated Wallace and Byron, he still left Charlotte with a finish that did little to help his title pursuit.

With the Chase heading to Phoenix, Talladega, Martinsville and Homestead-Miami, there are still opportunities to recover. But NASCAR's 2026 championship format offers no reset to erase a bad afternoon.

For Wallace, Byron and Gibbs, Charlotte was exactly the kind of race they needed to avoid.

And with only four races left, there is increasingly little room to make up the damage.