NASCAR
Christopher Bell Wins Ambetter Health 400 When Last-Lap Yellow Flies
HAMPTON, Ga. – A first-time superspeedway winner stands tall in Atlanta Motor Speedway victory lane after a drama-filled night. Although Kyle Larson led at the white flag, his longtime friendly rival Christopher Bell was coming with a huge head of steam. As the leaders hit turn three, Carson Hocevar was splitting them three-wide when a caution flew behind them. Despite another photo finish possibly brewing, the race was over at this moment, with the No. 20 victorious.
Thanks to Penske-aligned cars starting in the top four spots, they controlled the field early on. Josh Berry took Stage 1 in the Wood Brothers No. 21 over Austin Cindric. This duo led the majority of the opening run. Stage 2 would go to Kyle Larson after pit strategy set the Fords back.
The first major incident of the afternoon took out defending winner Daniel Suarez. The Trackhouse No. 99 did not see Ty Gibbs cut to inside, sending him home early and erasing any shot at another good Atlanta result.
On a restart inside the final 30 laps, contact from Carson Hocevar sent Ryan Blaney spinning from a top-five spot. Following an incredible drifting save through turns one and two, the 12 was able to continue with minimal damage.
Intensity ratcheted to a palpable level in the closing laps, with Kyle Larson running Cindric into the fence. The out of control 2 car collected William Byron, eliminating two of the night’s fastest cars.
This gave Larson the lead for an overtime sprint to the finish. The 5 was door-to-door with the 20 at the white flag, but a large wreck ensued behind them. Despite Hocevar being in the process of a three-wide battle, the race ended with Bell out front.
“I’ll tell you what, that right there is what you dream of,” Bell said. “To be able to restart on the first or second row in a green/white checkered in a speedway. You never know how those things are going to play out, but I’ll be the first to tell you, I love superspeedways.”
“I don’t know. This style of racing has just always been a little bit of a struggle for me, and throughout the beginning of the day we obviously were just stuck way in the back. Adam (Stevens, crew chief) and these boys back here, they did an amazing job getting this thing fixed up to where I could just hold my foot down. That’s what it’s all about. You have to be able to stay in the throttle, and that last half of the race we were at our best.”
Second is a career-best finish for sophomore driver Carson Hocevar in the Spire No. 77. Behind him and Larson, top finishers were: Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and John Hunter Nemechek. Hear Hocevar’s full post-race comments below after the biggest night of his young Cup career.
Bell is now a Playoff lock for the fifth-straight year, thanks to his tenth career Cup win. The Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 was on many people’s short lists for 2025 title favorites. Atlanta may be the first of many wins this year for CBell.
Bell’s next winning chance will be next week at COTA. The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix will be the Cup debut of COTA’s short course, promising a new challenge ahead for everyone. The Texas green flag flies Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Bell is among the elite Cup road course talents, he will be in contention for back-to-back wins.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to Chris Graythen/Getty Images
