NASCAR
Chase Elliott Returns to Victory Lane After Late Fireworks in Atlanta
HAMPTON, Ga. – Georgia’s racing pride celebrates once again in front of his hometown crowd. Chase Elliott is victorious for the second time in three years on Atlanta’s EchoPark Speedway. Thanks to a big push from teammate Alex Bowman on the last lap, the Napa No. 9 Chevrolet is back in familiar ground and is a Playoff lock once again.
Penske superspeedway prowess was on full display early, evident with their four cars sweeping the top four spots in qualifying. Joey Logano led much of the opening run and Austin Cindric took Stage 1 under caution.
Stage 2 started with absolute bedlam, a 23-car crash ensued before the pack hit turn three. Nearly a quarter of the field was eliminated in an instant, including the entire Penske quartet.
Stage 2 definitely calmed down from this point onward, but still saw a photo-finish between Chase Elliott and winner Tyler Reddick.
The final stage saw intensity ramp back up with eight different drivers taking turns out front. A nonstop dogfight ensued over the closing laps between Elliott, Keselowski, Alex Bowman, and many other contenders. At one point the 9/48 teammate duo were taking on all three RFK Racing Fords, until this trio was broken up.
Going into turn one on the last lap, Bowman gave Elliott a monster shove, letting the 9 cut to Keselowski’s inside and clear him by turn two. The leader appeared to be a sitting duck all night. Elliott’s last lap gap, however, was enough for the 9 to cruise back to victory lane.
“Unbelievable guys,” Elliott said. “Just unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I’ve never in my life, this is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. Just a huge thanks to Napa Auto Parts and everything they do to benefit me and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Rhealynn Mills designed a fast Napa Chevrolet tonight. It was fun, this right here is something I’ll never forget, thanks so much.”
“I just honestly think that all the cards fell in the right places there those last couple laps. What a crazy race, man. I don’t know if y’all had fun, but it was wild from my seat. Glad we got to run that thing out there to the end. Thank you again to everyone who has made all this possible. This is the ninth year of DESI9NTODRIVE, what an incredible way to celebrate that. This right here, you can’t dream of this. It’s gonna be a big [party in Dawsonville], we’ll get ready!”
Riding his own lengthy losing streak, Brad Keselowski was a bittersweet runner-up yet again. Elliott’s teammate Alex Bowman was third, ahead of the Toyotas Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar rounded out the top-10. Hear from the top finishers below.
NASCAR’s most popular man is Playoff-bound once again as 2025’s 12th different winner. Thanks to Elliott already being well above the cut line, the points battle has minimal change. Take a look at the updated Playoff standings below, with eight regular season races remaining.
Can Chase Elliott potentially go back-to-back? Engine engine number 9 will try and run it back down Chicago line. The Chicago Street Course is up next on the Cup Series calendar. The Grant Park 165 goes green Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on TNT, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Krista Jasso/Getty Images
