February 23, 2025 | By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service

Christopher Bell wins at Atlanta in wild overtime

HAMPTON, Ga. — Christopher Bell prevailed in overtime to claim the victory in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – officially leading only the final lap and getting the photo nod in a three-wide run as a caution flag came out on the last lap to end the NASCAR Cup Series race.

It marks the second year that this race featured a three-wide run to the checkered flag. This time Bell got the nod out front over second-year driver Carson Hocevar and 2021 series champion Kyle Larson as the final caution flag flew. It was the 30-year old Oklahoma native Bell’s 10th career series victory and first on a drafting-type track like Atlanta, Daytona or Talladega, Ala. It also marked the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing since June of last year.

“I’ll tell you what, that right there is what you dream of,” an elated Bell said afterward. “To be able to re-start on the first or second row on a re-start at a speedway you never know how those things are going to play out.

“But,” he added looking directly into the FOX television cameras with a huge smile, “I’ll be the first to tell you, ‘I love superspeedways.’

“I don’t know,” he conceded, “but this style of racing has always been a little bit of a struggle for me. Throughout the beginning of the day, obviously today we were just stuck way in the back. But [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] and these boys just did an incredible job of getting this thing fixed up so I could just hold my foot down and you’ve got to be able to just stay in the throttle and that last half of the race we ran our best.”

Despite his near-miss third-place showing, Larson was pleased with the finish. He’s 0-for-48 in speedway-type races, including 16 previous DNFs. So all said, it was a successful, if eventful, day. He had contact with one of the race’s strongest cars, Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske with three laps remaining to make the overtime finish necessary, but led 12 laps.

Hocevar’s runner-up finish was a career high mark for the 22-year old driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.

However, shortly after the young Californian climbed out of his car, he was confronted post-race by both Ross Chastain and former series champ Ryan Blaney in separate discussions. Although Chastain refused to share what was said, Blaney confirmed he suggested to Hocevar to work on his decision making.

“I just said, ‘Hey, you got to calm down. I told him a couple moves he made earlier in the race that were really, really sketchy,” said Blaney, who rallied to a fourth-place finish after being spun out after contact with Hocevar with 27 laps remaining.

“Obviously, me getting spun. He should know better than to hit me in that spot. He can’t just run into my bumper as I’m turning into a corner. I’m going to wreck. So, I just told him you got to calm down. You got a lot of talent, but you got to be a little bit easier in this certain moment. Be smarter.”

Hocevar, who also said he preferred to keep the two conversations with his veteran competitors to himself, but immediately offered an apology for any contact with Larson on the final lap.

“I didn’t realize we weren’t racing back to the line,” he said of the last lap fender-rub with Larson, adding, “Some stuff I’ve got to learn and clean up a little bit, but I feel like we put ourselves in a perfect opportunity to win a race and I’ve never really had that opportunity before, especially on super speedways. So, thanks to everybody at Spire Motorsports.”

Certainly, the early portion of the race was dominated by the Ford contingent, which included 10 of the top 11 qualifiers including Blaney’s pole position in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Blaney’s teammate, reigning series champion Joey Logano led a race best 83 laps – the second time in as many races this season he out-paced the field, but finished 12th.

Fords led all but one of the first 140 laps. Ultimately, however, pit strategy and manufacturer alliances – at least early in the race – gave way to late race push and better handle on the cars for the rest of the competition.

The final yellow flag flew to end the race when Josh Berry – who won Stage 1 – Justin Haley and Ryan Preece collided on the backstretch during overtime.

HYAK Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth, followed by Denny Hamlin, a strong showing for the veteran who like his JGR teammates all started 25th or worse on the grid.

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch was the only one of three cars (also Blaney and defending race winner Daniel Suarez) in last year’s three-wide photo finish not to be collected in an accident. The two-time series champion finished seventh, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, and Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek, who scored his second top-10 finish in as many races this year – already half of his single season high in two previous fulltime seasons at the NASCAR Cup Series level.

With his fourth place showing Sunday, Blaney now leads the championship by 12 points over DAYTONA 500 winner, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron. Kaulig Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger set the Fastest Lap of the race.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads west for its first road course race of the season, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Byron is the defending race winner at Circuit of The Americas.


NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 2
Race Results for the Ambetter Health 400 - Sunday, February 23, 2025
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 - Mile PavedTotal Race Length - 266 Laps - 409.64 Miles

Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 2/23/2025 @ 07:45 PM Eastern

Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos PtsStatus Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 32 20 Christopher Bell DEWALT Toyota 266   40 Running 1 1 5
2 26 77 Carson Hocevar Delaware Life Chevrolet 266 9 7 41 Running  
3 17 5 Kyle Larson HendirickCars.com Chevrolet 266  1 44 Running 4 12 1
4 1 12 Ryan Blaney BodyArmor Zero Sugar Ford 266 8  36 Running 1 1
5 34 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Martin's Famous Potato Rolls Chevrolet 266  8 35 Running  
6 37 11 Denny Hamlin Yahoo! Toyota 266   31 Running  
7 6 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 266   30 Running 5 13
8 33 1 Ross Chastain Moose Fraternity Chevrolet 266   29 Running 7 25
9 14 23 Bubba Wallace Columbia Sportswear Toyota 266 4 2 44 Running  
10 22 42 John Hunter Nemechek Dollar Tree Toyota 266   27 Running  
11 7 38 Zane Smith City of Refuge Ford 266   26 Running  
12 4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 266 10 3 34 Running 8 83
13 24 71 Michael McDowell Group 1001 Chevrolet 266   24 Running  
14 12 16 AJ Allmendinger Action Industries Chevrolet 266   23 Running  
15 5 34 Todd Gilliland Aaron's Rent to Own Ford 266 7  26 Running 5 7
16 15 3 Austin Dillon Get Bioethanol Chevrolet 266   21 Running  
17 27 35 Riley Herbst # Monster Energy Toyota 266   20 Running  
18 11 60 Ryan Preece Kroger/Gevalia/Entenmann's Ford 266   19 Running  
19 18 45 Tyler Reddick Xfinity Mobile Toyota 266 6 6 28 Running  
20 19 9 Chase Elliott NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 266 5  23 Running  
21 25 19 Chase Briscoe Bass Pro Shops Toyota 266   16 Running 1 5
22 38 78 * BJ McLeod(i) Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet 266   0 Running 1 1
23 30 88 Shane Van Gisbergen # WeatherTech Chevrolet 266   14 Running 2 2
24 21 7 Justin Haley Gainbridge Chevrolet 266   13 Running  
25 3 21 Josh Berry Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 265 1  22 Accident 7 56 1
26 13 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 265  5 17 Running 3 6
27 16 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 263 3 4 25 Running 1 6
28 2 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Delta Ford 257 2 9 20 Accident 3 47
29 20 10 Ty Dillon Sea Best Chevrolet 242   8 Running  
30 8 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 240   7 Running  
31 28 43 Erik Jones AdventHealth Toyota 240   6 Running  
32 36 54 Ty Gibbs SAIA LTL Freight Toyota 201   5 Accident  
33 29 99 Daniel Suarez Freeway Insurance Chevrolet 183   4 Accident  
34 10 4 Noah Gragson TitleMax Ford 183  10 4 Accident  
35 31 51 Cody Ware Arby's Ford 183   2 Accident 1 1
36 23 41 Cole Custer 3D Systems Ford 183   1 Accident  
37 39 44 * JJ Yeley Green River Whiskey Chevrolet 183   1 Accident  
38 35 01 * Corey LaJoie AirMedCare Network Ford 149   1 Accident  
39 9 6 Brad Keselowski BuildSubmarines.com Ford 149   1 Accident  

Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 37 Secs. Average Speed: 118.384 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 21, 2, 24, 23, 9, 45, 34, 12, 77, 22
Stage 2 Top 10: 5, 23, 22, 24, 48, 45, 77, 47, 2, 4

Race Comments: Christopher Bell has won the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his 10th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series. Prior to the start of the race, no vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty.

Failed to Qualify: None.

Caution Flags: 11 for 63 laps; Laps: 62-68 (Stage 1 Conclusion [None]); 83-88 (#10 Incident Turn 4 [71]); 103-107 (#43, 17 Incident Backstretch [71]); 135-140 (Debris on Backstretch [71]); 151-156 (#9, 6, 01 Incident Frontstretch [71]); 162-168 (Stage 2 Conclusion [71]); 185-192 (#4, 38, 44, 41, 47, 51, 54, 99 Incident Frontstretch [71]); 206-212 (#17, 48, 54 Incident Frontstretch [9]); 235-238 (#12 Spin Turn 1 [48]); 259-264 (#2, 24 Incident Backstretch [48]); 266-266 (#21, 7, 60 Incident Backstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 50 among 15 drivers; R. Blaney 0; A. Cindric 1-23; T. Gilliland 24-25; A. Cindric 26-32; J. Berry 33-42; T. Gilliland 43; J. Berry 44-63; C. Ware 64; J. Logano 65-67; J. Berry 68; J. Logano 69-84; *. McLeod(i) 85; J. Logano 86-91; T. Gilliland 92; J. Logano 93-94; T. Gilliland 95-96; J. Logano 97-107; T. Gilliland 108; J. Logano 109-140; A. Bowman 141-143; J. Logano 144-146; A. Bowman 147; J. Logano 148-157; A. Bowman 158-159; K. Larson 160-163; C. Briscoe 164-168; R. Chastain 169-180; S. Van Gisbergen # 181; R. Chastain 182-188; S. Van Gisbergen # 189; K. Busch 190-192; W. Byron 193-198; K. Busch 199; J. Berry 200-212; K. Busch 213; J. Berry 214; K. Busch 215-217; R. Chastain 218; K. Busch 219-223; R. Blaney 224; R. Chastain 225-226; J. Berry 227-229; R. Chastain 230; J. Berry 231-238; R. Chastain 239; K. Larson 240; A. Cindric 241-257; K. Larson 258-263; R. Chastain 264; K. Larson 265; C. Bell 266.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series

Next Race: March 2, 2025 - Circuit of The Americas

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NASCAR Cup Series Points Report
Atlanta Motor Speedway
Ambetter Health 400

UNOFFICIAL Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 2/23/2025 @ 08:37 PM Eastern UNOFFICIAL

Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Ryan Blaney 12 2 0 87 0 0 0 1 1
2. William Byron 24 2 0 75 -12 12 1 0 5
3. Tyler Reddick 45 2 -1 72 -15 3 0 0 0
4. Austin Cindric 2 2 1 68 -19 4 0 0 0
5. Bubba Wallace 23 2 -16 64 -23 4 0 0 0
6. Kyle Larson 5 2 -18 61 -26 3 0 1 1
7. John Hunter Nemechek 42 2 -2 61 -26 0 0 0 0
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 47 2 -6 61 -26 0 0 0 0
9. Alex Bowman 48 2 4 59 -28 2 0 0 0
10. Chase Elliott 9 2 0 56 -31 3 0 0 0
11. Joey Logano 22 2 -5 55 -32 1 0 1 1
12. Christopher Bell 20 2 -14 53 -34 2 1 0 5
13. Denny Hamlin 11 2 -6 51 -36 2 0 0 0
14. Michael McDowell 71 2 1 51 -36 0 0 0 0
15. Carson Hocevar 77 2 -15 48 -39 3 0 0 0
16. Chris Buescher 17 2 10 47 -40 1 0 0 0
17. Erik Jones 43 2 10 46 -41 1 0 0 0
18. Riley Herbst # 35 2 1 40 -47 6 0 0 0
19. Ty Dillon 10 2 8 39 -48 1 0 0 0
20. Austin Dillon 3 2 -3 39 -48 0 0 0 0
21. Ross Chastain 1 2 -8 37 -50 2 0 0 0
22. Todd Gilliland 34 2 -5 36 -51 1 0 0 0
23. Kyle Busch 8 2 -10 35 -52 1 0 0 0
24. Jimmie Johnson  1 16 34 -53 1 0 0 0
25. Daniel Suarez 99 2 13 33 -54 1 0 0 0
26. Justin Haley 7 2 4 31 -56 2 0 0 0
27. AJ Allmendinger 16 2 -4 30 -57 1 0 0 0
28. Zane Smith 38 2 -8 27 -60 3 0 0 0
29. Ty Gibbs 54 2 14 26 -61 1 0 0 0
30. Ryan Preece 60 2 -2 24 -63 2 0 0 0
31. Josh Berry 21 2 -6 23 -64 1 0 1 1
32. * Corey LaJoie 01 2 14 21 -66 2 0 0 0
33. Brad Keselowski 6 2 13 21 -66 0 0 0 0
34. Shane Van Gisbergen # 88 2 0 18 -69 3 0 0 0
35. Cole Custer 41 2 10 17 -70 1 0 0 0
36. Noah Gragson 4 2 8 13 -74 4 0 0 0
37. Cody Ware 51 2 2 4 -83 9 0 0 0
38. * JJ Yeley 44 1 -6 1 -86 3 0 0 0
39. Martin Truex, Jr.  1 1 1 -86 0 0 0 0
40. Justin Allgaier(i)  1 1 0 -87 1 0 0 0
41. * BJ McLeod(i) 78 1 -1 0 -87 0 0 0 0
42. Chandler Smith(i)  0 1 0 -87 0 0 0 0
43. Anthony Alfredo(i)  0 2 0 -87 0 0 0 0
44. Helio Castroneves  1 2 0 -87 0 0 0 0
45. Chase Briscoe 19 2 0 -51 -138 51 0 0 -10

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series