Christopher Bell grabs thrilling NASCAR Cup Series win at Atlanta in wild overtime finish

Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell pulled off an epic last-lap move to clinch victory in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a three-wide sprint to the checkered flag, Bell led just one lap—the one that mattered most—as a caution froze the field in the NASCAR Cup Series finish.

This marks the second consecutive year Atlanta delivered a three-wide thriller, but this time, Bell edged out second-year sensation Carson Hocevar and 2021 champion Kyle Larson for the win.

The 30-year-old Oklahoma native notched his 10th career Cup victory—but his first on a superspeedway-style track like Atlanta, Daytona, or Talladega. Even sweeter? It snapped a winless streak for Joe Gibbs Racing dating back to June 2024!

A pumped-up Bell could hardly contain his excitement after the race. “I’ll tell you what, that right there is what you dream of.” Bell beamed.

“On a superspeedway restart, you never know how it’s gonna play out. But man, I’ll be the first to tell you—I LOVE SUPERSPEEDWAYS!”

Early on, Bell struggled to find speed, stuck deep in the pack. But his crew, led by Adam Stevens, worked magic to keep him in contention.

“This kind of racing has always been tough for me,” Bell admitted. “We were buried in the back early, but Adam and the guys made this car a rocket. That last half of the race? We were unstoppable.”

Despite yet another heartbreak on a superspeedway, Kyle Larson was all smiles after taking third. His speedway drought continues—he’s now 0-for-48 in these wild-card races—but this was a major step forward. Larson led 12 laps, but his biggest moment came when Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford got into him with three laps to go, setting up the overtime chaos.

Carson Hocevar delivered a career-best second-place finish in just his second Cup season, but his night wasn’t over after the checkered flag. As soon as Hocevar climbed out of his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, he was confronted by both Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney.

Blaney, who rallied to a fourth-place finish despite being spun out earlier, had some advice for the young gun.

“I just told him, ‘Calm down, man,’” Blaney said. “He made some sketchy moves early on, and obviously, I got spun because of him. He’s got a ton of talent, but he’s gotta be smarter in key moments.”

Hocevar took it in stride, apologizing for a last-lap fender rub with Larson.

“Some stuff I gotta clean up,” Hocevar admitted. “But man, we put ourselves in position to win—that’s all you can ask for.”

Other drivers, like seventh-place finisher Kyle Busch, in his best finish of the young 2025 season, had some choice words for Hocevar over the radio during the race.

The first half of the race was a Ford showcase, with 10 of the top 11 qualifiers driving Blue Ovals. Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Team Penske Ford took pole position, and teammate Joey Logano led a race-high 83 laps.

But pit strategy and manufacturer alliances crumbled late, allowing Toyota and Chevrolet teams to surge ahead.

Ford originally placed seven cars in the Top 10 in qualifying, Chevrolet had three and Toyota wasn’t even mentioned in the starting 10 positions.

The race’s final caution came when Josh Berry (Stage 1 winner – driver for the Wood Brothers), Justin Haley and Ryan Preece tangled on the backstretch in overtime.

With his fourth-place finish, Blaney now leads the championship by 12 points over DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron.

The NASCAR Cup Series shifts gears for its first road course of the season—the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas, near Austin, Texas. William Byron is the defending race winner. Racing gets underway Sunday at 3:30 PM ET on FOX, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR Cup Series Race – Ambetter Health 400

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Atlanta Motor Speedway | Hampton, Georgia
Sunday, Feb. 23

1. (32) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 266.
2. (26) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 266.
3. (17) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 266.
4. (1) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 266.
5. (34) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 266.
6. (37) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 266.
7. (6) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 266.
8. (33) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 266.
9. (14) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 266.
10. (22) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 266.
11. (7) Zane Smith, Ford, 266.
12. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 266.
13. (24) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 266.
14. (12) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 266.
15. (5) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 266.
16. (15) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 266.
17. (27) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 266.
18. (11) Ryan Preece, Ford, 266.
19. (18) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 266.
20. (19) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 266.
21. (25) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 266.
22. (38) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 266.
23. (30) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 266.
24. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 266.
25. (3) Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 265.
26. (13) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 265.
27. (16) William Byron, Chevrolet, 263.
28. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 257.
29. (20) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 242.
30. (8) Chris Buescher, Ford, 240.
31. (28) Erik Jones, Toyota, 240.
32. (36) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, Accident, 201.
33. (29) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.
34. (10) Noah Gragson, Ford, Accident, 183.
35. (31) Cody Ware, Ford, Accident, 183.
36. (23) Cole Custer, Ford, Accident, 183.
37. (39) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Accident, 183.
38. (35) Corey LaJoie, Ford, Accident, 149.
39. (9) Brad Keselowski, Ford, Accident, 149.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 118.384 mph.
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 27 Mins, 37 Secs.
Margin of Victory: Under Caution Seconds.
Caution Flags: 11 for 63 laps.
Lead Changes: 50 among 15 drivers.