The NASCAR Cup Series returned to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 400, delivering a high-intensity race packed with lead changes, late-race drama, and a surprise winner. Ford drivers dominated much of the day, but in the final moments, Christopher Bell made a stunning last-lap move to secure the victory, adding another thrilling chapter to Atlanta’s superspeedway-style racing.
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​Ford drivers did everything in their power to attain victory on Sunday in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Six drivers inside their Ford Mustang’s combined to lead almost 200 laps in a lopsided battle for the win. Joey Logano led all drivers with the most laps led at 83. There were also a handful of Chevy drivers who spent time in the lead, led by Ross Chastain (25 laps), Kyle Busch (13 laps), and Kyle Larson (12 laps). But in the end, there was one Toyota driver whose only lap he led was on the final lap, and he would take the victory. With ten laps to go, Christopher Bell was in 10th place. Using the outside lane exclusively, he marched his way to the front and found himself in third place after a late caution. With a shove from behind by Carson Hocevar, Bell was able to get past Kyle Larson for the lead, just moments ahead of the final caution flag flying due to a multi-car accident which included Josh Berry, Justin Haley, Shane Van Gisbergen, and a slew of others.

With the caution flag flying, Christopher Bell would get his first victory of the season, and be one of the early two (William Byron) to stamp their spot into the playoffs later this season.

The first stage of the race went off practically without a hitch. The only incident (no caution flag) that occurred in the early frame was Michael McDowell’s mechanical issues (power steering) which forced him to lose the draft and come into the pits to change out the part. He would re-enter the race five laps down but amazing finish strong with a 13th place finish.

At the end of Stage 1, Josh Berry got the stage win. He was fallowed by Austin CIndric, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick, Todd Gilliland, Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, and Joey Logano.

This was also the first time in Atlanta that the first stage went caution free.

The race off of pit road saw Joey Logano (+9 spots) take the lead, followed by Josh Berry, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman (+8 spots), Ryan Blaney, Carson Hocevar, and Brad Keselowski.

The #6 of Brad Keselowski would need to go to the back of the longest line after the fuel can got stuck as he accelerated out of his pit, pulling the pit crew member out of the pit box. He was able to get the can lose, but would serve the penalty.

The Caution flag flew on Lap 82 after the #10 of Ty Dillion had a flat tire, forcing him to spin out. This was a single-car incident.

Denny Hamlin drove through too many pit stalls during the caution and had to restart in the back

The Caution flag flew again on lap 102. This time it was for the #43 of Erik Jones who spun out after Chris Buescher clipped him and Jones found the infield wall. He would end up finishing in 31st.

The next caution flag would fly on lap 135 (25 laps to go in Stage 2) after the #34 of Todd Gilliland would spin due to a flat right rear tire. He was running strong in 4th place at the time. Gilliland would finish the race in 15th position.

The restart at lap 141 would see Joey Logano leading the field, followed by Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, Carson Hocevar, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Josh Berry, and Brad Keselowski.

The next caution would come out just nine laps later on lap 150. While running in the top 10, Chase Briscoe and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would get together, forcing Stenhouse to bounce to the outside and pushing Chase Elliott into the wall. Elliott would break his rear right tow link, forcing him to wobble a bit as he slowed and tried to regain control of his vehicle. Elliott would then hit Corey Lajoie who tried to squeeze by him. Both cars spin, and Elliott is then hit by Brad Keselowski. Elliott would make repairs to the tow link and get back on the track, finishing the day in 20th position. Brad Keselowski would finish last, in 39th position, with Corey Lajoie just in front of him.

Kyle Larson would win the second stage, followed by Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Carson Hocevar, Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, and Noah Gragson. Larson’s stage win was his first stage win at a drafting track in his career.

The next caution would fly on lap 184. A multi-car wreck occurred when Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez made contact, after Suarez checked up to avoid slower traffic in front, this forced Gibbs to attempt to split to the inside between Gilliland and Suarez, sending Suarez into the infield wall. The incident also collected Cole Custer, JJ Yeley, Zane Smith, Noah Gragson, and Cody Ware. Last year’s winner at Atlanta (Suarez) would end his day finishing in 33rd position.

The restart saw Kyle Busch in the lead, followed by Chase Briscoe, William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, Austin Cindric, Josh Berry, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Preece.

The next caution would occur with 56 laps to go in the race. Chase Briscoe would bounce off the outside wall, contacting Chris Buescher, and then causing Buescher to hit Alex Bowman. Briscoe would finish his day in 21st, Bowman would finish in 26th, and Buescher would finish in 30th. On a separate incident during the same caution, Ty Gibbs would spin out due to a flat tire. Gibbs would finish his day in 32nd.

The restart saw Josh Berry at the front, followed by Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Carson Hocevar, Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, and Ryan Preece.

The next caution would come out with about 27 laps to go. Ryan Blaney would be spun out by Carson Hocevar. It appeared that Hocevar missed his mark when attempting to bump Blaney forward, then tried to correct the miss, forcing Blaney to spin out around the corner. Blaney would rebound and finish a solid 4th on the day.

The restart was led by Josh Berry, followed by Ross Chastain, Austin Cindric, Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and William Byron.

With just four laps to go, another caution would come out due to contact between Kyle Larson and Austin Cindric. Larson was attempting to pass Cindric for the lead and move up in front of him. He was not clear and pushed the #2 into the outside wall, causing Cindric to bounce off the wall, hitting William Byron, and both cars would come down and hit the inside wall. Cindric would finish his day in 28th, and Byron in 27th. The radio for the #2 had Austin Cindric give his two word review of Larson’s contact as “NOT CLEAR!”

The ensuing restart saw Kyle Larson in front, followed by Ross Chastain, Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Bubba Wallace.

Christopher Bell would move into second place behind Kyle Larson on the final lap. He made his move to the outside, which is where a charging Carson Hocevar would push him ahead of Larson. Hocevar would then attempt to split Larson and Bell, but just after he passed Larson, with Bell in the lead, the final caution came out due to a multi-car wreck behind the leaders. Josh Berry, Ryan Preece, Shane Van Gisbergen, Joey Logano, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, and Justin Haley were all involved. NASCAR declared the caution and end of race at the time. This gave Christopher Bell the victory since he was the leader when the caution flag flew.

The win was Bell’s 10th career victory, his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway. A great day considering he also started the day in 32nd position.

The rest of the Top 10 saw Carson Hocevar in second, followed by Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and John Hunter Nemechek.

There were also a total of 50 lead changes in the race, tying the record.

Christopher Bell’s late-race charge to victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway showcased the unpredictable nature of superspeedway racing. With 50 lead changes and multiple contenders vying for the win, Bell’s perfectly timed move in the final lap sealed his place in the 2025 playoffs. Next up, the Cup Series heads to Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the season’s first road course challenge.​