Christopher Bell wins in Atlanta after a tight finish

Christopher Bell secured his first victory in Atlanta in the NASCAR Cup Series by winning in a close finish under a yellow flag on the final lap of the Ambetter Health 400. Despite leading only the last lap, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver crossed the finish line in a three-wide battle, beating Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson.

This was the second consecutive year that the race was decided with three cars crossing the line side by side. Bell, a 30-year-old from Oklahoma, claimed his tenth series victory and his first at a high-speed, pack-racing track like Atlanta, Daytona, or Talladega. It also marked the first win for Joe Gibbs Racing since June of last year.

Bell expressed his excitement after the race, emphasizing the unpredictability of restarts on these types of tracks. “You never know how they will end, but being in the first or second row on a superspeedway restart gives you a chance. I love this type of track,” Bell told FOX.

An intense finish with controversy included

Carson Hocevar achieved his best series result by finishing second with Spire Motorsports, while Kyle Larson completed the podium. Larson, despite his struggles on this type of track, valued the result after leading 12 laps and being involved in a late-race contact with Austin Cindric.

Hocevar, however, faced questions after the race. Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney confronted him in the pits over what they considered risky on-track decisions. Blaney, who finished fourth after being hit by Hocevar with 27 laps to go, suggested he should improve his decision-making.

“I told him he needs to calm down a little. He has talent, but there are moments when you need to be smarter,” Blaney said.

Hocevar admitted he needs to improve in some areas and apologized for his last-lap contact with Larson. “I thought we were still racing to the finish line. There are things I need to learn and improve, but at least we had a shot at winning,” said the 22-year-old driver.

Ford's early dominance and strategy shifts

The first half of the race was dominated by Ford cars, occupying 10 of the top 11 spots. Blaney started from pole, and his teammate Joey Logano led 83 laps, the most in the event. However, pit strategy and car performance in the final stretch allowed other drivers to take the spotlight.

The final caution came in overtime when Josh Berry, the Stage 1 winner, Justin Haley, and Ryan Preece crashed on the backstretch. This ensured the race ended under caution, with Bell crossing the line as the leader in a tight finish.

Race results and championship standings

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completed the top five, followed by Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, and John Hunter Nemechek. With his fourth-place finish, Blaney now leads the championship by 12 points over William Byron, the DAYTONA 500 winner. A.J. Allmendinger recorded the fastest lap of the race.

The NASCAR Cup Series now heads to the Circuit of The Americas for the season’s first road course race, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, where Byron will attempt to defend his win from last year.

Results - Ambetter Health 400

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