Starting 32nd, Christopher Bell needed 408 miles to reach the front for his first victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver led only the final lap Sunday of a race that went five laps past its scheduled distance in overtime on the 1.54-mile oval. Bell became the 15th leader in a race that featured a track-record 50 lead changes (breaking the previous mark of 48 last year). In the wake of William Byron’s second consecutive Daytona 500 win, the first two races this season have ended on a last-lap pass.
After 265 laps, the caution flag flew less than a mile from the checkered flag with Bell’s No. 20 Toyota in first ahead of Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson. Ryan Blaney and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. rounded out the top five.
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It was the 10th career win for Bell but his first since last June at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which also was the most recent victory for Joe Gibbs Racing (a drought of 19 Cup races). It’s also Bell’s first win at Atlanta and his first in 28 starts on the superspeedway drafting tracks of Atlanta, Daytona and Talladega.
Christopher Bell wins at Atlanta on last-lap pass in overtime
The Joe Gibbs Racing driver just beats Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson.
It was JGR’s first win on a drafting track since Denny Hamlin won at Talladega in October 2020. With JGR’s 12th victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Toyota won for the first time at the Hampton, Georgia, track since Kyle Busch 2013.
MORE: Click here for Atlanta driver points l Click here for Atlanta owner points
Through two races of the regular season, Blaney leads the championship standings with 87 points ahead of William Byron (75), Tyler Reddick (72), Austin Cindric (68), Bubba Wallace (64), Kyle Larson (61), John Hunter Nemechek (61), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (61), Alex Bowman (59) and Chase Elliott (56).
What drivers said after Atlanta Cup race won by Christopher Bell
Here is what drivers were talking about after Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Blaney and Nemechek are the only drivers to finish in the top 10 in the first two races of the 2025 season.
Atlanta finishing order
1. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toytoa
2. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet
3. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet
4. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford
5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet
6. Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Toyota
7. Kyle Busch, No. 8 Chevrolet
8. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet
9. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota
10. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 Toyota
11. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford
12. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford
13. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet
14. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet
15. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford
16. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet
17. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota
18. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford
19. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota
20. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Chevrolet
21. Chase Briscoe, No. 19 Toyota
22. BJ McLeod, No. 78 Chevrolet
23. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet
24. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet
25. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford
26. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet
27. William Byron, No. 24 Chevrolet
28. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford
29. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet
30. Chris Buescher, No. 17 Ford
31. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota
32. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota
33. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet
34. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford
35. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford
36. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford
37. JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet
38. Corey LaJoie, No. 01 Ford
39. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 Ford
