Atlanta Motor Speedway produced yet another exhilarating show this past weekend, as the Ambetter Health 400 provided various stories, hurt feelings and fantastic racing as Christopher Bell edged Kyle Larson on the final lap to secure Toyota’s first win of the season.

Despite the 15 leaders, 50 lead changes and exciting racing, the race had the potential to end with yet another three wide finish, however a caution after the white neutered the opportunity as NASCAR didn’t allow the drivers to race to the line, something they had just allowed in the Xfinity series last night, but more on that later.

The track’s worn surface and unique style of pack racing was an absolute spectacle all day, with drivers being able to pick various grooves and utilize the track’s fairly recent superspeedway tendencies to pick runs.

This coupled with a colder day trackside provided side by side racing that proved unpredictable for drivers and fans alike, with the speeds of Daytona along with the rough handling of a more typical intermediate.

Stage one started with Ford carrying the momentum of practice and qualifying and leading the pack with intention, with Wood Brothers, Penske and Front Row Motorsports all trading runs with each other.

Atlanta’s unique superspeedway racing showed off right away as cars worked to find different grooves while maintaining their ability to slingshot and use the draft. Ford was the manufacturer to beat as Josh Berry won stage one, followed by Austin Cindric and Joey Logano.

Things started to boil over in Stage two, as the bottom line would continue to fight and Logano built on his record of most laps led at drafting tracks in the Next Gen car. Todd Gilliland was strong all day and continued to battle his ford teammates intensely.

Slowly, the intensity was building up with multiple manufacturers finding their way towards the top, while Ford continued to set the pace as Logano would battle with other Mustangs as driver control began to wane.

With Gilliland cutting a tire and bringing out the yellow, many teams were left with the choice of stage points or chasing the win. This decision flipped the field almost completely and saw Chevrolet assume the front row, giving Larson the stage win.

For Larson, winning at a drafting style track has been impossible his entire career. Whether it be bad luck or user error, the driver of the #5 HendrickCars Chevrolet could just never get it done. The stage win was his first at any drafting track.

The Trackhouse duo of Ross Chastain and Shane Van Gisbergen led the field for the final stage and assumed control, however the drivers were on the edge.

The Fords continued to show why they controlled the first two stages however, as Austin Cindric would power his way up from 30th to 8th along with teammate Ryan Blaney. Josh Berry would also find his way up in the #21 as well.

With the intensity ratcheted up to 100, Blaney, Berry and Chastain would jockey for position. Behind Blaney was the ever aggressive #77 of Carson Hocevar, who had an earlier run in with Kyle Busch.

On lap 234, Hocevar got a huge run heading into the corner and misjudge the push to Blaney’s bumper, sending the #12 half around and behind the pace.

“He’s just a moron! He just runs right into the back of you. He has zero idea of where to bump somebody, where not to, he’s swiping across my bumper as he’s doing it. He just has no idea the whole race.” said Blaney on the radio after the wreck

Things would remain hot as Hocevar, Cindric, Larson and Bell would go lap after lap finding different grooves and attempting runs. Bell was the most unlikely of patrons in this saloon, as he started 32nd and showed no speed with his fellow Toyotas, save for Bubba Wallace. Despite brushing the wall just laps earlier, Bell’s known raw talent shined as he powered up front.

Larson assumed the lead and misjudged a block on a hard charging Cindric, sending him into the wall and ending his and fellow Hendrick driver William Byron’s day immediately.

It would come down to overtime in Atlanta once more, as Larson led looking to beat the one demon in NASCAR he can’t, winning at a superspeedway.

Next to him was the ever tenacious Chastain, an aggressive and defensive driver who has won at tracks like Talladega. His Chevy teammate Hocevar would shoot to the middle, sending Chastain back while Hocevar tried to shoot the gap between Bell and Larson as the white flag waved.

It seemed for a split second that we’d be graced with yet another three wide photo finish at Atlanta, this time between a young prospect and two veterans who can’t seem to shake one another across twenty years. Then the yellow flag flew almost immediately as cars began to wreck behind them.

Bell would be deemed the leader at the time of the yellow and that would be that. Toyota made a shocking comeback in a race dominated by the Ponies, and JGR kicks off 2025 early in victory lane.

“I’ll be the first to tell you; I love superpseedways” Bell said emphatically. “Adam and these boys back here (pit crew), they did an amazing job getting this thing fixed up to where I could just hold my foot down, cause that’s what it’s all about”

Congrats to the #20 team, who fought a hard race on a track that demanded respect, but I think collectively we’re all wishing we got to see the drivers cross the line and determine the winner not by a flag, but by the finish line.

Through just two weeks across multiple series, NASCARs jurisdiction for yellow flags and when they’re thrown has been polarizing to say the least.

In the second Daytona Duel, a caution was thrown before Erik Jones could race Austin Cindric to the line. While even Jones himself thought he won, it was revealed Cindric was ahead at the time of the caution.

The end of last nights Xfinity race would see the #16 wreck down the backstretch, however race control allowed Austin Hill and Aric Almirola race to the line. They understood the implication of throwing the caution at the end of the Cup race, but I guess it was worth the safety? Why do we have to be in this gray area of human jurisdiction when we can literally put a line on the track where it is deemed unsafe to run to the finish if a caution happens?

I’m not sure, whether you agree with the caution or not is one thing, but I think for a pro sports league to be so polarizing with its calls. We do know that letting the drivers race their way to the line would have given us another iconic Atlanta finish, along with another year’s worth of marketing for the sport.

But we’ll just have to wait till summer.

Up next for the Cup Series are the lefts and rights of Circuit of The Americas in Austin, TX as the drivers tackle their first road course of the season.

It’ll be a wild test for the field who are used to the high speed pack racing of weeks one and two. I also expect a smooth officiating session as well, but after today I don’t have full faith there.

The Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix flies the green flag at 12:30 p.m. PST from COTA.