Regardless of being outnumbered by Chevrolets, and having led solely a single lap in your entire NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta, it was Christopher Bell in his No. 20 Toyota that claimed victory in a dramatic, if not complicated end.
“I am going to let you know what, that proper there may be what you dream of, to have the ability to restart on the primary or second row in a inexperienced/white checkered in a speedway,” stated Bell, who now has ten Cup Collection wins. “You by no means understand how these issues are going to play out, however I will be the primary to let you know, I really like superspeedways!
“I do not know. This fashion of racing has simply all the time been slightly little bit of a wrestle for me, and all through the start of the day we clearly had been simply caught means within the again. Adam and these boys again right here, they did an incredible job getting this factor mounted as much as the place I might simply maintain my foot down. That is what it is all about. You’ve got to have the ability to keep within the throttle, and that final half of the race we had been at our greatest.”
Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Photograph by: Chris Graythen – Getty Pictures
With lower than 10 laps to go, Austin Cindric was in management, till Kyle Larson pushed him up the observe and into the wall, gathering William Byron as they spun throughout the observe. The ensuing warning made for a two-lap sprint to the checkered flag — with Christopher Bell pushing Kyle Larson, and Carson Hocevar pushing Ross Chastain.
Sadly for Chastain, Hocevar wasn’t all for pushing and despatched it up the center as a substitute. Bell took the chance to drag beside Larson because the white flag flew, and Hocevar despatched it up the center once more in what seemed to be the makings of one other three-wide picture end at Atlanta (like one 12 months in the past).
But it surely wasn’t meant to be as a crash down the again compelled a race-ending yellow whereas the leaders had been three-wide within the last set of corners. Bell was declared the winner, Hocevar a career-best second, and Larson third.
Watch: Christopher Bell wins as warning flies on last lap at Atlanta
Ryan Blaney was fourth, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth, Denny Hamlin sixth, Kyle Busch seventh, Chastain eighth, Bubba Wallace ninth, and John-Hunter Nemechek tenth.
Learn Additionally:
An ongoing warning debate
Throwing last-lap cautions has been a sizzling subject for the reason that Duel qualifying races at Daytona. As a consequence of pushback after spoiling a photograph end between Austin Cindric and Erik Jones, NASCAR surprisingly let the sphere race again within the Daytona 500 regardless of a large accident involving the leaders. However following criticism of Saturday’s Xfinity end the place the race was saved as vehicles sped by means of an accident scene, NASCAR backtracked and stated the identical wouldn’t be the case for Sunday. So when Josh Berry spun throughout the observe, they rapidly hit the button as three vehicles had been vying for the highest spot into the ultimate nook. At that second, Bell was clearly forward forward of each Hocevar and Larson.
Photographs from Sunday of Atlanta
On this article
Nick DeGroot
NASCAR Cup
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Carson Hocevar
Joe Gibbs Racing
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