HAMPTON, Ga. – Fortunes turned in a heartbeat on a whale of a last-lap clash Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, with the new superspeedway nature of the 1.54-mile track throwing plenty of names into the mix. The name that rang out the loudest came from race winner William Byron, who landed Hendrick Motorsports’ third win this season. But others with designs on breaking through still resonated.
Trackhouse Racing continued its early-season progress with a runner-up effort from the resurgent Ross Chastain and teammate Daniel Suárez. Both emerged from the chaos with top-five finishes. 23XI Racing had its own mixed bag, with Kurt Busch landing in third place and his teammate, Bubba Wallace, savoring his best showing since the Daytona 500 before the last-lap melee sent his No. 23 Toyota back to the garage on a wrecker’s hook.
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Chastain had the best finish to show for his recovery from a tire deflation and crash late in Stage 1. He had led 42 laps to that point but rallied from two laps down after repairs to figure into the final-lap scramble.
Chastain said he drove the final stretch with his thumbs up for fear of another tire failure that might snap the steering wheel from his hands. But he made the first bold move among the contenders with a lap and a half to go, ducking his No. 1 Chevrolet low out of fourth place to bid for the race win.
It was enough to get by third-running Ryan Blaney and eventually Wallace for second, but not enough to catch Byron. Chastain crossed the line a close third to Christopher Bell, but a penalty on the No. 20 driver for crossing the out-of-bounds line moved Chastain up to the runner-up slot.
“Just keep putting ourselves here, man,” said Chastain, who scored his third consecutive top-three finish. “You know, our day could have very easily been last, like we could have been whatever, the 37th-place car. But we made it, and then we put ourselves back in position. … We keep bringing these fast Chevys … like, I’m living my dream. So I can’t imagine it getting any better. But seeing the checkered flag right there and to see William have that win, we’re close.”
Suárez finished fourth for the second time this season, leading 13 laps and forcing his own way into contention late. He echoed the now-common refrain that wins are in the near future for the second-year organization, headed by a buoyant Justin Marks, who celebrated with his drivers on pit road post-race.
“I’m super proud,” Marks said. “This is about our approach, just how we approach this car with this company and these races with this company. Today, regardless of the results, it was really a demonstration in our resilience and our execution, so I’m really happy. Both cars got behind pretty bad. Today was looking bleak toward the end of the first stage, second stage there. But they just, they didn’t lose any fight. They kept digging, knew that there was still an opportunity to get back in the hunt, and when they pushed the button at the end, they made the right moves at the right time, and it was a great result for the company.”
The other second-year Cup Series team that figured mightily into the final fracas was 23XI. Busch was a mere 11th when Chastain made his move a handful of rows ahead of him but masterfully picked his way through the mishaps and traffic for his second straight top-five finish.
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The 23XI driver who looked likeliest to mount a successful challenge to Byron’s dominance was Wallace, who capitalized on his knack for superspeedway racing to put the No. 23 Toyota in position. Chastain chugging by at the white flag hurt that chance, then a strong push from the two-Ford tandem of Blaney and Chase Briscoe pitched his car sideways through Turns 1 and 2 and left him fighting for the best result outside the podium.
That finish wound up being 13th after a severe crunch of the frontstretch wall, with Wallace entangled in a Chris Buescher-Justin Haley crack-up underneath the checkered flag. Wallace took a moment to catch his breath, and he later told FOX Sports “that was the hardest hit I’ve had,” after a check at the infield care center.
Post-race, crew chief Robert “Bootie” Barker watched his team tend to the battered No. 23 Camry in the Atlanta garage, but he was reflective in saying that Wallace had a shot, but just not enough to mitigate the final-lap shake-out.
“We go all out all the time, so you know, just do your best and let the chips fall where they may,” Barker told NASCAR.com. “But we were there. We were all there, and Bubba did exceptional, so I’m pleased with our effort.”