The NASCAR Xfinity Series rolls into Circuit of The Americas on Saturday for the Focused Health 250 (2:30 p.m. ET, The CW, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) for the third race of the 2025 season.
Carson Hocevar and Riley Herbst will make their first Xfinity starts of 2025, as fellow NASCAR Cup Series regulars Ross Chastain and William Byron attempt to do the same. Forty-one cars will fight for 38 starting spots in qualifying.
Here’s a look at the full entry list for Saturday’s event:
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit of The Americas to compete in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix on Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Connor Zilisch, Trackhouse Racing’s 18-year-old phenom, is set to make his Cup Series debut at the 2.3-mile road course in the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet, an Open entry for Trackhouse.
Here’s a look at the full entry list for Sunday’s event:
Entry
Veh #
Driver
Organization
1
1
Ross Chastain
Trackhouse Racing
2
2
Austin Cindric
Team Penske
3
3
Austin Dillon
Richard Childress Racing
4
4
Noah Gragson
Front Row Motorsports
5
5
Kyle Larson
Hendrick Motorsports
6
6
Brad Keselowski
RFK Racing
7
7
Justin Haley
Spire Motorsports
8
8
Kyle Busch
Richard Childress Racing
9
9
Chase Elliott
Hendrick Motorsports
10
10
Ty Dillon
Kaulig Racing
11
11
Denny Hamlin
Joe Gibbs Racing
12
12
Ryan Blaney
Team Penske
13
16
AJ Allmendinger
Kaulig Racing
14
17
Chris Buescher
RFK Racing
15
19
Chase Briscoe
Joe Gibbs Racing
16
20
Christopher Bell
Joe Gibbs Racing
17
21
Josh Berry
Wood Brothers Racing
18
22
Joey Logano
Team Penske
19
23
Bubba Wallace
23XI Racing
20
24
William Byron
Hendrick Motorsports
21
34
Todd Gilliland
Front Row Motorsports
22
35
Riley Herbst
23XI Racing
23
38
Zane Smith
Front Row Motorsports
24
41
Cole Custer
Haas Factory Team
25
42
John Hunter Nemechek
Legacy Motor Club
26
43
Erik Jones
Legacy Motor Club
27
45
Tyler Reddick
23XI Racing
28
47
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Hyak Motorsports
29
48
Alex Bowman
Hendrick Motorsports
30
51
Cody Ware
Rick Ware Racing
31
54
Ty Gibbs
Joe Gibbs Racing
32
60
Ryan Preece
RFK Racing
33
71
Michael McDowell
Spire Motorsports
34
77
Carson Hocevar
Spire Motorsports
35
87
Connor Zilisch (i)
Trackhouse Racing
36
88
Shane van Gisbergen
Trackhouse Racing
37
99
Daniel Suárez
Trackhouse Racing
(i) equals ineligible for driver championship points
He was chided primarily by Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney, but the receiving line of disgruntled drivers waiting for Carson Hocevar could have been so much longer.
After the latest thriller at Atlanta Motor Speedway, at least a dozen more probably would take issue with how Hocevar took no prisoners while dazzling through the draft. In an expletive-filled radio rant after Stage 1, Kyle Busch angrily vowed to wreck Hocevar.
Many others would have been eager to scold the 22-year-old upstart from Spire Motorsports about how he did so many things “wrong” in posting a career-best second-place finish at Atlanta.
And many of those aggrieved would have their own memories of being treated the same way for upsetting the establishment in the Cup Series.
“It’s so funny to see a bunch of veteran drivers pissed at a young and aggressive rookie going for his first win,” Landon Cassill posted on social media Monday. “A tale as old as time. I love it.”
Indeed, the first driver to raise post-race qualms Sunday is familiar with justifying bold and daring moves to older veterans who have started families and slammed into more walls in their careers.
Chastain, who pulled Hocevar aside for an amiable but still occasionally animated chat in the infield grass, was the youthful scourge of NASCAR two years ago after having angered Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Blaney (to name a few).
Once the youngest winner in Cup history, Busch regularly feuded with his elders 20 years ago. Joey Logano routinely was bullied early in a Cup career he started as a teenager.
Even the mild-mannered Blaney once got sideways with Harvick and Jimmie Johnson.
It’s a rite of passage for virtually any driver who wants to be a Cup winner and title contender: You will be told that you are “doing things wrong” on your way to the top.
As a part-time Cup driver (and soon-to-be Xfinity champion) 15 years ago, Brad Keselowski wore it as a badge of honor that he ruffled the feathers of Carl Edwards, Hamlin and Stewart while often playing chicken at 200 mph (infamously earning him the nickname of “Craze-lowski” from his peers).
“There’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from that in a bizarre way,” a 25-year-old Keselowski told USA Today Sports in October 2009. “In this sport when others are angry at you, generally you’ve done something right. Because when you’re in a competitive environment, the only time a competitor is going to like you is when they’re beating you.
“They’re mad at me because I’ve been racing too hard, not because I’m causing wrecks. That’s pretty damn awesome! It’s pretty awesome that Tony Stewart’s mad at me because I’m outracing him. So I don’t walk away from that angry or upset.”
The perspective is different for Hocevar, who spun Blaney with 22 laps remaining Sunday and wrecked fellow rookie Harrison Burton under caution last year. Though he outraced many stars at Atlanta, Hocevar admittedly has built a reputation for mistakes that justifiably have drawn the ire of NASCAR officials as well as his peers.
Giving Chastain and Blaney room to air their grievances after Atlanta was a wise move.
But Hocevar also seems aware there’s a downside to heeding all of their advice. He need look no further than longtime mentor Chastain.
NASCAR’s Ross Resistance Movement peaked on May 14, 2023 when Chastain wrecked Larson while battling for the lead at Darlington Raceway. That earned a very public rebuke from team owner Rick Hendrick, who essentially declared open season on Chastain despite his Trackhouse Racing team being a Chevrolet teammate and customer.
In the 61 races since then, Chastain has three victories, 11 top fives, 23 top 10s and missed last year’s playoffs.
Compare that to his first season at Trackhouse in 2022 when Chastain posted two wins, 15 top fives, 21 top 10s and a championship round berth in 36 races.
There’s a fine line between challenging the old guard but also trying to play by the rules they set.
Hocevar seemed mostly dismissive about having angered Chastain, Blaney and everyone else he is trying to beat on a weekly basis.
But it’s telling that the longest post-Atlanta apology he offered was to Hendrick Motorsports, which also supplies Chevrolet engines and valuable technical support to Spire. Hocevar stressed he had no intentions of pushing Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell to the win ahead of Hendrick’s Kyle Larson.
It was a preemptive and savvy move to maintain a strong relationship with those who have the largest impact on the speed of his No. 77 Chevrolet.
Give Hocevar credit for knowing that those are the only opinions that really matter.
Nate Ryan has written about NASCAR since 1996 while working at the San Bernardino Sun, Richmond Times-Dispatch, USA TODAY and for the past 10 years at NBC Sports Digital. He is a contributor to the new “Hauler Talk” show on the NASCAR Podcast Network. He also has covered various other motorsports, including the IndyCar and IMSA series.
The long journey down to New Smyrna Speedway for the 2025 World Series of Asphalt Stock Car Racing was more symbolic for Paul Hartwig Jr. compared to previous trips.
Hartwig knew his fifth attempt at a 602 Modified title during the month of February would be his swan song behind the wheel. Instead of expending so much energy and money on his own racing ambitions, Hartwig. is diverting his focus toward his son Paulie III, a rising star in Modified competition around the country.
Although he did not tally a win at New Smyrna during the World Series, Hartwig Jr. found solace in a strong week that concluded with a runner-up showing on the final night.
Emotions were high when he climbed out of the car.
“I told my wife, my kid and crew chief on the way down [to Florida] that it was time,” Hartwig said. “They said it wasn’t time, but I said it was time. I said I have to focus on the kid more, and we can’t take that away from him. He [hasn’t] been old enough to run New Smyrna yet, so that was a perfect time for me to go play and not worry about him on track at the same time.
“I was hoping to get that last win and retire in Victory Lane, but [second] was close enough.”
After a runner-up finish in tonight’s #WSOA 602 Modified feature, an emotional Paul Hartwig Jr. announces his retirement from racing.
Hartwig’s time as a hard-nosed, vigilant competitor dates back two decades to when his grandfather Larry Bolen purchased him his first quarter-midget.
Even before he took part in his first official race, Hartwig was always surrounded by motorsports. His father Paul Sr. operated a tow truck at Wall Stadium, a one-third-mile oval situated in New Jersey that served as the proving ground for many notable figures such as Ray Evernham and 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr.
With the support of Bolen’s money, Hartwig Jr. was poised to write his own chapter in Wall Stadium’s proud history. After enjoying plenty of success in a quarter-midget, he took the next step in his development by moving into a Bandolero in 2005, which he raced inside Wall Stadium’s infield.
All of Hartwig’s racing plans hit a major obstacle in 2006 when Bolen passed away. The loss was devastating in multiple regards, and Hartwig realized the only way he could feasibly continue his career was by doing everything himself.
Hartwig recalls plenty of tough periods during his quest to continue racing by self-funding. He briefly lived out of a hotel in 2007, which was mentally straining, but it only served to motivate him to keep making progress.
It took many hard lessons for Hartwig to achieve sustainability as a competitor. Branching away from Wall Stadium was the catalyst for him to find balance, as it allowed him to experience different environments and build connections with other racing figures in the northeast.
“I was a hothead when I was younger,” he said. “I didn’t wreck a lot, but I didn’t make a lot of friends. The best thing to ever happen to me was traveling to New York, running Evergreen Raceway and Mahoning Valley [Speedway]. That really opened me up to a whole new world of racing, because all I knew when I was younger was Wall Stadium.”
Although he lacked the resources enjoyed by his fellow competitors, Hartwig never backed down from a challenge and tallied several accolades during his career. One of his proudest moments as a competitor was besting his childhood hero Matt Hirschman for the victory in a Modified event at Evergreen back in 2016.
By traveling around the country and going up against several talented drivers, Paul Hartwig Jr. (73) found his identity as a competitor. (Photo: Ted Malinowski/NASCAR)
Determination is a quality Hartwig has instilled into Paulie III throughout his own journey. The second-generation racer already has several achievements on his resume with Modified victories at tracks like North Wilkesboro Speedway, along with a pole in the prestigious Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway.
The driver Paulie beat for that pole was Hirschman.
Paulie is still ascertaining all the fundamentals of Modified competition, particularly against the seasoned veterans, but he credits his father for helping him find a comfort zone. The primary piece of advice Paulie has absorbed from his dad is to be smart, as strong performances play a crucial role in the family getting to the track.
“Every single week, he’s said to me as long as we get a top 10, that pays the tire bill,” Paulie said. “We definitely have a good car to win, but it matters where we start. I’m a terrible pill drawer, and have not gotten inside the top two yet. We start way too far back, so we want to ride and save.
“[My dad] says it doesn’t matter where we finish, as long as it’s inside the top 10.”
From day one, Hartwig Jr. has drawn on his own experiences to help mentor Paulie. There are several moments Hartwig wishes he could redo as a competitor, but he is using those mistakes and shortcomings to provide his son several valuable lessons on what he needs to thrive behind the wheel.
Those teachings molded Paulie into a competitor capable of not only winning on pavement facilities, but also dirt tracks. The most recent outing for Paulie saw him take home a checkered flag in a dirt sportsman car at All-Tech Speedway on Feb. 8, one day before Junior began his last week of racing at New Smyrna.
Hartwig always knew his son was capable of being a great driver. The process toward optimizing Paulie’s talents has been arduous at times but also rewarding in many regards.
“I’ve worked very hard with him since he was three years old in the backyard with a go-kart,” Hartwig said. “I just pushed him as far as I could, to every limit he had, and he never failed me. He’s always taken on everything that I’ve put him in. There’s nothing he’s driven yet where he’s lost it.”
Racing has always been a vital part of Paul Hartwig Jr.’s life; a passion he is now passing down to his son Paulie Hartwig III.
Expectations remain high for both Hartwigs as they move on from New Smyrna to focus on a busy 2025 schedule. Paulie intends to participate in several Modified events across the northeast and southeast, all while Hartwig Jr. keeps a watchful eye and guides his son through any questions or obstacles.
Every opportunity for Paulie to race against his dad made him a better driver and bolstered his appreciation for Hartwig’s career. Paulie knows how much his father sacrificed just to stay involved in racing, which is why he believes his dad will climb back into a car one day soon.
“I know it’s not going to be his last race,” Paulie said. “We love racing with each other all the time, so I believe he’s going to race a couple more this year.”
Despite Paulie’s optimism about his dad’s potential return to racing, Hartwig Jr. is content shifting his responsibilities over to exclusively being a team owner and father. By focusing more on his son’s future, Hartwig believes he can put him in the best position to advance up the developmental ladder.
With his time as a driver now over, Hartwig can not help but reflect on his own journey. Two decades of competition flew by for the seasoned Modified competitor, which featured tribulations but also plenty of great memories. He still cherishes his race-winning drive over Hirschman to this day.
Legacy is not something with which Hartwig is overly concerned. He made plenty of enemies — but also plenty of fans — over the past 22 years. What matters to him now is doing whatever it takes to keep Paulie in an environment where he can showcase how much talent he possesses.
“The only way we’re going to excel is if we get some backing to follow us,” Hartwig said. “We have very good equipment, but we don’t have the backing to run the equipment top-notch like we need to.”
New Smyrna was the end of one chapter for Hartwig, but the beginning of another. He is never going to stop supporting Paulie’s racing endeavors, and he looks forward to seeing what his son accomplishes over what he hopes is a prolonged span in racing — just like the one he enjoyed.
The second race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign featured an electric overtime finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway, delivering Christopher Bell his first win of the new year.
Some notable drivers mastered the draft to their advantage in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400, but others left in a hole ahead of Circuit of The Americas, where the Cup circuit heads next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
THREE UP ⬆️
1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 17th
Finished: 3rd
What happened: Larson has handled a fair share of criticism for his lack of success at drafting-style tracks in the week since a 20th-place finish in the Daytona 500. He erased that with a mighty third-place finish Sunday, just inches shy of nabbing the win over Christopher Bell and Carson Hocevar when the caution flag flew in overtime.
What’s next: A new layout at COTA will present a new challenge for the entire Cup field, but Larson’s results at the road course in Austin, Texas, have not been great in the Next Gen car. Since 2022, Larson’s best finish at COTA is 14th (2023), reflective of his average starting spot of 13.6 in his last three starts there.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 34th
Finished: 5th
What happened: Despite contact with Chase Briscoe and Chase Elliott in Stage 2, Stenhouse powered to his first top-five finish of 2025 with a strong run for Hyak Motorsports at Atlanta. Stenhouse worked his way to the front late after averaging an 18.36 running position, according to NASCAR’s loop data, rebounding well from a poor qualifying effort.
What’s next: Stenhouse has never excelled at road courses but had a respectable seventh-place showing in 2023 at COTA. However, his other two Austin starts in the Next Gen car have produced finishes outside the top 25.
Alex Daus | NASCAR Digital Media
3. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Spire Motorsports
Started: 24th
Finished: 13th
What happened: McDowell and his team pulled off one of the most impressive comebacks to date. After going to the garage early for a broken power-steering hose, the No. 71 repaired the issue and returned to the track six laps down. McDowell tied a record by receiving the free pass to get a lap back six times Sunday, according to Racing Insights, allowing the 2021 Daytona 500 champ back onto the lead lap and into a top-20 finishing position after spending 122 of Sunday’s 266 laps off the lead lap.
What’s next: McDowell is a threat to win when NASCAR heads to a road course, as evidenced by his 2023 win on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. A mechanical issue thwarted him last season, but he returns to the course in 2025 with a new team and with a new layout ahead.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
THREE DOWN ⬇️
1. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford
Started: 2nd
Finished: 28th
What happened: Cindric was in the right place but at the wrong time all over again in Atlanta. Cindric led 46 laps Sunday and was out front when Larson attempted to clear him for the top spot with three laps remaining. But at the exit of Turn 2, Larson washed Cindric into the outside wall, bouncing his Ford into the path of William Byron and sending both into a slide and into the inside SAFER barrier. He was unable to continue and finished 28th.
What’s next: COTA has been good to the 2022 Daytona 500 champion, who has top-10 finishes in two of his last three starts in Austin, Texas. Cindric was out front on the final lap of this year’s “Great American Race,” too, so he’s just hoping for a finish relative to his dominant 5.4 average running position — best of the Cup Series by four spots over teammate Ryan Blaney.
Chris Graythen | Getty Images
2. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Started: 13th
Finished: 26th
What happened: A strong day quickly went south for Bowman at the southern 1.54-mile superspeedway. Chris Buescher was sent spinning off Turn 4 after a stack-up in front of him caused a significant slowdown. Buescher’s No. 17 Ford landed right in the nose of Bowman’s No. 48 Chevy, creating damage to Bowman’s car that he could never overcome.
What’s next: Bowman’s most recent race win came on the Chicago Street Course in July 2024, so there’s no fear in any right turns ahead for this bunch. If anyone is upset that COTA is getting a layout change, it might be Bowman, who has finishes of second, third and fourth in his last three COTA starts, all in the Next Gen car.
Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
3. Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Started: 9th
Finished: 39th
What happened: Typically a drafting ace, Keselowski found no luck Sunday at Atlanta when Chase Elliott was put into the wall as a victim of Stenhouse’s contact with Briscoe. Elliott broke a right-rear toe link, lost control and spun right in front of Keselowski, leaving the 2012 champion with nowhere to go.
What’s next: Contrary to Bowman, perhaps Keselowski is looking forward to new twists and turns at COTA. Previous starts have not gone well for Keselowski, who has finished 33rd (2024) and 35th (2023) in his last two trips to Austin.
Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson are known for their success in the dirt-racing ranks and have taken those talents to become two of NASCAR’s superstars.
In 2021, Larson put together a historic 10-win season culminating in his first Cup Series championship.
From the Truck Series, Xfinity Series and now a Cup veteran for six seasons, Bell has proven he can win in any vehicle and has already competed in the Cup Series Championship 4 twice (2022, 2023). Despite falling short of a title, Bell has only shown he’s improving across the 36-race schedule.
But there has been a kink in the armor for the two talents — drafting tracks.
Before Bell’s victory Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the two drivers were a combined 0-for-75 on drafting tracks. The average finishes for both weren’t anything to write home about, either, with Bell at 18.9 and Larson at 22.9. However, instead of entering this weekend with a negative attitude, Bell and Larson were able to accept the racing discipline and walked away with top-three results at the 1.5-mile track. Now, it seems like their friendly rivalry knows no bounds.
“Honestly, I think he genuinely likes it,” crew chief Cliff Daniels told NASCAR.com about Larson’s mindset on big tracks. “He hopped out of the car just now, even finishing third, and had a smile on his face and said he had a lot of fun. The racing is intense, but because it is intense, there’s just so many things happening, and a lot of moving around. It’s fun to watch, and I can only imagine that it’s fun to drive. So I don’t think Kyle has any negative outlook on these races. We’ve just had a hard time getting finishes. And honestly, a lot of these races we’ve run up front, and today was no different. The difference was we were in the right place at the right time to get a good finish and not get taken out. It’s a lot of fun with what this track and what this package has kind of evolved to.”
Completing every lap at Atlanta had been a struggle for Larson entering Sunday. He finished only one of the first six races since the reconfiguration in 2022, a 13th place in the summer of 2022.
But as the Atlanta surface continues to age after its 2022 repave, handling issues and tire wear are slowly beginning to reappear. With the best drivers being able to manage those obstacles, Sunday allowed for Larson and Bell to showcase those skills amid quick thinking in a large pack, finding themselves 1-2 on the final lap.
“Those two are so good at finding different lanes and finding grip and building a run and all those things,” Daniels said. “They’re both so good at it and they push each other a lot at it. Kyle and I talked about it over the winter, it’s a lot of fun to see Bell back in the mix on dirt tracks. I know that those two are going to push each other in a great way competitively, dirt, pavement, whatever they drive. It’s fun to watch those two battle.”
Entering the weekend, Bell’s crew chief Adam Stevens emphasized a mistake-free day on pit road and an optimal pit stall were keys to success at Atlanta.
However, Bell and the entire Joe Gibbs Racing camp started outside the top 25, leaving the No. 20 team with the 33rd pit stall smack in between multiple competitors on a tight pit lane.
“He just stayed really, really patient, and never asked more out of his car than it was capable, and never put himself in the spot he was going to regret,” Stevens said of Bell getting to the front after starting 32nd on Sunday. “As it turned out, we had a competitive car with decent balance at the end and he was just really on top of getting the runs and finding the pushes from behind and taking those runs and passing cars and getting himself cleared on the other side. That was a real testament to how much work he’s put into it. I think we saw a little bit of it last week, and then a continuation of it this week here at the speedway races.”
Next up, the series heads to Circuit of The Americas, a road course that concludes a trilogy of “wild card” events to start the 2025 Cup season. But both Larson and Bell own multiple wins at road courses, and with Phoenix and Las Vegas on the horizon after that, the tandem could separate themselves from the rest of their Cup competitors.
“We’ve finished 1-2 a lot already this year, and honestly, would have been cool to be 1-2 again in the Cup Series here this week,” Larson said, also referring to their dirt battles in the opening months of 2025. “But he’s a really good driver, really good team and we are with our team. It’s fun to get to race with a guy I have raced with for a long time. Hopefully, you know, we’ll be battling for a lot more wins.”
For Bell, getting back to dirt racing was a passion of his, and after JGR lifted the restrictions on its drivers in the offseason, it offered the Norman, Oklahoma, native a chance to get back to his roots that fired him up even more for 2025 after a season where he said he left “a ton on the table.”
Just two races down this season … so far, so good.
“I definitely feel the best I have as a race car driver,” Bell said after his Atlanta win. “I’m sure that part of it is due to the fact that I’ve been racing through the offseason. So it’s a dream come true to be able to drive for Joe Gibbs Racing in these Cup Series cars, and I’m honored and privileged to be able to have some fun outside of the Cup Series cars now. I hope that I can make this the best year ever and prove to the company that it’s the right thing for me to do to be out there racing.”
HAMPTON, Ga. — Immediately after exiting his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet, Carson Hocevar walked toward the frontstretch and conversed with Ross Chastain in a multi-minute conversation. Following the discussion, the 22-year-old swiftly met up with Ryan Blaney for another one-on-one dialogue.
The fruits from both conversations, which included a handshake with Chastain, stemmed from Hocevar’s utilization of aggressive — and controversial — bumps and maneuvers to clinch a runner-up finish in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
“We’re here to win races, not be a boy band and love each other and play on the playground together,” Hocevar said after the race. “So obviously, there’s learning lessons. You don’t want to piss anybody off or frustrate anybody, and there’s things I would clean up for sure. But it’s just going to come with learning …
“Again, I’m normally 40th, waiting for them to crash and hoping they crash, and I finish in the teens. So, to be up front and get stage points in both stages and have a shot to win is something to hold my (head) high. … And I’ve always said I’m a really bad superspeedway racer, so this at least gives me a little bit more confidence.”
Hocevar, racing in his sophomore Cup Series campaign, started the 266-lap affair in 26th. The Michigan native began his maneuvers early and often, eventually culminating with ninth- and seventh-place finishes in Stages 1 and 2, respectively.
However, these bumps quickly drew the ire of several drivers, including Kyle Busch and Ryan Blaney, who made their frustrations regarding the No. 77 known on their respective team radios. Blaney and Busch finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
In the case of Blaney, in-race contact between the pair reached a head on Lap 234 when Hocevar bumped into the No. 12’s right-rear quarter panel, resulting in Blaney spinning out.
“I wasn’t slowing,” Blaney said after the race. “He was drafting to me, and he didn’t lift and just gave me a shot when I’m turning into [Turn] 1, and it spun me out. I was just happy I didn’t hook a right back into everybody and was able to stay on the apron.”
“He’s been around enough now that you know he’s going to, you know, be the aggressor,” Atlanta race winner Christopher Bell said in his press conference. “If there’s a hole, he’s going to take it. If there’s not a hole, he’s going to make one, and he ultimately gave me the shove to pass or break through to lead the side-draft tandem with myself and Kyle down the back straightaway, and then I didn’t realize Kyle had opened up the bottom like he did, getting into (Turn) 3 and allowed Carson to sneak middle of three-wide.”
Hocevar said he apologized to Blaney during their conversation, saying there are areas he could probably clean up.
Chastain, whose No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet finished eighth, battled up front with Hocevar’s No. 77 during the waning portions of Sunday’s contest. Hocevar declined to delve into the conversation specifics, instead quipping that the conversation was about the Chili’s Triple Dipper.
“Sometimes you agree and disagree at things,” Hocevar said regarding Chastain, who has been a mentor for the young driver. “Ultimately, I felt like I made the decision that was to win the race, and I think we’ll be able to continue to talk about it because, obviously, we have each other’s phone numbers.”
Hocevar tallied his best finish in the Cup Series to date, eclipsing his third-place result in September 2024 at Watkins Glen International.
The finish marked a building block for Hocevar on superspeedway-style tracks, an area he has struggled through the early portion of his Cup Series career. Hocevar finished 30th in the 2025 Daytona 500 last weekend.
“I called Jeff Dickerson (Spire Motorsports co-owner) right after Monday, and I was like, man, well, I told my team I was not riding at all after the 500 … I said I wasn’t riding,” Hocevar explained. “And I called Jeff, and I said, ‘Hey, man, like, what do you think I do?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, you just ride. You do what you normally do.’ And I said, I think I’m just gonna go race, and I’m just gonna go see what happens.
“So, they have full faith in me on the riding thing, and they have full faith in me going forward, and I felt like our car was capable enough to do what we just did. Last year, I still probably ride because I think we weren’t there yet, but now I felt like I was racing the race car. I was racing again, so lots of hold our head high on.”
Aggression, frustration and post-race discussion were the themes from the No. 77 team’s Atlanta performance, with Hocevar next trekking to Circuit of The Americas on March 2 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Hocevar sits 15th in the driver standings heading to the Texas road course.
To Hocevar, the goal will be continuing to learn as a driver looking to find his footing in NASCAR’s premier series.
“Again, there’s things I would clean up,” Hocevar said. “But you’re not gonna make the right decisions every time, especially with how fast we’re going and how many runs is happening, and I can only apologize and say I’m gonna get better.”
HAMPTON, Ga. – Christopher Bell prevailed in overtime to claim the victory in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway – officially leading only the final lap and getting the photo nod in a three-wide run as a caution flag came out on the last lap to end the NASCAR Cup Series race.
It marks the second year that this race featured a three-wide run to the end. This time Bell was out front over second-year driver Carson Hocevar and 2021 series champion Kyle Larson as the final yellow flag flew. It was the the 10th career series victory for Bell, a 30-year-old Oklahoma native, and his first on a drafting-type track like Atlanta, Daytona or Talladega. It also marked the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing since June of last year.
“I’ll tell you what, that right there is what you dream of,” an elated Bell said afterward. “To be able to restart on the first or second row on a restart at a speedway, you never know how those things are going to play out.
“But,” he added looking directly into the FOX television cameras with a huge smile, “I’ll be the first to tell you, ‘I love superspeedways.’
“I don’t know,” he conceded, “but this style of racing has always been a little bit of a struggle for me. Throughout the beginning of the day, obviously today we were just stuck way in the back. But [crew chief] Adam [Stevens] and these boys just did an incredible job of getting this thing fixed up so I could just hold my foot down and you’ve got to be able to just stay in the throttle and that last half of the race we ran our best.”
Despite his near-miss third-place showing, Larson was pleased with the finish. He’s 0-for-48 in speedway-type races, including 16 previous DNFs. So all said, it was a successful, if eventful, day. He had contact with one of the race’s strongest cars, Austin Cindric’s No. 2 Team Penske Ford, with three laps remaining to make the overtime finish necessary, but led 12 laps.
Hocevar’s runner-up finish was a career-high mark for the 22-year-old driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
However, shortly after the young Michigander climbed out of his car, he was confronted post-race by both Ross Chastain and former series champ Ryan Blaney in separate discussions. Although Chastain declined to share what was said, Blaney confirmed he suggested that Hocevar work on his decision-making.
“I just said, ‘Hey, you got to calm down.’ I told him a couple moves he made earlier in the race that were really, really sketchy,” said Blaney, who rallied to a fourth-place finish after being spun out from contact with Hocevar with 27 laps remaining.
“Obviously, me getting spun. He should know better than to hit me in that spot. He can’t just run into my bumper as I’m turning into a corner. I’m going to wreck. So, I just told him you’ve got to calm down. You got a lot of talent, but you got to be a little bit easier in this certain moment. Be smarter.”
Hocevar also said he preferred to keep the two conversations with his veteran competitors to himself, but immediately offered an apology for any contact with Larson on the final lap.
“I didn’t realize we weren’t racing back to the line,” he said of the last-lap fender rub with Larson, adding, “Some stuff I’ve got to learn and clean up a little bit, but I feel like we put ourselves in a perfect opportunity to win a race and I’ve never really had that opportunity before, especially on superspeedways. So, thanks to everybody at Spire Motorsports.”
The early portion of the race was dominated by the Ford contingent, which included 10 of the top 11 qualifiers including Blaney’s pole position in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Blaney’s teammate, reigning series champion Joey Logano led a race-best 83 laps – the second time in as many races this season he outpaced the field, but finished 12th.
The final yellow flag flew to end the race when Stage 1 winner Josh Berry, Justin Haley and Ryan Preece collided on the backstretch during overtime.
Hyak Motorsports’ Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth, followed by Denny Hamlin, a strong showing for the veteran who like his JGR teammates all started 25th or worse on the grid.
The race was slowed by 11 caution periods, including eight for wrecks. One of those crack-ups snared Daniel Suárez, who won this race last year at Atlanta in a narrow three-wide finish, but was sidelined Sunday in a Lap 184 tangle involving seven other cars. Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch was the only one of three drivers (with Blaney and Suárez) from last year’s three-wide photo finish not to be collected in an accident. The two-time series champion finished seventh, followed by Trackhouse Racing’s Chastain, 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace, and Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek, who scored his second top-10 finish in as many races this year – already half of his single season high in two previous full-time seasons at the NASCAR Cup Series level.
With his fourth-place showing Sunday, Blaney now leads the championship by 12 points over Daytona 500 winner William Byron. Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger set the Xfinity Fastest Lap of the race.
The NASCAR Cup Series heads west for its first road course race of the season, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix next Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Byron is the defending race winner at Circuit of The Americas.
Notes: Post-race inspection in the Cup Series garage was completed without issue, confirming Bell as the race winner. Competition officials indicated that two cars — the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet and the No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford — would return to the NASCAR Research & Development Center for further inspection this week. … Michael McDowell rallied from a six-lap deficit after his Spire Motorsports crew made an extended stop to repair the No. 71 Chevrolet’s power steering to finish 13th on the lead lap. McDowell was the free-pass beneficiary in six consecutive caution periods during the second and third stages to get back into contention at the end.
Defending race winner Daniel Suárez was involved in a multicar crash with Ty Gibbs, Cole Custer and others at Lap 184 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday.
Exiting Turn 4, Suárez was running the high line when Gibbs darted to the middle between Suárez and Gilliland. That contact sent Suárez’s No. 99 Chevrolet into a slide at the start/finish line, collecting over a half-dozen cars in a mid-pack pileup in the final stage of the Ambetter Health 400.
Suárez’s car blocked much of the track as he slid toward Turn 1, leaving Noah Gragson, Cole Custer, J.J. Yeley and Cody Ware nowhere to go but directly into the crash.
Through Turns 3 and 4, Riley Herbst’s No. 35 Toyota had to slow due to a handling push in the top lane, two cars in front of Suárez. Suárez had to roll off the throttle to avoid hitting Bubba Wallace just in front of him, allowing Gibbs’ No. 54 Toyota a run to the middle. The hole closed too quickly, leading to the incident.
“I didn’t know the 54 was there. I think that was on me,” Suárez told FOX Sports while watching the replay. “Today, we were just not good enough. I mean we struggled a lot with the balance of the car since the first stage. We worked a lot to make it better. We made it better, but never quite the way that we normally are here. We will have to review everything.”
Gibbs was able to continue before a separate issue ended his day, leading to a 32nd-place finish. Suárez (33rd), Gragson (34th), Ware (35th), Custer (36th) and Yeley (37th) were unable to continue.
Ware was treated and released from the infield care center. All other drivers were evaluated and released from the care center.
Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Corey LaJoie were involved in a multicar crash at Lap 150 during Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
With just 10 laps remaining in Stage 2 of the Ambetter Health 400, Elliott was running 11th through Turns 3 and 4 in the high lane of a three-wide situation, while Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Briscoe raced to his left. Briscoe’s car washed up the track into Stenhouse’s Chevrolet, which then sent Elliott into the SAFER barrier.
The initial contact with the wall appeared to break Elliott’s right-rear toe link, rendering his handling uncontrollable. At the start/finish line, Elliott’s No. 9 Chevrolet broke sideways and contacted LaJoie’s No. 01 Ford and Keselowski’s No. 6 Ford.
“There’s, like, a million of those decisions during one of these races, and you just try to get a feel for it and I guessed wrong,” Keselowski said after being evaluated and released from the infield care center.
Elliott and LaJoie were able to drive their vehicles to the attention of their respective pit crews on pit road. Keselowski was unable to do the same and instead had his car towed to the garage area, where the team was permitted to repair the RFK Racing machine under new Damaged Vehicle Policy rules for the 2025 season.
Elliott rallied to a 20th-place finish. However, both LaJoie’s and Keselowski’s crews determined their damage was too severe and did not return to the race. LaJoie finished 38th and Keselowski, the 2012 Cup Series champion, finished 39th, last.
Keselowski’s disappointment didn’t deter him enjoying the tight-quarters racing at the 1.54-mile superspeedway. The field largely stayed double- and triple-wide, which Keselowski took joy in.
“It’s just intense racing. It’s great racing,” he said. “It’s fun to be a part of. Just hate we didn’t come out on top.”
Keselowski entered Sunday’s race 20th in the points standings and will take a hit with just one point earned at Atlanta. The team co-owner of RFK Racing is not concerned about his standings only two races into the 26-race regular season, though.
“We started off last year in a big points hole,” he said. “The potential in our cars seems to have increased from where we were last year. So, for us, we want to go out and run well at COTA (Circuit of The Americas). But I think everybody kind of knows that the real metric for the season is probably going to be more when we get through Phoenix and Vegas.”
