Bell Wins in OT–Wallace Finishes 9th
After a wild race with so many twists and turns it was Christopher Bell who came out on top 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 ok in a three-wide run as a caution flag came out on the last lap to end the NASCAR Cup Series race.
By Earl Heath | Contributing Sports Writer
After a wild race with so many twists and turns it was Christopher Bell who came out on top 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 ok in a three-wide run as a caution flag came out on the last lap to end the NASCAR Cup Series race.
This is 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 Bell’s 10th career series win. 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,” said the 30-year-old Oklahoma native. “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.
Hocevar’s runner-up finish was a career-high mark for the 22-year-old driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Kyle Larson finished third, pole winner Ryan Blaney fourth, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. fifth. Blaney had roared back up to the front after spinning with 27 laps remaining. The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion avoided damage on the spin and remained on the lead lap after taking four fresh tires while most of the rest of the field remained on the track.
Bubba Wallace finished fourth in the first stage at Atlanta, second in the second stage, and then placed ninth in the race. That’s what solid drivers do when maybe not having the best car. A teammate of Wallace at 23XI Racing, Reddick finished sixth in both stages before settling for a disappointing 19th.
“I am in a better place mentally. I am ready to get back at it,” said Wallace who earned his 46th top 10 finish.
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 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.
