Bell takes only lead in OT to edge Hocevar, Larson in another thrilling NASCAR finish in Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Christopher Bell celebrated a drought-ending victory for himself and Joe Gibbs Racing after a dramatic comeback in Atlanta.

Bell edged Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson in overtime Sunday in another close NASCAR Cup Series finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Bell led only the final lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and had a slight edge on the outside when the caution light came on in overtime following a wreck by Josh Berry.

“That last lap of the race we were at our best,” Bell said.

It was the first victory for Joe Gibbs Racing since Bell's win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on June 23, 2024.

“I am glad that we don’t have to hear about that,” Bell said. “'Joe Gibbs Racing hasn’t won since June.' That’s all I’ve heard. So I’m very happy to end that narrative.”

The 30-year-old Oklahoma driver has 10 career Cup victories, and he acknowledged Atlanta wasn't the spot his team had circled to end the drought.

Bell's strength in his career has not been superspeedway style racing, but he pulled off the comeback after qualifying only 32nd and struggling most of the day to look like a serious contender. Even Bell's crew chief, Adam Stevens, wasn't expecting the late comeback.

“I think I fell off the edge of my seat a couple of times, especially there what was it, maybe 10, 15 to go when we were up in the top three or four and then fell back outside the top 10,” Stevens said. “I thought we were toast. But Bell just kept his head down and really dug deep all day.”

Austin Cindric led in his Team Penske Ford before he and William Byron, the Daytona 500 winner last week, wrecked with three laps remaining, setting up the overtime.

Hocevar faced criticism from Ryan Blaney and other drivers after the race for his aggressive style on the track.

“Yeah, I mean, there’s some stuff I got to learn and clean up a little bit, but I feel like we put ourselves in the perfect opportunity to try and win a race,” Hocevar said after falling short in a bid for his first victory. “I’ve never had that opportunity really before, especially on a superspeedway.”

Kyle Busch finished seventh, ending his hopes of snapping a winless streak on the Cup Series. Busch won the Atlanta Truck Series race Saturday but is still looking for his first Cup win since 2023 after having his NASCAR-record 19-year streak with at least one win end last year.

Larson failed to finish the last four and five of the last six Atlanta races and was involved in accidents in each of the six.

Larson's Hendrick Motorsports teammates claimed the spotlight in NASCAR's first two weeks. Chase Elliott won The Clash on Feb. 2 before Byron avoided late wrecks to win the Daytona 500.

Larson's string of bad luck ended Sunday after he qualified only 17th. Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, surged late the win the second stage.

“Came up a little bit short, but proud of the effort today by everybody on our HendrickCars.com Chevy,” Larson said. “Yeah, finally finished at Atlanta and finally got to run up front.”

Wrecks for Elliott, Suarez

Elliott was in the top 10 when his Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet hit the wall late in the second stage and then hit Brad Keselowski's RFK Racing's Ford, ending Keselowski's race. Elliott finished 18th.

Daniel Suarez, who edged Blaney Kyle Busch in a thrilling three-wide finish in Atlanta's 2024 February race, saw his hopes for a repeat win end when he was involved in a seven-car crash early in the third stage. Cole Custer, Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware, Noah Gragson and JJ Yaley also were involved.

Blaney was in contention before his late one-car spin caused a caution, but he rallied to finish fourth.

Sharp Dressed Man

Billy Gibbons, the lead guitarist and singer for the rock group ZZ Top, served as the grand marshal and gave the “start your engines” command.

New deal for Heim with 23XI

The 23XI Racing team announced a multi-year deal with Corey Heim as a development driver. Heim will drive a limited number of Cup Series races in the No. 67 Toyota and also will compete on Xfinity races, including next week at Circuit of the Americas. His first Cup race on the new deal will be at Kansas Speedway on May 11.

Heim made three Cup starts for 23XI last year and has a Truck Series win at Daytona this year. He finished 23rd in Saturday's Truck Series race in Atlanta.