What Happened?
Christopher Bell outlasted a surge from Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson to earn his first win of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday night (Feb. 23). It’s Bell’s 10th Cup Series win, and the second superspeedway win for Toyota in the Next Gen era.
Entering the final two turns, Hocevar delivered a stiff shot to the back bumper of Bell and created a gap to squeeze into. It looked like Bell would become the odd man out on the high line with no momentum, but just as the two Chevrolets were pulling up, the caution came out.
A look at the finish of tonight's race at @ATLMotorSpdwy. @CBellRacing is victorious in the No. 20. pic.twitter.com/irWtUozrO4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 24, 2025
What Really Happened?
Yes, the caution actually came out this time. It absolutely ruined what could have been another electric finish.
A Bell versus Hocevar versus Larson fight for the finish would have made for some incredible storylines. Just when I was out of my seat, expecting another three-wide battle, the blinking yellow light caught my eye, and my stomach sank.
Sure, it sucks that a caution ruined the finish, but it’s much more than having another race end under yellow. It’s the fact that, once again, race officiating is what people will remember from the weekend.
We were all hoping to leave this in 2024 after a slew of sloppy moments. Instead, it’s plagued the first handful of races across all of the series.
This all stems back to the outrage of a quick trigger caution ruining another photo finish in the second Daytona Duel a week and a half ago. Another caution in the Craftsman Truck Series opener seemed a bit unnecessary, and the Xfinity Series finished under caution to add insult to injury.
Then, the Daytona 500, which probably should have finished under caution, went green to the end. After a green flag finish photo finish in the Truck Atlanta race (finally), the Xfinity Series again should have finished under caution but didn’t.
I'm still mad about the way NASCAR is handling when to throw the yellow in these races.
— Anthony Damcott (@AnthonyDamcott) February 24, 2025
Every time they don't throw the yellow there's nothing to race for.
Every time we're setting up for a great finish, that's when they throw it.
This is why we're frustrated.#NASCAR
The Daytona 500 finish was praised, but the Xfinity Atlanta ending drew some more scrutiny and led to Elton Sawyer’s comments ahead of the Cup race.
Elton Sawyer tells drivers that the ending of the Xfinity race last night – where there was no caution after wreck — was “on us.”
— Daniel McFadin (@danielmcfadin) February 23, 2025
Anything similar today will result in a caution.#NASCAR
Just when fans are clamoring for consistency, it might seem hypocritical – dare I say inconsistent – of fans of one finish to criticize the others.
NASCAR opened themselves up for this controversy when they swallowed the whistle at the end of the 500 and yesterday's race.
— Eric Estepp (@EricEstepp17) February 24, 2025
If they had JUST BEEN CONSISTENT all along, there wouldn't be the outrage.
However, ‘consistency’ is the wrong word NASCAR fans, teams, and media are searching for. I believe what we all mean is ‘common sense’.
Common sense should tell you that a caution just a few hundred yards from the finish line will do absolutely no good in slowing drivers down. When competitors can see the checkered flag, they aren’t lifting. Additionally, if a driver or two near the back of the field take fairly harmless spins, that should not ruin a great battle for the win at the front.
On the flip side, when a group of cars near the front of the pack come together in a wad on the backstretch with 10 or more cars behind them driving into a wall of smoke, that absolutely should warrant a caution.
Using the common sense rule, NASCAR was right to regret their decision this morning. Looking at the finish, NASCAR made another good decision.
Josh Berry and Joey Logano came together on the outside lane. If the pair stayed high while everyone else went low, that would have been enough for NASCAR to hold the caution. However, Berry spun around and went across traffic, with more than 10 cars barreling down the backstretch.
A look at what happened on the backstretch during the final lap involving the No. 21 and others. pic.twitter.com/WInfHUQ61n
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 24, 2025
As disappointing as the yellow flag finish is, NASCAR made the right call. I just hope for the sake of the teams, the fans, and the sport as a whole that the series can stay out of their own heads and straighten things out instead of having to apologize in retrospect.
Not everything in sports will follow a black-and-white pattern. It’s time for NASCAR officials to trust their gut and use common sense. And hopefully, drivers can find a way to clean up their act as well.
People can point fingers at NASCAR & whether it should've held or thrown the caution, but it's ultimately the drivers who control their own destiny.
— Stephen Stumpf (@stephen_stumpf) February 24, 2025
NASCAR wouldn't be put in this box to make a tough call if the field had the ability to run two clean laps on a regular basis.
Who Stood Out?
A third-place finish doesn’t seem that notable for Larson. Given the track and style of racing, however, it feels like a major accomplishment for the No. 5 team. Larson had been involved in a crash in each of the previous six Atlanta races, and his best at the reconfigured surface was 13th in the summer 2022 race.
This week’s finish especially came as a surprise given Larson’s post-race frustrations with his decision making at the Daytona 500 and Jeff Gordon admitting he had noticed Larson’s superspeedway struggles.
Larson didn’t exactly make all the right moves Sunday evening. He did force Austin Cindric into the wall, causing a crash that collected teammate William Byron. But Larson certainly looked more confident in the closing laps while actually competing for the win on a superspeedway.
Not clear. Here's what happened: https://t.co/ZNQdQONA6h pic.twitter.com/1Tl7XFgAXN
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 23, 2025
Michael McDowell managed a 13th-place finish when the smoke settled. That may not seem like much for a driver who is expected to compete for the front at superspeedways. Given the way his race went, however, it’s an incredible story.
The No. 71 team had some issues during the opening weekend at Daytona International Speedway, and they had more problems with the car at Atlanta, which forced the team to go to the garage and make repairs. Over the course of the race, however, the field stayed together and nobody fell off to go a lap or two down.
That allowed McDowell to get the free pass – six times actually – and return to the lead lap to end up in the top 15, quite an impressive feat.
For better or for worse, McDowell’s Spire Motorsports teammate Hocevar stood out as well. The No. 77 ran up front most of the day, and he earned a career-best finish as the runner-up. Hocevar also made a few enemies of his own as well.
Who Fell Flat?
An early crash took out Daniel Suarez, ending a streak of three straight top two Atlanta finishes. Suarez just squeezed Ty Gibbs, causing the crash that ended his race.
It’s only the second time Suarez has finished outside of the top 10 at new Atlanta.
Just a few laps earlier, Brad Keselowski fell victim to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. forcing Chase Elliott into the outside wall.
We've got trouble on the frontstretch! @chaseelliott, @keselowski and @CoreyLaJoie are involved! pic.twitter.com/Otd8QY8t7c
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 23, 2025
Before the crash, Keselowski did not have the same speed as the other Fords who started up front and stayed there. The No. 6 is one of the big names in a hole after finishing 26th at Daytona and 39th this weekend.
Better Than Last Time?
After a week of conversation surrounding the disappointments of recent Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway races, Atlanta showed that this is how superspeedways should look. The tighter radius of the corners and shorter straightaways keep handling important and prevent it from becoming a competition to see who can push the hardest and dodge the crashes.
In fact, even when they did crash, the drivers somehow seemed to be able to avoid the wrecks a little better.
The racing itself was spectacular. However, it’s hard to beat the race last year, which had a three-wide race to the stripe AND finished under green.
Paint Scheme of the Race
This early in the season, we still had quite a few new looks hit the track. This weekend specifically, a number of the new looks were decked out in purple.
Denny Hamlin had Yahoo on his car, with a few extra o’s around the rear bumper. Tyler Reddick’s Xfinity Mobile machine stood out ripping the fence throughout the race.
But the best of the bunch really had no competition this weekend. The paint scheme of the race goes to Bubba Wallace and that Columbia 1986 Bugaboo look.
This Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway @BubbaWallace and @23xiracing take the No. 23 Toyota Camry that was inspired by our classic 1986 Bugaboo jacket to the Max. pic.twitter.com/NO5mz3f1Xm
— columbia1938 (@Columbia1938) February 18, 2025
On one hand, I do wish there was a little more pink on the car. On the other hand, it was still the best-looking car on the track.
What’s Next?
The NASCAR Cup Series trades the superspeedways for a road course, heading to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. While last year’s race might have lacked the chaos, don’t expect the same. The Cup Series is racing a new configuration at the track, cutting out a few turns and skipping the long back straightaway.
The EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix is Sunday, March 2 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!
Dumb call after dumb call after dumb call. Totally ruined a good finish. Elton Sawyer was a terrible driver and he’s an even worse race steward. Let them race!!
It seems difficult to “let them race” when cars are crashed and a driver might be hurt and needs help.
But yes, their inconsistency in when and where they throw the yellow is what causes all this controversy.