At Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (Feb. 23) evening, it was mission accomplished for Joe Gibbs Racing. Christopher Bell captured his first win on a drafting track and the 10th victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
In typical Atlanta fashion, the race came down to the last lap with a three-wide battle between Bell, Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar. Just when it looked like Larson or Hocevar would sweep past Bell in turn 3, a caution came out for a crash back in the pack, ending the race immediately. Replays of the final lap revealed that Bell still held the advantage when the caution light came on.
“That right there is what you dream of,” Bell said. “To be able to restart on the first or second row in a green-white-checkered at a speedway, you never know how those things are going to play out. But I’ll be the first to tell you, I love superspeedways.”
The win was a much-needed victory for Bell and JGR. The No. 20 team had a solid run going through the 2024 postseason, but they were eliminated at Martinsville Speedway after the race ended in controversy. Gibbs, meanwhile, did not put a single driver in the championship race for the first time in the 11-year history of the playoff format. The team had even been winless since New Hampshire Motor Speedway in June last year. The Atlanta triumph must feel good for the entire organization.
However, all that glitters is not DeWalt gold. Bell’s statement about how he loves superspeedways was said with a wink and a nudge. He would then go on to explain how his path to victory had plenty of challenges.
“This style of racing has always been a little bit of a struggle for me,” Bell said. “Throughout the beginning of the day we, obviously, were just stuck way in the back, and Adam (Stevens) and these boys back here, they did an amazing job getting this thing fixed up to where I could just hold my foot down. That’s what it’s all about. You got to be able to stay in the throttle, and that last half of the race we were at our best.”
Notice the word, “obviously.” Bell started 32nd and led only one lap all afternoon. He did not have the raw speed to match many other drivers who led laps, particularly the Team Penske Fords. In fact, all of the Gibbs cars seemed a bit lost at Atlanta, and none of them looked like a threat to win until Bell’s late charge. The Toyotas struggled in general, but 23XI Racing drivers Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick were able to drive their way through the pack earlier in the race. Bell had to wait almost until nightfall to do the same.
The only other JGR driver to reach the front of the field was Chase Briscoe, and that was through pit strategy. The No. 19 team stayed out of the pits under the stage two caution on lap 164 to take the lead, but Briscoe was unable to hold his place at the front of the pack once the racing resumed. Later, on lap 205, Briscoe scraped the wall in turn 4 and drifted into the path of Chris Buescher, sending the No. 17 sideways down the frontstretch and triggering a multi-car crash. Briscoe was never competitive after that incident and finished the race in 21st place.
To make matters worse, the No. 19 team got hit with a 100-point penalty on Feb. 19 for an improperly mounted spoiler on their pole-winning Daytona 500 car. This marks the second time in three seasons that Briscoe’s team has received a serious penalty that cost him both regular season and playoff points. Although JGR has announced that it will appeal the penalty, the immediate concern is that Briscoe is at -51 points after two races. There is still a long way to go in the 2025 Cup Series season, but digging out of such a big points hole is going to make things difficult for Briscoe.
Sunday’s race at Atlanta was also a struggle for Denny Hamlin. Not long ago, Hamlin was regarded as one of the best in NASCAR at drafting tracks, but his results have fallen off with the introduction of the Next Gen car. He had a shot to win his fourth Daytona 500 a week ago, but contact with Cole Custer on the last lap sent him spinning on the backstretch. Hamlin earned a better result by finishing sixth this past weekend, matching his best at Atlanta since its 2022 reconfiguration. However, the No. 11 did not lead any laps or score any stage points. Hamlin, like Bell, seemed stuck in the pack unable to make a move for most of the race.
Finally, there is Ty Gibbs, who still feels bogged down in the malaise that he and the No. 54 team experienced at the conclusion of last season. Gibbs ended 2024 with five consecutive finishes of 30th or worse. A 16th-place run in the Daytona 500 ended that streak, but at Atlanta he got collected in a crash on lap 184 that left his Toyota crab walking down the frontstretch. Gibbs was not even around for the finish of the race.
Even though JGR has ended its winless drought, the team still has a lot of questions to answer. Bell could be a strong championship contender this season if he can keep up with the Penske and Hendrick Motorsports cars. Hamlin is a veteran and one of the most decorated drivers in the field, but his winless streak has grown to 27 races and the organization still needs to find him an anchor sponsor after the departure of FedEx. Ty Gibbs rose through the ranks of NASCAR quickly, and his breakout could happen at any time. Yet looking at his recent results, it has never felt farther away. Briscoe has the potential to race for wins and compete for championships, but his team and his tendency to step beyond the edge of control have not done him any favors in 2025.
Suffice it to say that JGR has room for improvement. The organization has a long season ahead, and Joe Gibbs has proven that he can build successful teams on the football field and the racetrack. However, Bell’s Atlanta win alone will not cure what has been afflicting JGR.
Bryan began writing for Frontstretch in 2016. He has penned Up to Speed for the past eight years. A lifelong student of auto racing, Bryan is a published author and automotive historian. He is a native of Columbus, Ohio and currently resides in Southern Kentucky.