HAMPTON, Ga. - There's no place like home.
That's true for the second time for Chase Elliott.
Riding a massive push from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott surged into the lead past Brad Keselowski getting into turn one on the final lap and held off the field to roll to a victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
It marked the second win at Atlanta for the native of Dawsonville, Georgia, and it came at the end of yet another frantic, chaotic, and dramatic race at the 1.54-mile quad-oval that was reconfigured before the 2022 season.
"Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I've never in my life," Elliott gushed in front of a roaring crowd. "Thanks to all you guys because this right here, you can't dream of this."
Bowman came home third.
Making the win even more special, Elliott was driving a car designed by 11-year-old Rhealynn Mills, a pediatric cancer patient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. As part of the DESI9N TO DRIVE program, Mills' design was selected from dozens of submissions in the ninth edition of the collaboration with the Chase Elliott Foundation.
"Just what a special car and just a huge thanks to NAPA Auto Parts and everything they do for me and to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta," Elliott said. "Rhealynn Mills designed a fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I'll never forget."
It was an unforgettable event for most involved as races at Atlanta in recent memory have tended to be.
Most notably, a massive crash broke out at the beginning of stage two, involving 29 of the race's 40 cars. Elliott was in the lead and clear of the calamity, but the other three Hendrick Motorsports entries weren't as lucky. Bowman was the most fortunate of those three, avoiding major damage and continuing to contend for the win. Kyle Larson was able to continue the race but battled through minor damage the rest of the way.
However, William Byron was swept up in the heart of the fracas and suffered too much damage to soldier on. He went on to finish 37th but added seven stage points in the race's first segment.
Meanwhile, Elliott and Bowman continued to be fixtures at the front of the field. Elliott led 41 laps and made a move on leader Tyler Reddick on the final lap of the race's second segment but came up inches short of a stage win in a photo finish. He settled for second and nine points while Bowman was fourth, earning seven markers.
Five more caution flags would wave over the course of stage three with both Bowman and Elliott continuing to battle for the lead. Justin Haley crashed with 34 circuits remaining, bringing out what would be the evening's final stoppage. With Elliott in second and Bowman in fourth, both chose to stay out while most of the field from ninth place on back pitted for tires.
FROM WINNER TO CHAMPION, PART 6: Winning the War
Despite the tire disadvantage, Bowman wouldn't relent, leading twice in the final 16 laps. He was out front for 32 circuits total.
Elliott meanwhile was shuffled back early in the final run but as the laps ticked down, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet slowly marched forward. Keselowski took the lead with six laps to go and was still out front as the white flag flew but finally, the two Hendrick Motorsports Chevies were lined up and Bowman came up with the race's most pivotal shove. With the momentum, Elliott dove to the bottom and wedged Keselowski up the track.
Then, on the backstretch, Bowman pulled to the inside of Keselowski, stalling his momentum and aiding Elliott in holding on for the win.
"Our car was really good, but I was pretty bottom dependent with how our handling was," Bowman said. "Congrats to the nine team and Chase, proud of those guys and glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. Wish it was but had a really fast Ally 48."
Larson was able to keep his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet out of further trouble and finished 17th, on the lead lap.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return next week with a race at the Chicago Street Course. Green flag is set for 2 p.m.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA/CHOA Chevrolet
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Connor Zilisch, No. 87
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- BJ McLeod, No. 78
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- David Starr, No. 66
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Corey LaJoie, No. 01
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12