Christopher Bell powered to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season Sunday, holding on for an overtime triumph at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Bell led just the last of the 266 laps in the Ambetter Health 400, prevailing when his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was in front as a race-closing caution flag flew. His first win at the 1.54-mile Georgia track was the 10th of his Cup Series career.
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Carson Hocevar was the runner-up in the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet. Kyle Larson placed third with pole-starter Ryan Blaney fourth and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. completing the top five.
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The race went to overtime after a Lap 258 crash involving front-row starter Austin Cindric and Daytona 500 winner William Byron in a three-way contest for the lead with Larson.
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. Blaney was another driver snagged in the late-race melees, spinning with 27 laps to go in regulation after an untimely bump from Hocevar. He continued without major damage and rallied for a top-five result.
The Cup Series’ next race is scheduled Sunday, March 2 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Circuit of The Americas.
This story will be updated.
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