How about that!
Did you see that? Yet another three-wide finish at the stripe for the win at Atlanta.
No you didn’t. Not exactly. Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Carson Hocevar got to the finish line three abreast, but it was under yellow because a wreck brought out the caution as those three leaders were entering Turn 3 at the fast 1.5-mile track.
And if you’re confused, you’re not alone, so let’s get to the takeaways.
WHO WAS WATCHING? Daytona 500 TV ratings up from last year after fast start. How many stayed after rain delay?
1. One week after Daytona 500, yellow flies at Atlanta
Christopher Bell got Sunday’s win because he was ahead of Larson and Hocevar when the yellow caution lights lit up due to a crash behind the leaders.
A week ago, on the final lap at Daytona, a last-lap crash involved the leaders on the backstretch, yet no caution flew and William Byron had to keep pedaling like hell to hold off Tyler Reddick for the win.
Odd, you might say. You’re not alone.
Last week #DAYTONA500 they let these guys race to the line and don’t throw the caution , this week at #Atlanta they throw the caution and take all of the excitement away of a three wide finish. Come on #Nascar
— Adam Bloom (@adam_b_31) February 23, 2025
NASCAR race control when given the option to call a caution at a super speedway and ruin a viral finish and fans days that spent their hard earned money to go to the race or simply let them race back. pic.twitter.com/wxr6kg3MaK
— Connor Allen (@connor_allen21) February 24, 2025
2. “Carson Hocevar, to the front office …”
In his 47th career Cup Series start, Carson Hocevar finished a career-best second in his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevy. Let’s just say there weren’t a lot of fellow racers in line to congratulate him afterwards.
Oh, they were in line all right, but they preferred to talk to him about the aggression he employed to challenge for the win. He traded a lot of paint Sunday.
Hocevar didn’t exactly apologize, but did seem to acknowledge the situation during a post-race TV interview.
“There’s some stuff I gotta learn and clean up a little bit,” he said. “But I feel like we put ourselves in a perfect opportunity to try to win a race. Never had the opportunity, really, before, especially on a superspeedway.”
3. Next for NASCAR is Austin and Circuit of the Americas
After opening the season with two weeks of claustrophobic racing at Daytona and Atlanta, NASCAR racers will be able to spread their wings next week as they waltz across Texas and land in Austin for a weekend of road-course racing.
While the Truck Series takes a couple of weeks off, the Xfinity and Cup teams will race on the splashy Circuit of the Americas in the capital of the Lone Star State.
Xfinity races Saturday afternoon, shortly after coverage begins at 2:30 on The CW network. The Cup Series’ Echopark Texas Grand Prix gets the green flag Sunday afternoon, with Fox coverage starting at 3:30. William Byron is the defending race winner.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR inconsistency on display as Christopher Bell ‘wins’ Atlanta
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