Chase Elliott has snapped a 44-race winless streak, surviving a chaotic NASCAR Cup race and completing a dramatic last-lap pass to win at his home track in Atlanta, Georgia.

EchoPark Speedway produced breath-taking action from start to finish, and despite all the carnage, the only battle scar on the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was a donut on the driver’s door. He became the 12th different winner of the 2025 season on Saturday night, locking himself into the 2025 playoffs.

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“What a crazy race,” said Elliott, who took the lead with a huge inside pass on the entry into Turn 1. His teammate Alex Bowman helped to ensure Brad Keselowski could never fight back with Keselowski crossing the line in second and Bowman third.

Elliott’s immediate reaction after capturing the checkered flag: “Unbelievable… unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I’ve never in my life… This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. 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. Rhealynn Mills designed to fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight, so this was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget. Thank you guys so much.”

Watch: Chase Elliott: ‘Unbelievable’ to win hometown race at EchoPark

Tyler Reddick finished fourth and Erik Jones fifth. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Zane Smith, Ty Dillon, Chris Buescher, and Carson Hocevar filled out the remainder of the top ten.

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The final stage of the race went green with 92 laps to go and the Hendrick duo of Elliott and Bowman were in control. A few laps into the run, Shane van Gisbergen went for a wild spin through the grass after contact from Ty Gibbs, but he managed to straighten it out. He did lose a few laps in the pits as the team made repairs.

This yellow put the field just outside the fuel window but most of the lead pack chose to pit anyway. However, the trio of Bowman, Elliott, and Keselowski, who were running first through third, chose to stay out.

But fuel was never really a story, as they were far from done with the wrecks. Bubba Wallace, who fought his way back onto the lead lap after an earlier incident, lost control and hit the inside wall on the backstretch. More cautions followed as Jones went for a spin, David Starr stopped on track, and Justin Haley spun with 34 laps to go.

Haley’s incident ended up being the final caution of the race and the final 30 laps produced incredible back-and-forth racing for the lead. Several different drivers took turns out front, but it was Elliott who timed it perfectly at the very end. NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver now has 20 career wins in the Cup Series.

Stages 1 and 2

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

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The first two stages were non-stop action, except for when light showers caused a 20-minute delay 43 laps into the event.

Ryan Blaney crashed out of the race after Christopher Bell lost control in the middle of the pack. That forced the first stage to end under caution with Austin Cindric out front.

When the second stage went green, the defining moment of the race occurred as a massive 23-car pileup that eliminated several drivers from the race. The wreck forced a brief red flag as they dragged the damaged cars and debris off the track. Pole-sitter Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, and William Byron were just some of the names taken out of the race.

With a far smaller field, the race resumed and the intensity remained high. Riley Herbst and Todd Gilliland crashed out of the event, but this stage would at least end under green-flag conditions. Tyler Reddick claimed the Stage 2 win in a stunning photo finish, beating Elliott by 0.001s.

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Zane Smith Key Takeaways

• Stage One: 21st / Stage Two: 9th / Race Result: 7th

• “It was fun to lead some of those final closing laps. I don’t know where it went wrong. I just feel like we went back and forth. Sometimes just one car was clearing me, and I’d build my run back up and then go make another charge at it, and then it just kind of seemed like two guys got by me and you’re just not able to have as much throttle time. My runs weren’t quite the same, but all in all, it was just a really good and a really fast Aaron’s FRM Ford Mustang. It was really cool to have the Lucky Dog scheme back and run up front with it. I’m just proud of the effort, but I wish it panned out a little bit different there.”

Noah Gragson Key Takeaways

• Stage One: 18th / Stage Two: 26th / Race Result: 25th

• “Tough day for this No. 4 team,” said Gragson. “We had solid pace and were making moves but got caught up in the ‘Big One’ and just couldn’t recover the laps. The good news is we’re on to the next round of the challenge, and I’m looking forward to getting to Chicago and hopefully putting together a clean race weekend.”

Todd Gilliland Key Takeaways

• Stage One: 32nd / Stage Two: 28th / Race Result: 27th

• “We had a fast Rinnai Ford Mustang Dark Horse and were running pretty well until we got caught up with the No. 35 and broke a toe link,” said Gilliland. “It’s part of it. Overall, I’m happy with the speed we brought, so there is some confidence heading into Chicago.”

FRM PR

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Chase Elliott couldn’t have picked a better setting for a drought-breaking win.

Fans roared in approval after Elliott, the home-state favorite, passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to end a 44-race drought by winning the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night.

Elliott’s 20th career victory pushed him to second place in the Cup Series points race, putting him in prime position to return to the top of the NASCAR world after winning his first championship in 2020.

Elliott earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with his first victory since April 2024 at Texas. He said he’ll always remember the win as a career highlight, in part because of the ovation from fans who chanted “Chase! Chase! Chase!”

Elliott, a Dawsonville, Georgia, native, climbed into the stands at EchoPark Speedway, formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, to celebrate with the fans.

“It was, truthfully, a pretty surreal moment,” Elliott said. “Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. … Saturday night under the lights, been a while since we won, just getting ourselves a win and advancing up on the playoff thing.”

It was his first Atlanta win since 2022.

Elliott has 594 points, 37 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who has 631. A third Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson, is third.

Another Hendrick driver, Alex Bowman, played a key role in Elliott’s comeback win. Bowman, who finished third, gave Elliott a push and then helped block Keselowski on the final lap.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. … I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

Elliott said he’ll try to repay the favor by helping Bowman join the other three Hendrick drivers in the playoffs.

“I recognize that he gave me a great shove,” Elliott said. “I recognize that he took his run on Brad, too, to try to get himself to second, which ultimately helped me as well.

“Yeah, those are all things that I remember.”

Elliott advanced to the second round of NASCAR’s new In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. With the field cut from 32 to 16 drivers, Elliott will be paired against John Hunter Nemechek when the Cup Series moves to the Chicago Street Race next Sunday.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner, and Elliott’s odds improved after Atlanta wrecks knocked out the top two seeds, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.

Elliott wouldn’t be the first family member to win a $1 million bonus. In 1985 his father, Bill Elliott, became the first winner of the Winston Million as a reward for claiming wins in three of the circuit’s top four races at the time. The bonus earned the elder Elliott the nickname “Million Dollar Bill.”

Now the younger Elliott is a strong contender to become first in line for another $1 million prize.

“It’d be a really cool thing to win for sure and hope it works out that way,” Chase Elliott said.

Elliott’s victory drought came after he needed surgery to repair a broken tibia in his left leg suffered in a snowboarding accident and missed six races in 2023. He said the support of longtime crew chief Alan Gustafson was “in large part” responsible for helping him retain his confidence and reclaim his winning form.

Gustafson said the win was more important for the 2025 playoff race than for ending the victory drought.

“The points were getting tight for the playoffs, for sure,” Gustafson said. “I think that’s probably the biggest thing. I think all the cars contending to win, I don’t think any of them had won. I think that’s probably the biggest thing we needed was that cushion.”

Saturday night’s win was Elliott’s third consecutive top-five finish.

“When you’re fortunate enough to climb the mountain and be able to stand at the top of the mountain with someone, that’s an incredible achievement, right?” Elliott said. “That’s something that (Gustafson) and I will always cherish and remember that we did that together.

“For me it’s really, really important to climb that mountain with the same people that we did the first time and know that we never quit on each other. That’s just a really important piece of the puzzle for me.”

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Charles Odum, The Associated Press

Chase Elliott snapped his NASCAR winless streak with a dramatic win at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta on Sunday afternoon, with the Hendrick Motorsports star sending a message to team boss Rick Hendrick

Chase Elliott issued a heartfelt shoutout to Rick Hendrick with the team boss watching from home as he driver ended his NASCAR winless run.

Elliott snatched an emotional triumph at EchoPark Speedway in Atlanta, while driving a special paint scheme. He broke through the chaos to claim victory in a race that saw a huge crash bust brackets for the new In-Season Challenge.

A daring maneuver on the final lap nudged Elliott’s No. 9 past Brad Keselowski, sealing his first win since Texas last April. And he quickly remembered to send a touch message over the airwaves to his loyal team boss watching on screen, before later being passed a phone to presumable speak to Mr Hendrick in Victory Lane.

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“Hey to Mr Hendrick at home. Thanks for sticking with me, pal,” he said during his TNT Sports post-race interview.

Reflecting on snapping a 44-race streak, Elliott said: “Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me? I never in my life. This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget.

“I just think that, honestly, all the cars fell in the right places there those last couple of laps. What a crazy race, man!

“I don’t know if y’all had fun but it was wild from my seat, so glad we got to run that thing out there til the end.”

In the euphoric aftermath of his finish line cross, Elliott exploded over the radio with a jubilant: “YESS!” Then followed up with heartfelt praise: “Awesome job, man! Awesome! Thank you guys, so much.”

Crew chief Alan Gustafson was all praise over the radio, declaring: “Awesome job, buddy. Awesome. You’re the man buddy. You’re the man.”

Elliott, feeling the team effort, responded with gratitude: “Awesome. Preciate y’all, man. Thanks for sticking with it.”

This triumph seals their fate in the high stakes playoffs, skyrocketing them as the 10th driver this season to notch a victory and clench a coveted position in the playoffs’ high-octane showdowns.

The NHRA season will continue on Sunday when the world’s top drag racers gather for the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals at Summit Motorsports Park. This marquee event is a key stop on the NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series calendar and always delivers the action.

Catch all the action live on FOX and see who powers their way to the winner’s circle.

How to Watch Summit Racing Equipment Nationals

• Date: Sunday, June 29, 2025
• Time: 2:00 PM ET
• Channel: FOX
• Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

The Summit Racing Equipment Nationals marks the halfway point of the 2025 NHRA season, and all four professional categories, Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, will be in action Sunday in Norwalk, Ohio.

In Top Fuel, Justin Ashley claimed the No. 1 qualifying spot after a tight session. He’ll be joined in the top five by Antron Brown, Tony Stewart, Brittany Force, and Steve Torrence, all looking to make a statement as the championship chase intensifies.

Cruz Pedregon leads the Funny Car field, with Austin Prock and Ron Capps close behind in second and third.

Over in Pro Stock, points leader Greg Anderson is on pole as he tries to win at Summit Motorsports Park for the first time since 2015 and the fourth time overall. Dallas Green qualified second, while Matt Hartford, fresh off a $40,000 win in Saturday’s Pro Stock NHRA All-Star Callout, will start third.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, veteran Matt Smith topped qualifying and will look to add to his three Norwalk wins, the most recent of which came in 2021. Gaige Herrera and John Hall round out the top three.

Catch all the racing action live Sunday on FOX. You can also stream the NHRA season along with NASCAR, ARCA, IndyCar, and Formula 1 on Fubo. Don’t miss a second of the high-octane excitement.

Live stream the Summit Racing Equipment Nationals on Fubo: Start your free trial now!

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Inclement weather, red flags, track-clearing pileups and a last-lap pass by the hometown hero — EchoPark Speedway put on a show for the ages on Saturday night. Some are calling it the best race of the year with non-stop action throughout the pack, even after half the field was collected in a mid-race pileup. 

It was also the first race of the five-week in-season challenge, and most brackets are surely busted already. But with that being said, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from this weekend’s thriller in Atlanta:

WINNER: Hendrick teamwork makes the dream work

Watch: Chase Elliott makes last-lap magic to win at EchoPark Speedway

At the end of the Cup race in Atlanta, the RFK teammates lost sight of each other but the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman stuck together. They perfectly timed the final two laps, moving up into second and third and leaving the race little nothing he could do. The No. 6 Ford tried to block, but it wasn’t enough to stop Elliott from completing a last-lap pass for the lead. And any hope Brad Keselowski had of fighting back vanished as Bowman refused to push him, allowing Elliott to snap a 44-race winless streak. 

LOSER: Brad Keselowski loses his golden ticket to the playoffs

Watch: Brad Keselowski talks ‘good effort’ in runner-up finish

The only thing that could save Keselowski’s season at this point is a win. He sits 27th in points and has gone winless this year, but Atlanta was a great opportunity to rectify that. At one point, he had two teammates lined up behind him but by the time the white flag flew, they were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time Keselowski has lost one of these Atlanta races in a last-lap pass.

WINNER: The race track for putting on one of the best shows of the year

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Call it Atlanta Motor Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, or whatever you want. It doesn’t change the fact that it just put on one incredible show. Even a 23-car pileup couldn’t slow down the action as the lead changed 46 times. Five different drivers led the race in the final ten laps. The breath-taking race never let up with drivers constantly making huge moves throughout the pack and it seemed like no one could hold the lead for long. Atlanta has asserted itself as the best drafting track on the schedule and it’s not even close.

LOSER: Pretty much everyone involved in that 23-car pileup

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Might as well just group everyone into this. Of the 23 drivers involved in this mess, nine were unable to continue. The second stage had barely gotten underway when names like Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain had their cars destroyed. In fact, this wreck nearly guaranteed a new winner as seven of the 11 winners this year were eliminated in the wreck while others were wounded.

WINNER: Ty Dillon with the in-season tournament upset

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have been knocked out of the in-season bracket challenge, allowing the No. 31 and No. 32 seeds to advance. Most surprisingly, Ty Dillon moves on over Hamlin, giving him the chance to fight for a $1 million prize that would be the highlight of his Cup career. And he had the perfect response for Hamlin fans after the race, saying: “To all the Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.”

LOSER: Ryan Blaney at the wrong place at the wrong time again

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

It’s a good thing Ryan Blaney managed to win at Nashville as his season has included six DNFs in the first 18 races. Last year, he had seven in 36 races. Blaney was once again an innocent bystander as he tried to avoid the first wreck of the night, but instead found himself slamming the outside wall. Blaney lamented the bad luck, noting how he always seems to get “caught up in other people’s garbage.” He finished 40th (last), which is his worst result in five years.

WINNER: The 18-year-old rookie for keeping it clean

Photo by: David J. Griffin – Icon Sportswire – Getty Images

While veterans were crashing all over the place, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch kept his car clean and stayed out of trouble, running every single lap and nearly scoring a top ten finish. He was the best of the four Trackhouse cars as his three teammates did wreck while Zilisch placed 11th in the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet. He drove like someone who has been doing this for a while, not a rookie in his fourth career start.

LOSER: Stenhouse battles back from a penalty, but misses out on the win

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had one of the best drives of anyone during the final run of the race. He had to start from the rear of the field for the last restart due to a penalty, but he quickly marched forward. Stenhouse pulled off a brilliant three-wide pass for the lead with just six laps to go, but he could not hold it as the No. 47 slipped back. He was still inside the top five on the final lap, but contact with the outside wall caused him to slip back to sixth. It was still a strong result but with how close he was to Victory Lane, he’s surely wondering what he could have done differently in those final few laps.

Photos from Atlanta II – Race