In typical Summit Motorsports Park action, NHRA Mission Foods’ top pros kicked off with two rounds of exciting qualifying, including a wild night session under the lights.

The event is No. 10 of 20 races this year in the NHRA Mission Foods Pro series, and it will include Top Fuel, Funny Car, Pro Stock, and Pro Stock Motorcycle, along with the Flexjet NHRA Factory Stock Showdown, the Johnson’s Horsepowered Garage NHRA Mountain Motor Pro Stock class, Holley EFI NHRA Factory X, and 10 NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series classes, meaning there will be 17 racers honored with the treasured Norwalk Ice Cream Scoop, as well as an NHRA Wally.

Saturday’s highlights will also include the GETTRX Pro Stock NHRA All-Star Callout in addition to the latest round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge, which will pit the semifinal finishers from the recent Richmond event in a race for bonus cash and additional points. These rounds are run concurrently with Saturday qualifying.

On Friday, Justin Ashley powered his SCAG dragster to a 3.752 at 330 mph to earn the pole, barely holding off Antron Brown’s 3.755 and Tony Stewart, who blasted to a 3.755 while blowing up in the lights. In fact, Stewart exploded an engine in grand fashion on the first pass as well. Brittany Force, Shawn Langdon, Dan Mercier, Spencer Massey and Josh Hart rounded out the top eight. Lex Joon sits on the bump.

Veteran Cruz Pedregon was the class of the Funny Car field, delivering the only run in the 3.80s. Pedregon went 3.890 at 318 mph, with Austin Prock not far behind with a 3.900. Stacked behind them are Ron Capps (3.908); Jack Beckman (3.913) and Matt Hagan (3.926). The top half of the field also included Alexis DeJoria, Hunter Green and Dan Wilkerson. Paul Lee ran 4.22 to hold the 16^th spot and there are 21 Funny cars on the property, which means there should be plenty of bumping and shuffling on Saturday.

With three previous wins at Summit Motorsports Park, Greg Anderson will be looking to add a fourth. The reigning champion got off to a good start qualifying his HendrickCars.com/Summit Racing Equipment Camaro on the provisional pole with a 6.594. Anderson was chased by team drivers Dallas Glenn (6.596) and Matt Hartford at 6.604. With a spread of just .018 of a second, you’ll find Greg Stanfield, Eric Latino, Cody Coughlin, Erica Enders and Cory Reed in fourth through eighth respectively.

Saturday’s action ramps up with the GETTRX Pro Stock NHRA All-Star Callout, where eight of the top drivers will race for $40,000! The matchups include Anderson vs Enders; Glenn vs Troy Coughlin Jr.; Hartford vs Latino; and Aaron Stanfield vs Jeg Coughlin Jr.

Matt Smith, who like Anderson is looking for his fourth Norwalk win, leads Pro Stock Motorcycle qualifying after two sessions, riding to a 6.824 on his Buell. John Hall, also on a Buell slotted in behind Smith with a 6.832. Also in the 6.80s was Ron Tornow (6.874) followed by the Vance and Hines machine of Gaige Herrera (6.888). Rounding out the top eight was Angie Smith, Richard Gadson, Jianna Evaristo and Marc Ingwersen.

2024 EVENT WINNERS
Antron Brown, Top Fuel; Bob Tasca III, Funny Car; Aaron Stanfield, Pr0 Stock; Gaige Herrera, Pro Stock Motorcycle
.
MOST EVENT VICTORIES
Steve Torrence, 3, TF; Jack Beckman, 3, FC; Greg Anderson and Erica Enders, 3 PS; Matt Smith, 3, PSM

TRACK RECORDS
Top Fuel – 3.666 sec. by Brittany Force, June ‘22; 337.15 mph by Doug Kalitta, June ’24.
Funny Car – 3.853 sec. by Austn Prock, June ’24; 336.82 mph by Bob Tasca III, June ‘24.
Pro Stock –  6.523 sec. by Erica Enders, July ’14; 212.63 mph by Erica Enders, July ’14.
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.698 sec. by Gaige Herrera, June ‘24; 201.58 mph by M. Smith, June ‘21

NATIONAL RECORDS
Top Fuel – 3.623 sec. by Brittany Force, Sept. ‘19, Reading; 341.59 mph by Brittany Force, April. ‘25, Charlotte
Funny Car – 3.793 sec. by Robert Hight, Aug. ’17, Brainerd; 341.68 mph by Austin Prock, Nov. ’24, Pomona
Pro Stock – 6.443 sec. by Greg Anderson, March ’25, Gainesville, Fla.; 215.55 mph by Erica Enders, May ’14 Englishtown
Pro Stock Motorcycle – 6.627 sec. by Gaige Herrera, Oct. ’23, Dallas; 205.04 mph by Matt Smith, July ‘22, Sonoma.

EVENT SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, June 28
Lucas Oil Series eliminations at 8:30 a.m.
GETTRX All-Star Pro Stock Callout opening ceremony at 11:30 a.m.
Mission Foods Pro qualifying session at noon
Mission Foods Pro qualifying session at 2:30 p.m. 

SUNDAY, June 8
Pre-race ceremony at 9:45 a.m.
Mission Foods Series eliminations begin at 11 a.m. 

TELEVISION 

SATURDAY, June 28, FS1 will televise one hour of GETTRX Allstar Pro Stock Callout coverage at 3 p.m.

SUNDAY, June 29, FS1 will televise one hour of qualifying coverage at 11 a.m. (ET)

SUNDAY, June 29, FOX TV will televise three hours of final eliminations coverage at 2 p.m. (ET).

Early in the second stage at Atlanta, complete chaos broke out on Lap 69. John-Hunter Nemechek was running inside the top ten when the race got back underway, but down the back stretch, a bump from Denny Hamlin sent him into the outside wall.

Immediately, cars started spinning and with moments, the entire track was blocked. 23 cars were collected in one of the biggest crashes you will ever see. NASCAR stopped the race as the lengthy cleanup got underway.

It was a shocking accident that turned the race track into a junkyard with 23 cars involved. The following drivers were forced to go behind the wall are completely fell out of the race: Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Austin Cindric, Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Chase Briscoe, Daniel Suarez, Noah Gragson and Josh Berry. Most of them never returned to the track due to the severity of the damage.

Corey LaJoie is running a part-time schedule this year and he had plenty to say after being taken out of the race.

“We see people pushing like dummies early, and then I just come in here and get pushed into it,” said LaJoie after being shown the replay. “I come out of the smoke and every corner on my Mustang was knocked off of it. Unfortunately, that was the end of my day.

“I don’t know what we’re doing. We just started the second stage. I don’t know why we’re pushing like we’re damn bumper cars at Frankie’s fun park. That’s not to be surprised. I think there’s a lot of guys who don’t make wise decisions driving these things on speedways.”

Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, and Denny Hamlin

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Logano, who started the race from pole position, was among those who were unable to continue. 

“I was in the middle of it and I haven’t seen a replay to even know what happened. Cars were sideways and you hit the brakes and everyone is just running into each other. Just a speedway wreck. Wrong place at the wrong time. Tried to win the stage and we couldn’t get that done, and you got to pay the piper when you go to the back there.”

Upon seeing the replay, this was Logano’s reaction: “The whole field wrecked, and I’m just in the soup there. Oh my gosh — look at that. Oh, that’s horrible.” 

He then added with a smile: “Sometimes you’re the ball, sometimes you’re the bat. Tonight we were the ball.”

Briscoe, who won last week’s race at Pocono, said of his race-ending crash: “Yeah, I don’t know how bad our damage was. They were fixing it, and we were about ready to go, and I guess NASCAR came over there and saw that our chassis was broke or bent or something and were like, you can’t go back out. So, kind of a waste of 30 minutes working on it. Just unfortunate night for our Bass Pro Shops Toyota.”

Photos from Atlanta II – Race

While the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series champion is locked into the playoffs, the year has still been an up-and-down one for Ryan Blaney.

On Lap 58, the intensity was picking up as the field raced toward the end of Stage 1. Christopher Bell ended up losing control, spinning sideways.

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A handful of cars were collected including Bubba Wallace,  AJ Allmendinger and Austin Dillon, but Blaney thought he was going to be okay. However, he got clipped on his way by and took the hardest hit of anyone as the No. 12 Team Penske Ford slammed the outside wall.

He will finish 40th — last place. After being released from the infield care center, Blaney said of the incident: “I couldn’t see much. They kind of started spinning and coming down. I tried to get to the apron and by the time I got there, kind of got blocked.

“Yeah, like you (the reporter) said, the story of our year. Just getting caught up in other people’s garbage. Just when we get it going pretty good and find some momentum, we don’t seem to have things go our way.”

Ryan Blaney, Austin Dillon, AJ Allmendinger, Christopher Bell crash

The wreck forced the race to opening stage of the race to end under caution. And while Blaney never returned to the race, Bell did, albeit more than 70 laps down.

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A few laps later, NASCAR actually had to red-flag the race after a far bigger incident broke out on the backstretch, collecting 23 cars.

Blaney also failed to finish the races  at Phoenix, Las Vegas, Homestead, Talladega, and Charlotte. Last year, he had seven DNFs throughout the entire season and he’s nearly matched that, halfway through 2025.

Read Also:

NASCAR halts Atlanta Cup race after huge crash collects half the field

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William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet – Sidelined by damage sustained in the opening lap of Stage Two.

Chaos ensued on the opening lap of Stage Two. What did you see from your perspective?

“There wasn’t really a whole lot I could see. I was kind of catching the No. 22 (Joey Logano) with a little bit of a run. All the guys at the front had pitted during the stage break and cycled to the mid-20s. We were just running a great race in the top-five. They all stacked up and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening and I just kind of got shoved into it.

It’s just a bummer that early in the race. I don’t really know what was going on. We were getting up to speed and everyone was throwing a lot of blocks or something, I don’t know. It was fun out there, honestly. The first stage was fun. Handling really mattered. I thought my No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet was good. I thought our team was calling a great race and we were doing everything we could do.”

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on the opening lap of Stage Two.

“It’s just unfortunate being that early in the race. I couldn’t really see what happened. All of a sudden, they were crashing and our No. 1 Wendy’s Chevrolet got caught up in it. Our Chevy was a four out of 10 to start the race, and then we got it to a seven out of 10 on the first pit stop. We were halfway to where we needed to be. We still had some work to do, but we set ourselves up well there restarting 12th and full of fuel for the start of Stage Two.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet – Sidelined by damage sustained in an accident on the opening lap of Stage Two.

“The sad part for me was that our No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet was very good. I was being patient, and I felt like we were coming through the field pretty well during Stage One. I felt like our Chevy had potential. It was the start of Stage Two and we didn’t get to race. It’s a shame. Our team did a very good job with the car and we just got caught up in the mess.”
 

GM PR

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — Home-state favorite Chase Elliott passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap and won the the crash-filled NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night for his 20th career victory.

Elliott, the popular driver from Dawsonville, Georgia, earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with his first victory since April 2024 at Texas. It was his first win in Atlanta since 2022.

“I’ve never in my whole life, this is unbelievable,” Elliott said. “This is something I’ll remember the rest of my life.”

Keselowski was second, followed by Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet teammate, Alex Bowman, and Tyler Reddick. Bowman helped block Keselowski following Elliott’s last-lap pass.

“The 48 and 9 just got together,” Keselowski said, referring to Bowman and Elliott. “… At they end they were able to double-team me.”

Elliott climbed into the stands to celebrate with fans after ending a 44-race winless streak.

“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.”

The race’s second crash early in Stage 2 took out many of the sport’s biggest names and left others with damaged cars. Pole-winner Joey Logano, who led the first 36 laps before light rain forced the first caution, was among the many drivers caught up in the big crash.

Among others knocked out of the race: William Byron, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie and Daniel Suarez.

“It wrecked the whole field,” Logano said. “I still don’t know exactly how it started … but it was total chaos. Cars were sideways and on the brakes. I got hit from every corner possible.”

Added Denny Hamlin, who suffered damage to his Toyota in the crash: “Some zigged. Some zagged. Most crashed.”

The Atlanta race at EchoPark Speedway, formerly known as Atlanta Motor Speedway, was the debut of the 32-driver In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament.

The parade of highly regarded drivers to be knocked out so early in the race showed the perils of trying to pick NASCAR winners on a March Madness-style bracket sheet. The top two seeds were among the early casualties.

Hamlin, the No. 1 seed in the tournament, finished 31st and lost to Ty Dillon, who finished eighth.

Chase Briscoe, who held off Hamlin for his first win for Joe Gibbs Racing last week at Pocono Raceway, was the No. 2 seed before being knocked out in a crash and losing to Noah Gragson in the tournament.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner as part of a new media rights deal that includes TNT.

Elliott and Keselowski were on the front row when a caution with 33 laps to go forced a decision on whether to pit for fresh tires. Both stayed on the track and Elliott faded following the restart until making his decisive charge at the very end.

Bracket busters

Ryan Blaney, the race favorite according to BetMGM Sportsbook, was knocked out on a wreck late in the first stage. Christopher Bell hit the wall, triggering the crash that ended the stage with Cindric in the lead.

Cindric was involved in the bigger crash early in Stage 2. Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace were among others involved in the crash.

Photo finish

Tyler Reddick beat Elliott to the finish line by .001 seconds to win Stage 2 in a battle between drivers looking for both their first stage win and overall win of the season.

Weather woes

Lightning and rain delayed qualifying Friday and the Xfinity race won by Nick Sanchez late Friday night. More lightning and rain threatened Saturday night’s race. Fans were encouraged to leave the stands about 90 minutes before the race due to severe weather in the area but were allowed to return as pre-race were conducted as planned.

Up next

The Cup Series moves to Chicago for the Chicago Street Race on Sunday, July 6.

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

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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.

“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.

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

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.