Oklahoma native Christopher Bell gets first NASCAR win of 2025 at Atlanta

At the end of the second overtime finish to start the 2025 season, Christopher Bell won the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway after a last lap duel with Kyle Larson ended with Bell just ahead of both Larson and Carson Hocevar when the caution came out for a crash on the backstraightaway. The yellow flag froze the field at the moment of caution, allowing Bell to drive back to the checkered flag to earn his 10th career Cup Series win and his first of the year.

In a race that featured 50 lead changes among 15 different drivers, Bell was put in a position to win in the closing laps after driving through the end result of contact between Larson and Austin Cindric racing for the lead, as Cindric and Daytona 500 winner William Byron ended up crashing on the backstretch to bring out the yellow flag and send the race to overtime. After lining up behind Larson for the final restart, the two were side-by-side when Bell received a massive bump draft from Hocevar, putting him ahead as the caution came out for a multi-car crash on the backstretch involving Josh Berry and others.

The win puts Bell on the NASCAR playoffs grid just two races into the season, setting up his shot at redemption after he narrowly missed out on the Championship 4 a year ago despite having arguably the best statistical season in Cup -- and he also earns his first win in a superspeedway-style race.

"This style of racing has just always been a little bit of a struggle for me, and throughout the beginning of the day we obviously were just stuck way in the back," Bell told Fox Sports. "[Crew chief Adam Stevens] and these boys back here, they did an amazing job getting this thing fixed up to where I could just hold my foot down. That's what it's all about. You have to be able to stay in the throttle, and that last half of the race we were at our best."

Crossing the finish line in second, Hocevar, the 2024 Cup Series Rookie of the Year, earned the best finish of his career. But it didn't come without him earning a few enemies as well. Hocevar's aggression drew the ire of several of his competitors, and he ended up having two stern post-race discussions with other drivers. Ross Chastain went over to have an extended discussion with Hocevar the two ultimately shook hands on, while Ryan Blaney evidently also wanted to make himself clear after Hocevar spun him out of a chance to win in the closing laps.

After two straight speedway races to open the season, the NASCAR Cup Series now goes road racing for the first time in 2025 next weekend with the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, next Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on Fox.