Despite Ford’s dominance heading into the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, it was a Toyota that ultimately grabbed the win. Christpher Bell led only the final lap but survived a chaotic finish to claim victory in the second race of the NASCAR Cup Series season. Meanwhile, Ford, which had appeared poised for success, placed only one driver in the top five—Ryan Blaney, who finished fourth after a late-race comeback. The win marked Toyota’s first at Atlanta since 2013.
Ford’s speed was on full display during Saturday’s qualifying session, securing the pole position with Blaney and locking out nine of the top 10 spots. The only exception was Kyle Busch in a Chevrolet. Ford’s dominance in qualifying continued a five-race streak of sweeping the front row at Atlanta.
True to form, the OEM led every lap of the opening 60-lap stage, with Austin Cindric leading 30 laps and Josh Berry controlling 27. However, Ford’s fortunes changed late in the race. Cindric, who was an undeniable contender for the win and had been strong all race long, was squeezed into the wall by Kyle Larson who drifted up the track while trying to block Cindric’s run.
“As a team, as Fords, we had the best cars here this weekend,” Cindric said. “We put ourselves into position to win the race and got used up and into the fence and didn’t win the race. It’s a shame. Two weeks in a row I feel like we have had the car to beat and haven’t done it. One way or another, it is disappointing.”
Berry, in his debut season with Wood Brothers Racing, was also in contention but saw his strong performance unravel in a seven-car crash on the final lap.
“We had a really fast car,” Berry said. “We saw yesterday that all of our cars were fast. We were able to stay aggressive, stay on the offense, stay up front. I feel that I am in a situation now where I can succeed. We tried to make the most of it there, but we obviously didn’t get the finish that we deserved.
Blaney had his own challenges, spinning out after contact from Carson Hocevar in the final laps. Hocevar’s aggressive driving frustrated several competitors, leading to post-race discussions from a virtual line-up of drivers that wanted to have a word with the Spire driver.
“He (Hocevar) was drafting to me, and he didn’t lift and just gave me a shot when I’m turning into one and it spun me out,” Blaney said. “I was just happy I didn’t hook a right back into everybody and was able to stay on the apron.”
For a while, Chevrolets made a statement, particularly with all four Hendrick drivers within the Top 10 at once. Hometown favorite Chase Elliott appeared to have a strong car, driving from 17th place into the top 5 during Stage 1. However, on lap 150, he was caught up in a wreck with Brad Keselowski and Corey Lajoie. Elliott had been on the outside line in turns 3 and 4 when Chase Briscoe made contact with Ricky Stenhouse on the bottom. Stenhouse drifted up the track and forced Elliott into the wall. Keselowki and Lajoie were then collected in the wreck. With the toe link broken on the #9 car, repairs were made but Elliott remained at the back of the pack the remainder of the day.
On lap 184, last year’s winner – Daniel Suarez – was running in 20th when he checked up for Riley Herbst and Bubba Wallace coming into turn 4. Suarez was forced backward next to Ty Gibbs who bounced off Zane Smith and got into Suarez. Suarez spun out on the frontstretch and collected Cole Custer, Noah Gragson, JJ Yeley and Cody Ware.
On lap 204, Briscoe made contact with yet another driver, this time Chris Buescher. The #17 of Buescher spun directly into front of Alex Bowman on the inside lane, and Bowman collided. Both cars continued on from the back of the lead lap.
Despite Ford’s early dominance, and Chevrolet’s brief moments to shine, the day ultimately belonged to Toyota and Bell, proving once again that anything can happen at Atlanta. The race ended with a record setting 50 lead changes among 15 drivers, plus 11 cautions and one overtime.