Despite bagging the race’s second stage, Kyle Larson finished the 2025 Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in P3 after starting from P17. The dynamics of the race specifically shifted in the final laps.
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Austin Cindric, who had started from the second position, was leading with just ten laps remaining when he found himself in a tight contest with Christopher Bell. Amid this battle, Larson’s bid to defend after overtaking Cindric for the lead not only fell short but also led to the latter’s collision with the outside wall.
Subsequently, Cindric also made contact with William Byron triggering both cars to spin down the backstretch and slam into the inside wall. While Byron managed to limp his car back to the pit road despite some damage, Cindric’s car was towed back to the garage, bearing severe damage to the front end.
Acknowledging his role in the mishap, Larson assumed full responsibility for the incident involving Team Penske’s #2 driver and his Hendrick Motorsports teammate.
He remarked, “Just a little bit of a lazy, kind of, up the track. He got there a little bit quicker than I thought he would. I thought he was just going to pick me up on the exit of (turn) two. But yeah so that was probably my fault I haven’t seen a replay but I’m sure that was my fault.”
Discussing the final restart, which ended in a caution, Larson could not outpace Hocevar and Bell for the victory. The #5 driver reflected that although he anticipated Bell pushing him to take the lead, the race expanded into a three-wide competition.
Larson had hoped the caution would be delayed long enough for him to regain momentum on the inside track, which explains why he finished slightly behind. Nonetheless, he expressed gratitude for his team’s efforts, particularly since he could compete at the forefront on a track known for its superspeedway characteristics — a setting that has not played to Larson’s strengths.
Larson’s recent track record at Atlanta has been less than favorable, with failures to finish in four out of the last six races, including accidents in each. However, things seemed to turn around for the California native this time.
What happened during the final restart?
During the overtime restart, Bell led the charge with Larson on his inside. Hocevar wedged himself between the two, and all three competed closely to win the season’s second race. However, the race was interrupted by a multi-car collision further back involving the likes of Josh Berry, prompting NASCAR to deploy the caution flag.
Upon reviewing the position of the cars when the caution was issued, Bell, who was leading the #77 and #5 drivers, was declared the winner. Interestingly, Bell led only the final lap in his #20 Toyota, after starting from the P32 position to win his first-ever race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
While Bell has achieved top-5 finishes on the track quite a few times, including last year’s fall race and the 2023 Ambetter Health 400, he has acknowledged, “This style of racing has just always been a little bit of a struggle for me.” That’s why, the win might be particularly special for the #20 driver and crew.
