HAMPTON, Ga. — Joey Logano dominated early and then passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to win the NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway and end the early season domination of Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports on Sunday.
Logano won the pole and led a strong showing of three straight Team Penske drivers in qualifying, but Keselowski looked like the Ford driver to beat late in the race. Keselowski had help from Corey LaJoie, but Logano got a push from Christopher Bell that proved decisive on the final lap.
Bell finished third in a Toyota and LaJoie finished a career-best fourth in a Chevrolet.
“The first win of the season always feels better,” said the reigning Cup champion, who led 141 of the 260 laps.
Logano’s win ended a streak of four consecutive victories by Chevrolet to open the NASCAR Cup season, including back-to-back wins by William Byron of Hendrick.
Pushed by his Team Penske teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric, Logano passed Keselowski to regain the lead with 34 laps to go. Keselowski took back the lead to set up the last-lap drama.
After no cautions during the second stage, the competition — and crashes — picked up late in the race.
Kevin Harvick, who won in Atlanta in 2018 and 2020, was leading late when he lost control while being pushed by Ross Chastain. Replays indicated Chastain’s Chevrolet didn’t hit Harvick’s Ford, but Harvick’s spin caused a major crash.
“I think he was just so close to me he caught me right in the corner,” Harvick said of Chastain. “The way he came from right to left took the car away from me.”
Byron called the wreck “just a part of racing.”
Another wreck involving the leaders followed 20 laps later when Aric Almirola blew a tire, causing a spin that also took out Kyle Larson and Daniel Suarez.
Hendrick Motorsports’ four drivers had fill-in crew chiefs following the largest combined fine on one team in series history for modifying air-deflecting pieces last weekend at Phoenix Raceway. Hendrick was issued a combined $400,000 in fines along with four-race suspensions for the crew chiefs.
Chase Elliott, the Georgia native who won last summer’s race at his home track, continues to recover in Colorado from a broken tibia suffered while snowboarding month.
Elliott posted regrets on his Twitter account for being unable to participate in Sunday’s race: “This is gonna be a tough one today not being in atl for obvious reasons, but I can’t wait to see everyone down there in July!”
When Hendrick Motorsports tweeted to Elliott “Not the same without you here,” Elliott replied with hopes he would return “hopefully sooner than later my friends.”
The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and the Circuit of the Americas next Sunday. Chastain scored his first career Cup win on the road course last year.
