The NASCAR Cup Series took to the High Banks of Hampton this past Sunday, February 23, and this race had it all. A triumph and tribulation from one of NASCAR’s most respected drivers, tempers flaring, a lot of action and a finish that had people up in arms, once again. Here’s how it all went down in the Peach State this past weekend.
The race began with Ryan Blaney on the pole, alongside his Team Penske teammate, Austin Cindric. Stage 1 had single-file racing, passing for the lead and every driver was able to keep their head in the game. Josh Berry, the newest face of the famed Wood Brothers Racing, battled Blaney, Cindric, Todd Gilliland and Joey Logano, en-route to the Stage 1 victory. Spire Motorsports’ Michael McDowell took his car behind the wall, going multiple laps down in the process, due to an electrical issue. This meant McDowell had his work cut out for him and would need to fight until the end for contention.
Stage 2 began with Logano and Berry leading, receiving pushes from Cindric and William Byron, respectively. Byron was looking to go two-in-a-row after winning the Daytona 500 a week prior and already has two wins at Atlanta Motor Speedway. On Lap 83, Ty Dillon blew a tire, slamming into the Turn 4 wall, but Dillon was able to continue, going multiple laps down.
After several laps of cleanup, the Ambetter Health 400 resumed with Logano and Alex Bowman on the front row. The defending NASCAR Cup Series Champion went wheel-to-wheel with Bowman, who’s still out to prove to the world that he belongs at Hendrick Motorsports. On Lap 103, Erik Jones made contact with Chris Buescher, slamming the Inside Backstretch Retaining Wall. Jones took his car to the garage for repairs and thanks to the updated Damaged Vehicle Policy, Jones was able to come back on track to continue his race after his Legacy Motor Club team made repairs.
The caution came out on Lap 135, due to debris on the Backstretch which bunched the field up once again, to make a charge at the finish of Stage 2. On Lap 150, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. made contact with Chase Briscoe coming out of Turn 4, sending Stenhouse Jr. into Chase Elliott, causing Elliott coming back into the the pack, taking out Corey LaJoie and Brad Keselowski in the process. Elliott’s #9 Napa Chevrolet turned into LaJoie’s #01 Ford, as Keselowski rear-ended Elliott, ending LaJoie and Keselowski’s days. Elliott was able to continue.
Stage 2 ended with Kyle Larson winning it, collecting those valuable points for the post-season, followed by Bubba Wallace, Joey Logano, William Byron and Alex Bowman rounding out the Top-5. Meanwhile, Spire Motorsports was having an interesting day, as Carson Hocevar made a block on Kyle Busch towards the end of Stage 2, enraging Busch in the process, while Michael McDowell received the free pass after every caution, reducing his laps down drastically.
The carnage of the Ambetter Health 400 was far from over, as defending race winner, Daniel Suarez, collected Cole Custer, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware and more, prompting another cleanup. This ended Custer, Suarez and Ware’s days, as the damage was beyond repair.
Chase Briscoe was involved in another accident, coming down on Chris Buescher on the Frontstretch, turning him into Alex Bowman. Buescher and Bowman managed to keep their cars below the apron, minimizing the damage that could’ve ensued.
With under 50-to-go, Busch and Berry battled the Trackhouse racing teammates, Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain, as Ryan Blaney went for a spin going into Turn 2 on Lap 235. This bump came from Hocevar, once again, as he was proving he’s here to win and will do it under any circumstance.
With three-to-go, Kyle Larson came up with on Austin Cindric, who collected William Byron in the process, taking both of them out of contention for the win. Cindric had a strong day and it was unfortunate end to his already strong day.
As Bell, Hocevar and Larson were battling for the lead coming to the White Flag, Josh Berry collected Justin Haley and Ryan Preece in an accident, prompting NASCAR to throw out the caution coming to the finish. The NASCAR officials declared Christopher Bell as the winner, this being Bell’s first win at the High Banks of Hampton.
While the finish left a lot of fans angry and confused with NASCAR’s inconsistency, the Ambetter Health 400 had it all and proved once again that the 1.54-mile Hampton, Georgia track never disappoints, in terms of the on-track action. This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Austin, Texas for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas, the 2.4-mile Road Course, famous for Formula 1 racing. Entering COTA, Ryan Blaney comes in with the points lead, +12 over William Byron, with Tyler Reddick in 3rd, only -15 behind Blaney. You can catch all the action on Sunday, March 2 at 3:30PM EST.
Every Man on Every Crew, LLC. 
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