“To win at your home track is a really big deal.” That’s exactly what Chase Elliott said when he staged a masterful performance to claim his first-ever NASCAR Cup Series win at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022. Elliott had led the race best 97 of 260 laps and executed a thrilling final lap pass to deny Corey LaJoie, propping himself into victory Lane as the Crowd erupted. However, Chase had been scrambling for a win in his hometown since then.

Fast forward to 2025, the Quaker State 400 was nothing short of amusing. With the weather acting up, two red flags and a multi-car wreck, Chase Elliott finally broke the curse, and in eerily similar fashion to his first win at the Georgia track.

Chase Elliott’s Atlanta miracle

Chase Elliott, son of Dawsonville’s Bill Elliott and pride of Georgia, snapped a painful 44-race winless streak at none other than EchoPark Speedway. Elliott’s race began like everyone else’s: tense and tactical. He kept his distance as stage two turned into a demolition derby, with 19 cars, including several title contenders, caught in a mess that silenced pit boxes and broke playoff dreams. Throughout it all, Chase held steady, finishing 10th in the first stage, dodging chaos by inches, not miles.

And then, as the field regrouped, the No. 9 came alive. In stage two, he climbed past teammate Alex Bowman and locked horns with Brad Keselowski in a stage three chess match at 180 mph. It all came down to the final lap. Turn 3. Elliott started it to the inside of Brad Keselowski, wheels nearly touching, and never looked back.

The crowd roared. Dawsonville’s siren wailed. And NASCAR had its moment. Chase Elliott, flashing his infamous warm smile, didn’t hold back. “Unbelievable. How about that? Are you kidding me?… This is unbelievable. Thank you guys so much. What a special car. It was a lot of fun. This right here is something I’ll never forget.”

This was more than a return to Victory Lane. It was a homecoming. A soul-cleansing exile after nearly a year and a half of heartbreak, close calls, and relentless pressure. Chase Elliott hadn’t won on home turf since 2022. But on this day, he didn’t just win; he delivered hope to fans clinging to every lap. And the symbolism couldn’t be stronger.  Elliott added, “Thank you so much for everybody who made this possible. This is the ninth year of design to drive; what an incredible way to celebrate that… Thanks to all you guys, this right here is… you can’t dream of this.” The paint scheme was tied into a social impact initiative, and it became a winning car on the grand stage in the grandest fashion.

As Elliott said, this was the ninth year of the Drive to Design initiative, and this year’s design was created by 11-year-old Rhealynn Mills, a pediatric cancer patient at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. The phrases “Cure cancer” and “Helping kids like me” can be seen on either side of a sketch of a nurse on the hood. It was a sweet tribute to a great cause, and Mills was even on the frontstretch during Chase’s interview, saying it was “It was cool” to see her design end up in Victory Lane.

However, as Elliott basked in the glow of a homecoming win at EchoPark Speedway, the rest of the Hendrick Motorsports garage weathered a world of highs and lows.

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Hendrick Motorsports’ wild Atlanta ride

The Hendrick Motorsports teammates experienced drastically different fates on the chaotic Atlanta stage. Alex Bowman, who ultimately crossed the line in third, may not have hoisted the trophy, but his No. 48 Camaro proved relentless even after adversity. Bowman admitted his car was “bottom-dependent”; once the field thinned out, he found his rhythm.

Tipping his at Elliott, Alex Bowman said, “I’d say that win was a little popular, so congrats to the 9 team and Chase. Glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. Wish it was us, but we had a really fast 48 after we crashed.” For a team that has been building momentum throughout the season, Alex’s podium marked another important step forward.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, William Byron’s promising day was cut short in the mayhem. Running inside the top five with a strong No. 24 Chevrolet, Byron was blindsided during the stage break pit cycle shuffle. The disappointed standings leader said, “They all stacked up, and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening, and I just kind of got shoved into it. It’s just a bummer that early in the race. I don’t really know what was going on. We were getting up to speed, and everyone was throwing a lot of blocks or something; I don’t know.” Officially scoring 37th, Byron’s exit was a hard pill to swallow for a driver who has been one of the season’s steadiest contenders.

And then there is Kyle Larson, who once again found himself tangled in another superspeedway-style mess. Despite flashes of speed, his day unraveled in the mid-stage carnage, a frustrating trend for the driver of the No. 5, bringing it home in 17th place. While Larson’s campaign remains strong overall, Atlanta approved just how cruel and unpredictable this stretch of the Calendar can be, even for NASCAR‘s best.

For Hendrick Motorsports, Sunday was a mixed bag of joy, heartbreak, and yet another reminder that anything can happen in the NASCAR race, especially when the Georgia heat meets a superspeedway setup. What did you think of Chase Elliott’s homecoming heroics? Let us know in the comments!