- Elliott wins at EchoPark Speedway, his first points-paying victory since April 2024
- Emotional scenes as fans and team celebrate under the lights in Georgia
- Hendrick’s No. 9 team praised for unity, resilience, and a “never quit” attitude
Chase Elliott delivered a storybook finish under the lights at EchoPark Speedway on Saturday night, securing an emotional and hard-fought victory at his home track in Georgia. The Dawsonville native ended a 44-race winless streak with a last-lap pass that electrified the crowd and clinched a vital postseason berth.
“It was just truly a pretty surreal moment,” Elliott said. “I mean … I don’t even know. I’m not even sure that anything has ever matched that. Like, that was just crazy. I’ve never been on stage and been a singer or anything like that, but I would have to imagine it’d have to feel something like that. It was just such an incredible experience.”
Elliott’s win comes nearly 15 months after his last points-paying victory at Texas Motor Speedway in April 2024. During the drought, he managed 13 top-five finishes and never finished outside the top 20 in the first 17 races of 2025. But without a win, his playoff place was still uncertain entering Atlanta.
“Grateful to have experienced that,” Elliott said. “Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Winning at home was incredible the first time. They feel different. But this one, Saturday night under the lights, been a while since we won, getting ourselves a win and advancing up on the playoff (standings). Just all the things that have come with this, that one was up there, for sure.”
The victory wasn’t just about personal achievement. It also marked a collective win for Hendrick Motorsports, as teamwork — especially from Alex Bowman — played a critical role. Bowman, still searching for his first win of the season, pushed Elliott late in the race while battling RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher in a tightly contested draft.
“You’re just trying to keep your momentum going,” Bowman said. “It wasn’t really like an HMS thing. I was gonna push whoever the car was immediately in front of me, and just so happened that it was Chase.”
Hendrick Motorsports president Jeff Andrews acknowledged Bowman’s contribution: “We’re probably not sitting here without Alex Bowman and the move he made there and the teammate that he was tonight, so just really proud of him and Blake (Harris, No. 48 crew chief) for the car they had. But, you know, ultimately, when you have fast race cars like that, it was kind of clear to us early on that we had a lot of speed in our cars, and you just want to be able to see that through.”
Elliott now joins teammates William Byron and Kyle Larson as 2025 winners, with all three occupying the top spots in the points standings. Bowman, now 15th in the playoff picture, gained 19 points compared to where he was entering the weekend.
Beyond the immediate race, Elliott reflected on the enduring partnership with crew chief Alan Gustafson and the stability of the No. 9 team.
“A large part of our group has been the same since I got here,” Elliott said. “Obviously, Alan and I have been working together for 10 years now. There have been some personnel changes here and there. Totally understand that. When you’re fortunate enough to climb the mountain and be able to stand at the top of the mountain with someone, that’s an incredible achievement, right? That’s something that he and I will always cherish and remember that we did that together, right?
“Since then, we have failed to climb that mountain again like we want. We have fallen off of it a few times. For me, it’s really, really important to climb that mountain with the same people that we did the first time and know that we never quit on each other. That’s just a really important piece of the puzzle for me.”
Elliott’s outlook on performance was equally pragmatic.
“I think that, for me, satisfaction and showing up on a weekend is: Were we relevant? Were we in contention? Do we actually have a shot? Are we up there with pace and doing the right things?” he said. “I just believe that in this sport, if you’re doing all those right things, A, that’s something to be proud of, and B, if you’re doing them regularly, you’re going to get your turn. And I thought tonight was a great example of that.”
As eight regular-season races remain, Elliott’s confidence is growing. He hopes Saturday’s result is just the beginning of a bigger run.
“I’m just really proud of all of our guys for … just showing up every week and having great attitudes,” Elliott said, “just doing everything in their power to put the car, the product on the race track that they do, the effort they put in going over the wall, the way Alan brings intensity to the race track, calling races, meetings, making sure he’s getting everything out of me. It’s all right there.
“We have such a good, talented group of people that are motivated, good people away from the race track, too. You can’t quit on that.”
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