Elliott's Last-Lap Pass Leads to Special Home State Win at EchoPark Speedway

Chase Elliott punched his ticket for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs on Saturday night, making a last-lap pass on Brad Keselowski to win the Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at EchoPark Speedway.

With drafting help from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman, Elliott passed Keselowski entering turn one on the final lap of the race. From there, the Dawsonville, Georgia native held on for the win in front of his home state crowd at the Hampton, Georgia facility.

The large crowd of fans that had persevered through a rain delay and a massive incident on lap 69 celebrated as the local favorite and the seven-time winner of NASCAR's Most Popular Driver award picked up his first win of the 2025 season.

Race Results: NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart

It was also a special victory for Elliott, with his car bearing a scheme designed by Rhealynn Mills, a pediatric cancer patient at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.

"Just what a special car. A huge thanks to NAPA Auto Parts and everything they do for me and to benefit Children's Health Care of Atlanta. Rhealynn Mills designed a fast NAPA Chevrolet tonight. That was a lot of fun. This right here is something I'll never forget.

"I just think that, honestly, all the cards fell in the right places there on the last couple of laps. What a crazy race, man. I don't know if y'all had fun, but it was wild from my seat. So glad we got to run that thing out there to the end.

"Thank you so much for everybody that has made this ossible. This is the ninth year of 'DESI9N TO DRIVE,' what an incredible way to celebrate that. Some great partners, Chevrolet, hello to Mr. Hendrick at home, thanks for sticking with me, pal."

Keselowski finished second, just 0.002 ahead of Bowman in a side-by-side finish for the runner-up spot. Keselowski led 46 of the race's 260 laps as part of a strong Ford contingent, but lacked the help needed at the end of the race to hold off both drivers in the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Elliott and Bowman.

"The 9 car [of Elliott] got a great push from the 48 [of Bowman] there," said Keselowski. "If those guys would race, I could hold them off, but when they double-team me like that, the same thing when we had a couple of teammates, we were able to hold them off. We lost that, and at the end, they were able to double-team me. Good effort. Led a lot of laps, in position, I don't think there was really anything I could do differently. Just put ourselves in position."

Bowman led 32 drivers, another competitor who spent plenty of time at the front of the field. He finished third, another driver still seeking his first win of the season.

"My car was really good, but I was pretty bottom-dependent a little bit, just with how our handling was," said Bowman. "I'd say that one's a little popular, so congrats to the 9 team and Chase, proud of those guys. I'm glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us. We had a really fast Ally 48 there after we crashed.

"We needed to not lose control of the race, but it was hard to do. Everybody that led lost control of the race. I justed led at the wrong time, I guess. I wish we were two spots better or whatever, but still a good day for us and our Ally Camaro."

The complexion of the race changed drastically on lap 69, with a 23-car incident that collected many front-runners and previous race winners during the 2025 season.

Bowman's last win came at the next stop for the NASCAR Cup Series, the Chicago Street Circuit for the Grant Park 165. The race is scheduled for Sunday, July 6 at 2 p.m. ET, with coverage on TNT, the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

-Photo credit: Krista Jasso/Getty Images