by Brock Beard / LASTCAR.info Editor-in-Chief

Brad Keselowski picked up the 3rd last-place finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career in Sunday’s Ambetter Health 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway when his #6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford was involved in a multi-car accident after 149 of 266 laps.

The finish, which came in Keselowski’s 559th series start, was his first of the season and first in a Cup Series race since October 30, 2022 at Martinsville, 75 races ago. In the Cup Series’ last-place rankings, it was the 36th for the #6, the 681st from a crash, and the 755th for Ford. Across NASCAR’s top three series, it was the 72nd for the #6, the 1,057th for Ford, and the 1,407th from a crash.

Keselowski enjoyed a massive 2024 season, both as a driver and team owner. He ended a long winless streak at Darlington – a race his teammate Chris Buescher nearly won before a late-race tangle for the lead with Tyler Reddick. He also saw Buescher nearly prevail in NASCAR’s closest finish in history at Kansas, then break through in a dramatic battle with Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen. The team’s sponsorship forecast also continued to improve with Kroger moving over from the former JTG-Daugherty Racing program, allowing for their part-time “Stage 60” entry to become a full-time ride for former Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece.

Keselowski struggled in the Clash and wrecked out of the 500, but had reason to be excited for Atlanta. While he’d only won on its previous configuration, he’d also led 70 laps on the current “superspeedway” shape, including a runner-up finish in this race two years ago. This year, Keselowski advanced in qualifying with the 8th-fastest lap in Round 1 at 31.058 seconds (178.505mph), then in Round 2 ended up 9th with a slightly slower lap of 31.102 seconds (178.252mph).

Securing the 39th and final starting spot was J.J. Yeley, whose #44 Green River Whiskey Chevrolet joined B.J. McLeod’s 38th-place starting #78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet in rebounding from their DNQs in the Daytona 500. No drivers were sent to the rear for pre-race penalties, and NASCAR instructed Yeley to trail the inside line behind 37th-place starter Denny Hamlin in the #11 Yahoo! Toyota.

When the green flag dropped, the pack ran so close together that last place changed hands frequently. Heading into Turn 1, Yeley again went to the high lane, stranding Hamlin on the inside and dropping the #11 to last at the end of Lap 1. By Lap 5, Hamlin had climbed to 35th, dropping to last Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. in the #47 Martin’s Famous Potato Rolls Chevrolet. Two laps later, Yeley retook the spot and had a windshield filled by Stenhouse racing to the inside of Riley Herbst’s #35 Monster Energy Toyota.

On Lap 9, Yeley caught and passed Cody Ware’s #51 Arby’s Ford, but Ware battled back in a door-to-door battle that saw Yeley take last on Lap 11, Ware on Lap 13, Yeley on Lap 14, Ware on Lap 16, Yeley on Lap 19, Ware on Lap 20, then Yeley on Lap 22. Each time, Yeley had a good run off Turn 2 while Ware seemed fastest off Turn 4 into the quad-oval. During this run, Cole Custer’s #41 3D Systems Ford slipped down the lineup in the high lane, and on Lap 23, Ware now battled him for 37th. Ware made it by, and on Lap 26, Yeley drew alongside, only for Custer to get a good drive off the corners. On Lap 28, Yeley tried to pass Custer up high, but was blocked in by Daniel Suarez’ #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet. Yeley then pulled to the middle line on Lap 29 and dropped Custer to last place.

Over the radio, Custer said his car was tight, and he had to fight to stay in Yeley’s tire tracks. Ahead of them, Suarez now held 37th and was running alongside Ty Gibbs, whose #54 SAIA LTL Freight Toyota had likewise plummeted through the field by being stranded in the high lane. Gibbs then came into Yeley’s view, but as Yeley tried to pass, Custer saw an opening to Yeley’s outside. On Lap 36, Custer got a big run off Turn 4 to get past Yeley, but was immediately bottled up behind Gibbs who now had Ware to his outside. Yeley caught Custer again on Lap 37 and moved past, only for yet another car to plummet back in the high lane.

This car was Michael McDowell’s #71 Group 1001 Chevrolet, which had lost power steering. Soon after falling to last on Lap 38, he was immediately losing the draft, watching as Custer and Yeley battled for 37th ahead of him. “Doing all I can here,” said McDowell on Lap 41. As the team discussed repairs for their first pit stop, the three cars ahead of McDowell also lost touch with the draft. McLeod’s #78 led the pack ahead of Ware and Yeley, the trio now 1.5 seconds back of 35th-place Custer on Lap 47. By Lap 51, McDowell reported his power steering had failed completely, but still managed to stay within four seconds of 38th-place Yeley on Lap 58. He was also just 12.733 seconds back of the leader, meaning it was unlikely he’d lose a lap by the end of Stage 1. He reached the green-and-checkered on Lap 61 about seven seconds back of Yeley, but still on the lead lap, 15.683 back of the lead.

Knowing he had no track position to lose, McDowell entered a closed pit road on Lap 64, where the crew changed tires and looked under the hood. The team quickly decided to go to the garage to replace the power steering pump, estimating it would be a quick repair. He rolled to Garage Stall 12, where the crew set to work. They finished on Lap 68, then sent McDowell back onto the track on Lap 70, just one lap after the restart. He was again running by himself, but quickly found the steering was working properly.

McDowell had not lost another lap when the caution fell on Lap 82. Ty Dillon had slipped to 38th in his #10 Sear Best Chevrolet, which that time by was starting to lose the draft. Heading though Turns 3 and 4, the right-rear tire blew, sending him into the wall with the right-rear, then spinning to a stop on the apron. Dillon tried several times to get rolling again, but could do little more than spin. He wanted to get a push from the arriving tow truck, but was frustrated when they instead hooked him up and towed him behind the wall. Of particular concern was the right-front, where his fender had broken away and the upper edge of the hood refused to lay flat – it kept springing up each time the crew tried to push it down. On Lap 87, Dillon took last place from McDowell, who earned the “Lucky Dog” under the yellow. Dillon’s crew estimated their driver ran over something with the right-rear tire, which Dillon said may have happened under yellow. On Lap 94, the crew checked the toe end, and on Lap 101, they took a grinder to the stubborn hood and fender. The crew completed work on Lap 105, when he returned to the race 24 laps down, needing to run three laps at minimum speed, set at 34.77 seconds.

Dillon returned to the track under caution as another single-car spin drew the yellow. This time, the victim was Erik Jones, whose #43 Advent Health Toyota was spun off the nose of Chirs Buescher’s #17 Fastenal Ford in heavy traffic coming off Turn 2 on Lap 102. Like Dillon, Jones had a flat tire – his was the left-rear – and could only reach the apron of Turn 3 before he too needed a tow. He arrived on Lap 105, mere moments after Dillon left nearly the same spot. Several members of Jones’ crew worked on the left-front fender. On Lap 122, Jones’ team reported the splitter was damaged and the diffuser strakes completely worn off. But on Lap 127, the very lap he took last from Dillon, Jones returned to the track, showing 25 laps down. By the time he cleared minimum speed, he showed 26 laps down, two circuits behind Dillon.

Jones remained in the last spot through the next caution for Todd Gilliland’s flat tire on the #34 Aaron’s Rent to Own Ford, which earned McDowell his third consecutive “Lucky Dog.” McDowell would soon receive a fourth on Lap 150, when trouble broke out off Turn 4. Coming off the corner, Chase Elliott was battling among the leaders when his #9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet banged doors with Stenhouse’s #47, putting Elliott in the wall. Elliott fought for control entering the quad-oval, then hooked left and snagged a passing Corey LaJoie in the #01 AirMedCare Network Ford. As LaJoie spun down the track, Elliott then collected Keselowski, who struck Elliott in the right-rear. While both Elliott and LaJoie made it around to pit road, Keselowski made it no further than Turn 3, where he reported a busted radiator and a loss of oil pressure. The tow truck took the car behind the wall at Turn 3, bringing the car through the camper lot on its way to the garage. Keselowski was checked and released from the infield care center, eliminated along with the now 38th-place LaJoie.

The rest of the Bottom Five was filled by the day’s biggest accident on Lap 184. A stack-up in the middle of the pack forced a three-wide battle off Turn 4 where Ty Gibbs’ #54 tried to thread the needle between Daniel Suarez’ #99 and the #34 of Todd Gilliland. Gibbs ended up clipping Suarez, then hooking him into the outside wall. Suarez’ spinning car then clipped Noah Gragson’s #4 TitleMax Ford into a spin and triggered a chain-reaction of the three cars behind J.J. Yeley hit a slowing Ware behind Custer, sending Ware and Custer hard into the outside wall and Yeley into the door of Suarez. Five of the six drivers were eliminated except Gibbs, who returned after toe link damage only to be eliminated in a second accident on Lap 205.

McDowell rebounds, Hocevar nearly wins, and JHN earns another strong run

By the time Gibbs wrecked out a second time, Michael McDowell had earned back all six of his lost laps in consecutive cautions, putting him back on the lead lap for the first time since Stage 1. He went on to finish 13th on a night that saw another of his Spire Motorsports teammates in Carson Hocevar nearly pull off the victory in the #77 Delaware Life Chevrolet. Hocevar was making what would have been the winning move when a wreck further back forced the caution to freeze the field in Turn 3.

Despite the misfortunes suffered by teammate Erik Jones, who salvaged a 31st-place finish after his wreck, his Legacy Motor Club teammate John Hunter Nemechek earned a 10th-place finish in the #42 Dollar Tree Toyota, following up his career-best 5th in last week’s Daytona 500.

LASTCAR STATISTICS

*The last time the #6 was classified last in a Cup Series race at Atlanta was back on August 7, 1966, when David Pearson did not start his #6 1966 Dodge in the Dixie 400. According to Greg Fielden’s “Forty Years of Stock Car Racing,” this was a particularly controversial finish. Pearson’s team owner Cotton Owens had rigged the #6 with a cable that, when pulled, would lower the car during the race. Pearson’s car was one of three that failed inspection that weekend, joined by LeeRoy Yarbrough, who is also listed as a “did not start” in the race. The third belonged to Ned Jarrett, who was neither listed on the race results nor among the race’s DNQs or withdrawals. Pearson and Yarbrough’s protests appeared to have arisen after qualifying as Owens complained that he withdrew Pearson’s car on principle, saying both Fred Lorenzen and Curtis Turner made it through inspection and onto the starting grid driving cars prepared by Junior Johnson and Smokey Yunick that had even more blatant rules violations.

*Aside from Pearson’s “did not start,” the only other time the #6 finished last in a Cup race at Atlanta was on April 11, 1965, when Jim Conway’s #6 1964 Ford suffered a clutch failure after he completed just one lap of the Atlanta 500.

THE BOTTOM FIVE

39) #6-Brad Keselowski / 149 laps / crash

38) #01-Corey LaJoie / 149 laps / crash

37) #44-J.J. Yeley / 183 laps / crash

36) #41-Cole Custer / 183 laps / crash

35) #51-Cody Ware / 183 laps / crash / led 1 lap

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES OWNER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Kaulig Racing, RFK Racing (1)

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES MANUFACTURER'S CHAMPIONSHIP

1st) Chevrolet, Ford (1)

2025 LASTCAR CUP SERIES DRIVER'S CHAMPIONSHIP