Winners and losers from an unbelievable NASCAR Cup race at Atlanta

Inclement weather, red flags, track-clearing pileups and a last-lap pass by the hometown hero — EchoPark Speedway put on a show for the ages on Saturday night. Some are calling it the best race of the year with non-stop action throughout the pack, even after half the field was collected in a mid-race pileup. 

It was also the first race of the five-week in-season challenge, and most brackets are surely busted already. But with that being said, here’s a look at the biggest winners and losers from this weekend’s thriller in Atlanta:

WINNER: Hendrick teamwork makes the dream work

Watch: Chase Elliott makes last-lap magic to win at EchoPark Speedway

At the end of the Cup race in Atlanta, the RFK teammates lost sight of each other but the Hendrick duo of Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman stuck together. They perfectly timed the final two laps, moving up into second and third and leaving the race little nothing he could do. The No. 6 Ford tried to block, but it wasn’t enough to stop Elliott from completing a last-lap pass for the lead. And any hope Brad Keselowski had of fighting back vanished as Bowman refused to push him, allowing Elliott to snap a 44-race winless streak. 

LOSER: Brad Keselowski loses his golden ticket to the playoffs

Watch: Brad Keselowski talks ‘good effort’ in runner-up finish

The only thing that could save Keselowski’s season at this point is a win. He sits 27th in points and has gone winless this year, but Atlanta was a great opportunity to rectify that. At one point, he had two teammates lined up behind him but by the time the white flag flew, they were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, it’s not the first time Keselowski has lost one of these Atlanta races in a last-lap pass.

WINNER: The race track for putting on one of the best shows of the year

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Call it Atlanta Motor Speedway, EchoPark Speedway, or whatever you want. It doesn’t change the fact that it just put on one incredible show. Even a 23-car pileup couldn’t slow down the action as the lead changed 46 times. Five different drivers led the race in the final ten laps. The breath-taking race never let up with drivers constantly making huge moves throughout the pack and it seemed like no one could hold the lead for long. Atlanta has asserted itself as the best drafting track on the schedule and it’s not even close.

LOSER: Pretty much everyone involved in that 23-car pileup

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Might as well just group everyone into this. Of the 23 drivers involved in this mess, nine were unable to continue. The second stage had barely gotten underway when names like Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ross Chastain had their cars destroyed. In fact, this wreck nearly guaranteed a new winner as seven of the 11 winners this year were eliminated in the wreck while others were wounded.

WINNER: Ty Dillon with the in-season tournament upset

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

Both the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds have been knocked out of the in-season bracket challenge, allowing the No. 31 and No. 32 seeds to advance. Most surprisingly, Ty Dillon moves on over Hamlin, giving him the chance to fight for a $1 million prize that would be the highlight of his Cup career. And he had the perfect response for Hamlin fans after the race, saying: “To all the Denny fans out there, I just knocked your favorite driver out.”

LOSER: Ryan Blaney at the wrong place at the wrong time again

Photo by: Sean Gardner / Getty Images

It’s a good thing Ryan Blaney managed to win at Nashville as his season has included six DNFs in the first 18 races. Last year, he had seven in 36 races. Blaney was once again an innocent bystander as he tried to avoid the first wreck of the night, but instead found himself slamming the outside wall. Blaney lamented the bad luck, noting how he always seems to get “caught up in other people’s garbage.” He finished 40th (last), which is his worst result in five years.

WINNER: The 18-year-old rookie for keeping it clean

Photo by: David J. Griffin – Icon Sportswire – Getty Images

While veterans were crashing all over the place, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch kept his car clean and stayed out of trouble, running every single lap and nearly scoring a top ten finish. He was the best of the four Trackhouse cars as his three teammates did wreck while Zilisch placed 11th in the No. 87 Red Bull Chevrolet. He drove like someone who has been doing this for a while, not a rookie in his fourth career start.

LOSER: Stenhouse battles back from a penalty, but misses out on the win

Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Krista Jasso / Getty Images

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had one of the best drives of anyone during the final run of the race. He had to start from the rear of the field for the last restart due to a penalty, but he quickly marched forward. Stenhouse pulled off a brilliant three-wide pass for the lead with just six laps to go, but he could not hold it as the No. 47 slipped back. He was still inside the top five on the final lap, but contact with the outside wall caused him to slip back to sixth. It was still a strong result but with how close he was to Victory Lane, he’s surely wondering what he could have done differently in those final few laps.

Photos from Atlanta II – Race

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