Joey Logano passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap Sunday afternoon as Ford broke Chevrolet’s hot start to 2023 and the reigning series champion won the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Ga.
Following a pair of separate crashes up front that brought out cautions for Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson, Keselowski paced a 44-lap dash to the finish — leading almost the whole way.
But Logano, who led a race-high 141 laps, made a pass on the high side off Turn 2, completed it going into the third turn and won for the 32nd time in his career and first ever at AMS.
Following second-place Keselowski were Christopher Bell, Corey LaJoie and Tyler Reddick.
Chevy had won the first four races of the season. The last time a manufacturer claimed five victories to open a season was in 1995 — also by Chevy.
The 260-lapper was the first of two 400-mile races at AMS this season — the first year ever without a 500-mile event at the high-speed track.
Logano, who put his No. 22 Ford on the pole for the second time in 2023, led Team Penske teammates Austin Cindric and Ryan Blaney in the season’s fifth event.
In Stage 1, Logano topped the field for the entire 60 laps around the 1.54-mile track ahead of Cindric for Logano’s first stage win this season.
However, Cindric — who ran as far back as 25th at one point — mounted a run off Turn 4 and was able to maneuver his No. 2 Mustang by his stablemate on the final circuit to win Stage 2.
After staying out on old tires and getting the lead, Aric Almirola blew a tire off Turn 4 and collected Hendrick Motorsports’ Larson while the pair was running 1-2 on Lap 209.
–Field Level Media