NASCAR faces scrutiny as expert exposes inconsistency after Atlanta caution helps Christopher Bell

Christopher Bell took the checkered flag in Sunday's Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta, but his victory didn't come without controversy. After the driver of the #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota won the race under caution, experts within the NASCAR community raised questions surrounding inconsistency in Sunday's finish.

There have been several last-lap crashes already in the 2025 season, but NASCAR doesn't seem to figure out whether it wants to throw the caution and end the race. In the second Duel at Daytona, a crash ensued behind leaders Austin Cindric and Erik Jones coming to the checkered flag. While Jones was first to the finish line, the caution had come out about 100 yards from the checkered flag, where Cindric was scored the winner. This sparked displeasure from the NASCAR community as they wanted to see the finish play out.

In last week's Daytona 500, a massive multi-car crash ensued on the backstretch. However, the caution wasn't called and the finish played out under green. The same happened in Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Atlanta when a crash was triggered on the final lap.

On Sunday, Bell was in a three-wide battle with Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson as they headed into turn three and looked for the checkered flag. Yet, a wreck happened behind them, and NASCAR threw the caution, ending the race and ultimately giving Bell his 10th career victory.

Like the Duel at Daytona, many were upset that NASCAR didn't allow the finish to play out. In the most recent episode of "The Teardown" podcast, NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck mentioned that NASCAR made the right call, but the inconsistency is an issue. Gluck noted that NASCAR wished they had thrown the caution in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, adding:

“When they come in the driver’s meeting this morning and say, ‘We wish we hadn’t done that, and we’re not going to do that again,’ They had to do it. It’s just inconsistent, and we’re seeing not just from weekend to weekend inconsistency, but race to race inconsistency. ... That’s where I think all this outrage is coming from,” said Gluck during his appearance on the podcast (5:39 onwards)

Christopher Bell joked that he's a drafting track "ace" after Atlanta win

While it didn't come without controversy, Christopher Bell earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series win on a drafting-type track in Sunday's Ambetter Health 400. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took to social media after the win to humorously joke about his talent on superspeedways.

Bell took to Instagram to share photos from his triumph at the Georgia 1.5-mile track. He joked that now with one win, he's got drafting tracks figured out, writing:

"Super. Speedway. Ace. jk😂 still can't believe it #teamtoyota"

Bell is seeking a return to the Championship 4 this season after missing out last year. He made the Championship 4 in both 2022 and 2023 but failed to win.