Driver Chase Elliott celebrates after winning a NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday in Hampton, Ga. (AP photo)

HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott couldn’t have picked a better setting for a drought-breaking win.

Fans roared in approval after Elliott, the home-state favorite, passed Brad Keselowski on the final lap to end a 44-race drought by winning the NASCAR Cup Series at Atlanta on Saturday night.

Elliott’s 20th career victory pushed him to second place in the Cup Series points race, putting him in prime position to return to the top of the NASCAR world after winning his first championship in 2020.

Elliott earned a spot in the NASCAR playoffs with his first victory since April 2024 at Texas. He said he’ll always remember the win as a career highlight, in part because of the ovation from fans who chanted “Chase! Chase! Chase!”

Elliott, a Dawsonville, Georgia, native, climbed into the stands at EchoPark Speedway, formerly Atlanta Motor Speedway, to celebrate with the fans.

“It was, truthfully, a pretty surreal moment,” Elliott said. “Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. … Saturday night under the lights, been a while since we won, just getting ourselves a win and advancing up on the playoff thing.”

It was his first Atlanta win since 2022.

Elliott has 594 points, 37 behind Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron, who has 631. A third Hendrick Motorsports driver, Kyle Larson, is third.

Another Hendrick driver, Alex Bowman, played a key role in Elliott’s comeback win. Bowman, who finished third, gave Elliott a push and then helped block Keselowski on the final lap.

“I’m happy for the 9 team,” Bowman said. “It’s a big win for him in his hometown. … I’m glad to have a Hendrick car in victory lane. I wish it was us.”

Elliott said he’ll try to repay the favor by helping Bowman join the other three Hendrick drivers in the playoffs.

“I recognize that he gave me a great shove,” Elliott said. “I recognize that he took his run on Brad, too, to try to get himself to second, which ultimately helped me as well.

“Yeah, those are all things that I remember.”

Elliott advanced to the second round of NASCAR’s new In-Season Challenge, a five-race, bracket-style tournament. With the field cut from 32 to 16 drivers, Elliott will be paired against John Hunter Nemechek when the Cup Series moves to the Chicago Street Race next Sunday.

A $1 million prize awaits the winner, and Elliott’s odds improved after Atlanta wrecks knocked out the top two seeds, Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.

___

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing