Entering first road race of season, BetOnline Sportsbook tabs Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson as favorites to claim 2025 NASCAR Cup Series’ Championship.

Christopher Bell passed Kyle Larson on the final lap to win in overtime at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The yellow flag flew with Bell just ahead of Carson Hocevar, who had nosed ahead of Larson for a career-best second place.

The site of Chastain with Hocevar is not new. Both are alumni of the Craftsman Truck Series team Niece Motorsports. For the last few years, Chastain has served as a mentor to the younger driver, trying to guide him through some rough patches.

Hocevar is one of the most talented youngsters in NASCAR. It is his aggressiveness and fearlessness that makes him so good. Undoubtedly, he will become more mature and wiser as time progresses. Until then, it is up to someone like Busch — a senior veteran — to keep him grounded.

Carson Hocevar was making a bold last-lap move for the win on Sunday, but came up just feet shy. He didn't make many friends in the process.

HAMPTON, Ga. — A former champion was ready to wreck Carson Hocevar. Another former champion called him a “moron.” And the driver who has been his mentor pulled Hocevar aside after Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway for a lengthy discussion that ended with a handshake but little satisfaction.

Carson Hocevar earned the best finish of his young NASCAR Cup Series career on Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but he ruffled plenty of feathers along the way.