Elliott holds off LaJoie, giving Georgian his first Atlanta win

HAMPTON, Ga. — With the home crowd cheering his every move, Chase Elliott wanted this win so badly.

He saw Corey LaJoie coming up quickly in the rear-view mirror.

No way Elliott was letting him by.

The Georgia-born driver powered past the upset-minded LaJoie with just under two laps to go and crossed the finish line under yellow after a big block sent LaJoie smashing into the wall Sunday at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

It was Elliott’s first NASCAR Cup victory at what he considers his home track after coming up short on his first eight tries.

“I’ve witnessed guys win at their home track, and you could tell it meant a lot to them,” Elliott said. “But until you start competing at the sport’s highest stage, you don’t truly understand what it can mean for you. To have this moment is so special and one I’m grateful for.”

Elliott pulled back around in front of the main grandstand, greeted by a boisterous ovation from fans who cheered loudly every time he went to the front and seemingly stretched all the way to Dawsonville, the north Georgia town that produced the winner and his father, longtime NASCAR Cup star Bill Elliott.

“Awesome Bill From Dawsonville” won five times at the historic Atlanta track.

Now, his kid has one, too. The Elliotts are the only Georgia-born drivers to win a Cup race in Atlanta. They are the third father-son duo to take the checkered flag at the 1.54-mile trioval, joining the Jarretts (Ned and Dale) and the Earnhardts (Dale and Dale Jr).

The wild capper to another eventful Atlanta race denied LaJoie the first victory of his career, which would’ve been a huge shocker for the low-budget Spire Motorsports team.

On a restart with three laps to go. LaJoie led the field from the inside lane and did everything he could to hold off Elliott. But after they crossed the start-finish line for the next-to-last time, Elliott surged to the lead on the outside with a helpful push from Erik Jones.