Brad Keselowski's Late Charge Leads to NASCAR at Atlanta 2019 Win over Truex Jr.

Martin Truex Jr. came on strong and had the best car down the stretch.

He just ran out of time.

Brad Keselowski took home the Folds of Honor 500 on Sunday, edging out a hard-charging Truex to win his first race of the 2019 NASCAR season and lock himself into the Chase.

Keselowski battled illness throughout the week and only led 33 of the race's 325 laps, persevering for his second career win in Atlanta. Truex finished 0.218 seconds behind, while Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer rounded out the top five.

"I've got to give a lot to credit to my wife, she was sick just like I was, and she took great care of me along with everybody in the care center. I couldn't be here today without them," Keselowski told reporters.

Kyle Larson had the most dominant car for most of the afternoon, leading 142 laps. However, a costly speeding penalty on pit road wound up costing him a chance at the win. He finished 12th.

It was a similar story for pole-sitter Aric Almirola, who led 36 laps before speeding on pit road cost him field position. He finished eighth.

Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin battled through an up-and-down day for an 11th-place finish. Hamlin did not lead a lap and spent most of his afternoon out of contention.

A mostly clean race, there were only five cautions and no major contenders were involved in crashes. Every car in the field completed at least 200 laps, and Michael McDowell's No. 34 was the only one to finish at least 100 laps down.

The drivers will head to Las Vegas next week for the Pennzoil 400.