A year after nearly scoring the win at Darlington Raceway on throwback weekend, William Byron scored the victory in an overtime finish in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Byron is the first driver to win three races in the 2023 season, which is also a single-season high for the 25-year-old. The win is also the 100th in the history of the No. 24. This victory is also the 296th for Hendrick Motorsports.
“I’m just thankful that I was able to get in this No. 24 car,” Byron said of earning the milestone 100th win for the No. 24. “I was too young at the time I feel like, but growing up, maturing and just having a great team around me and being able to build the core that we have. I have a great group of guys — Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), Brandon McSwain, Tyler (Jones, car chief). Everybody on the team does a great job preparing good cars, and we work hard at it.”
After spending much of the race in the top five, Byron encountered a tough pit stop on lap 248 due to having to avoid a car that was leaving pit road under green. Thanks to several late cautions and avoiding a big wreck off the lap 281 restart, he lined up third for the lap 288 restart. Contact between Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson brought out another caution, but also gave Byron the lead for the first time in the No. 24 Axalta Throwback Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ahead of the overtime restart. From there, he was able to drive around the outside of Kevin Harvick to keep the lead for good and score the seventh Cup Series win of his career.
TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!
