Brilliant Byron wins from a lap down

The NASCAR Cup Series returned to the ovals at Atlanta this weekend and William Byron stole the show, winning from a lap down in a rain shortened race.

Victory appeared impossible for Byron when he was sent spinning early in the second stage of the Quaker State 400.

The #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro was a lap down, but thanks to quick repairs and handy cautions, it was back on the lead lap and finished stage two in position 18.

But just seven laps after racing resumed in the third and final stage, Byron hit the lead after surging past AJ Allmendinger.

The #24 remained in control until the seventh and final caution arrived on lap 178 after Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace tangled up.

During the caution period, heavy rain started to fall and with a severe weather warning, the race was red flagged and called with 185 of the scheduled 260 laps on the board.

Despite the early finish it was still a mighty effort for Byron to overcome being a lap down and a high-speed incident.

A big part of the success was the car to pit on lap 125 under caution during the turn 2 pile up that involved Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs.

This meant Byron emerged fourth at the lap 165 restart after almost half the field headed to the pits and two laps later the #24 was in a lead it would never let go.

It was Byron’s fourth win of the 2023 Cup Series season, the most of the entire field after successes at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Darlington.

But it was the most unexpected and Byron was thrilled in victory lane.

“It was just teamwork. Honestly I don’t completely understand this one, I have never had a rain victory like this but it is cool,” he said.

“We were thrown so much throughout the night, spinning through the infield, destroying the bottom of the car by dragging it on the apron to stay on the lead lap.

William Byron spins out at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Photo by Rusty Jarrett / NKP / LAT Images

“We made the call to pit there and then stay out and once we got up front it was okay. We could make the right decisions, block okay and got the lead from AJ and managed the run. It was a crazy run.

“I am thankful for the team just to stay in it when it is easy to give up and pack it in. Today was a lucky break.”

Byron led Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez with Almendinger in third.

Ryan Blaney won stage one by the barest of margins over Kyle Larson, but had to settle for ninth, while stage two winner Brad Keslowski was sixth as the maiden win with RFK Racing remained elusive.

Despite being shortened by rain, the 19th race of the season was a dramatic affair.

Larson and Tyler Reddick ran side by side up front early as Harrison Burton spun out on the exit of  turn two.

But that was the only incident of the opening stage as things took off in the longer 100-lap affair. 

Martin Truex Jr had a strange moment of spinning on pit road after contact with Michael McDowell.

Shortly after Byron’s spin on the main straight another contender in Larson found trouble, getting turned by Erik Jones at high speed whilst a front right explosion ended his day.

The #43 was at the centre of another incident when it struck LaJoie, causing the major pile up on lap 125.

Another major shunt occurred at the front of the field when Alex Bowman got loose and tagged Denny Hamlin which sent the pair veering off into the grass.

Soon after it was Kevin Harvick’s turn to take a tour of the infield and lost five laps as a result, while Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace also had an incident.

With Byron now enjoying a 21-point lead over Truex Jr at the top of the standings, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Crayon 301 this weekend.

Photo by John K Harrelson / NKP / LAT Images

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