William Byron dominates at Austin, wins 1st street course race of season

AUSTIN, Texas — William Byron gained the Daytona 500 with an agonizing closing lap beneath a warning flag. He took the checkered flag on Sunday on the Circuit of the Americas at full throttle.

Bryon began from pole place and delivered a dominant drive in NASCAR’s first street course race of the season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 42 of 68 laps and constructed the large lead he wanted to carry off a hard-charging run from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell over the ultimate two laps.

Bell shaved almost three seconds off Byron’s result in create some late drama earlier than Byron slammed the door over the ultimate corners.

“I used to be attempting to not make errors,” Byron mentioned. “I knew that final lap he was going to be pushing arduous.”

Even when he was constructing the lead, Byron mentioned he knew the victory can be tight on the finish.

“Everybody is just too good, and that automobile [was] too shut,” Byron mentioned.

A self-taught racer who used laptop tools to hone his expertise, Byron earned profession win No. 12 and his second on a street course.

The Circuit of the Americas, a monitor constructed for System One, has been the primary street course for NASCAR every of the final 4 seasons. And in contrast to the crash-filled triple-overtime race of 2023, Sunday’s race was largely incident free as Byron made straightforward work of the sphere.

Byron led 23 laps of the primary two levels, however discovered himself rapidly dropped to 3rd at first of the ultimate stage as Ross Chastain, who gained at COTA in 2022, jumped to the entrance.

Byron fought again to go him with 25 laps to go and each vehicles pitted on the identical lap. Chastain then obtained hung up in site visitors on the re-entry and fell a number of vehicles behind.

That gave Byron the prospect to open the hole he wanted to maintain Bell behind him on the finish. Ty Gibbs, the 21-year-old grandson of staff proprietor Joe Gibbs, completed third after getting handed by Bell with three laps to go.

“One other lap I might have gotten there for certain,” Bell mentioned. “Passing [Byron] would have been troublesome. I wanted him to make a mistake and he did not make a mistake.”

PENALTIES

The course had few monitor limits, however the ones enforced by race officers introduced a hefty penalty for drivers who obtained caught.

Chase Elliott, who gained right here in 2021 and leads energetic drivers with seven street course wins, was operating sixth early within the closing stage earlier than driving out of bounds within the s-curve part of the racetrack.

That compelled him do to a pit lane drive-thru and took him out of competition when he rejoined in sixteenth. Elliott, a former Cup Collection champion, hasn’t gained since 2022.

FORD FALTERS

Ford drivers have but to win this season and didn’t count on huge outcomes on the street course. They delivered on the low expectations. Chris Buescher was the highest Ford driver on Sunday in eighth.

COMING BACK TO COTA

The Circuit of the Americas is the one monitor to host each NASCAR and F1, and all indicators level to the inventory vehicles coming again subsequent yr.

Circuit of the Americas President Bobby Epstein mentioned this week he has a deal for NASCAR to return in 2025, however offered no particulars. Marcus Smith, president of Speedway Motorsports, which runs the occasion and rents the monitor for the week, mentioned he additionally plans a return.

“We love bringing NASCAR to Austin,” Smith mentioned. “Nothing is closing till the official NASCAR schedule comes out, however we’re planning for an additional huge occasion in Austin at COTA in 2025.”

UP NEXT

The sequence strikes to quick monitor racing subsequent Sunday at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.