William Byron was unstoppable in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International, as he drove to his fifth win of the season.
Byron took the lead on the first round of pit stops when leader Michael McDowell came to pit road. From there, Byron would only surrender the lead once to come to pit road on lap 56.
Over the closing laps, Byron drove away from Denny Hamlin en route to the victory. In all, he led 66 of the 90 laps on the day.
“Yeah, just came this weekend with a good mindset, focusing on trying to get ready for the post-season, and we’ve had fast cars, we just haven’t executed races, but today was flawless, and just (crew chief) Rudy (Fugle), everybody, all the spotters,” Byron said. “Thanks to everybody. This is a cool win.”
It marks Byron’s ninth career victory, and his first on a road course.
“It feels really good, man,” said Byron. “You know, just a huge credit to the race team behind me. I want to thank Max Papis. This first road course win, we’ve worked years and years for this. Thanks to him. I know he’s watching back home.”
It marks the fifth straight Watkins Glen win for Hendrick Motorsports, and the 11th overall for the organization.
“Just really proud of the team,” said Byron. “Really awesome to get a road course win.”
Hamlin started the day on the pole, and race within the top three most of the day. In the end, he had to settle for a second place finish.
“Yeah, I’m happy with my day,” Hamlin said. “It takes me a while to get going, and with McDowell there at the beginning, like he’s just ready and he’s on kill, and I’m kind of working my way into it. I just lost the lead because I looked at the (Byron’s) back bumper the rest of the day.”
Christopher Bell surged late, and was rewarded with a third place effort.
“I thought I had what I needed at the end. Just a little bit better starting position,” said Bell. “It’s crazy – 90 laps and it comes down to that. We were just all very equally matched, and the road course races have been like that pretty much all season long. Whenever nobody makes mistakes you’ve got to be in front of them.”
Road race ace A.J. Allmendinger was on the charge late, trying to put himself into position to contend for the win. He crossed the line in fourth position.
“I think if we could have gotten up there and cleared the Toyotas there, maybe we had something for William (Byron),” Allmendinger said. “It’s so hard to pass in dirty air. We wanted to win but I’m super proud of everyone at Kaulig Racing. We’re getting better. Last week was disappointing. I’m proud of myself. I felt like I made no mistakes. That was all I had all day today. It’s something to build on.”
Rookie driver Ty Gibbs finished in fifth.
“I felt like I didn’t perform there as good as I needed to and need to do a better job to get back up and go race for the win there,” Gibbs said. “I felt like I was faster than the guys in front of us and I didn’t do a good job getting through them.”
Martin Truex, Jr., Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano rounded out the top 10.
Two drivers locked themselves into the Playoffs on points with Byron’s win. Brad Keselowski finished 15th to make the cut, while Kevin Harvick crossed the finish line 21st to make the Playoff field.
Bubba Wallace holds the final transfer spot in 16th. Wallace finished the day with a solid 12th place finish, and sits 32 points ahead of Gibbs above the cutoff going into the final race of the regular season.
“I’m proud of myself. That’s the first time I felt proud of myself at a road course race,” Wallace said. “I just executed and didn’t lose focus – maybe one time. And that’s the difference maker. You’ve got to stay on it at these places. Just hats off to my team for sticking with me and believing in me on these road courses.”
Dawsonville, Georgia’s Chase Elliott came into the day needing a win to make the Playoffs. Those hopes went away when his car ran out of fuel on lap 56. Elliott’s car came to a halt in the Bus Stop chicane, drawing the only caution of the day. He would be credited with a 32nd place finish, one lap off the pace. He now needs a win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night to have any title hopes.
McDowell, who was coming off a victory last week on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, led early, winning the first segment of the race. But his hopes of a second straight win took a hit when he was hit with a penalty for passing through too many pit stalls coming in for his first pit stop. After moving back into the top 10, a second penalty on a subsequent pit stop gave the team another setback.
With a handful of laps to go, McDowell’s Ford slowed suddenly with an electrical issue. He would go behind the wall, credited with a 36th place result.
“Just wasn’t our day,” said McDowell. “A couple of pit road penalties, and the engine just shut off there. Not sure if it was the engine or electrical. But, I just came out of the carousel and it shut off.”
Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon tangled coming into the final corner on the last lap, with both spinning in the middle of the turn. Both were able to drive away, and had a heated exchange on pit road afterwards. Larson was credited with a 26th place finish, with Dillon in 31st.
NASCAR Cup Series
Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, NY
Go Bowling at The Glen – August 20, 2023
1. (2) William Byron, Chevrolet, 90.
2. (1) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 90.
3. (7) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 90.
4. (6) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 90.
5. (4) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 90.
6. (19) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 90.
7. (13) Chris Buescher, Ford, 90.
8. (8) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 90.
9. (23) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 90.
10. (11) Joey Logano, Ford, 90.
11. (25) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 90.
12. (12) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 90.
13. (28) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Chevrolet, 90.
14. (9) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 90.
15. (24) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 90.
16. (17) Austin Cindric, Ford, 90.
17. (30) Ryan Preece, Ford, 90.
18. (22) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 90.
19. (21) Mike Rockenfeller, Chevrolet, 90.
20. (10) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 90.
21. (33) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 90.
22. (14) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 90.
23. (18) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 90.
24. (20) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 90.
25. (29) Andy Lally, Ford, 90.
26. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 90.
27. (35) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 90.
28. (34) Cole Custer(i), Ford, 90.
29. (31) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 90.
30. (27) Aric Almirola, Ford, 90.
31. (16) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 90.
32. (15) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 89.
33. (32) Harrison Burton, Ford, 89.
34. (36) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 89.
35. (26) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 83.
36. (3) Michael McDowell, Ford, Electrical, 74.
Average Speed: 111.426 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 44 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.632 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 1 for 4 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin 1-3;M. McDowell 4-20;W. Byron 21;A. Allmendinger 22-23;W. Byron 24-55;K. Busch 56-57;W. Byron 58-90.
Leaders Summary: (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led) William Byron 3 times for 66 laps; Michael McDowell 1 time for 17 laps; Denny Hamlin 1 time for 3 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 2 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 2 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 34,24,11,54,16,5,20,23,8,45
Stage #2 Top Ten: 24,11,54,5,16,20,9,8,23,3
Playoff Standings: 1. William Byron – 785 (5 Wins); 2. Martin Truex, Jr. – 861 (3 Wins); 3. Kyle Busch – 688 (3 Wins); 4. Denny Hamlin – 822 (2 Wins); 5. Kyle Larson – 721 (2 Wins); 6. Chris Buescher – 695 (2 Wins); 7. Christopher Bell – 752 (1 Win); 8. Ross Chastain – 695 (1 Win); 9. Ryan Blaney – 694 (1 Win); 10. Tyler Reddick – 683 (1 Win); 11. Joey Logano – 666 (1 Win); 12. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. – 566 (1 Win); 13. Michael McDowell – 553 (1 Win); 14. Brad Keselowski – 697; 15. Kevin Harvick – 693; 16. Bubba Wallace – 590.
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
