HAMPTON, Ga. — William Byron had a comedy of errors early that put him a lap down, but his Hendrick Motorsports team played the strategy right and he was solid in leading 13 green-flag laps before rain started to pelt Atlanta Motor Speedway and seal his victory in a rain-shortened event.
Byron had a pit crew member fall over the pit wall when trying to grab a tire, a violation that sent him to the rear of the field early. As he tried to work his way through the field, he ended up having contact with Corey LaJoie and spinning, suffering a flat tire and going a lap down.
He eventually got his lap back and then stayed out after the end of Stage 2, putting him fourth among a group of drivers knowing they would pit under green earlier than the rest of the field if rain or another caution didn’t occur.
Byron snagged the lead in a couple of laps and held off Daniel Suarez and other challengers until an accident behind him brought out the caution and then heavy rain followed, causing NASCAR to call the race after 185 of the scheduled 260 laps.
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“A crazy night,” Byron said in summing up his day.
It has been that type of year for Byron as he captured his fourth win of the season.
“Everything we’ve done to this point is great, but if we suck from here on out, it’s not going to be fun,” Byron said. “So hopefully we just keep on going.”
Takeaways from Byron’s victory as he crossed the finish line ahead of Suarez, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch.
Byron Overcomes Adversity
Byron blamed himself for the Lap 80 incident with LaJoie, which he said came when he was focused on Chase Elliott and had contact with LaJoie, tearing up much of his own underbody in the process.
“It was just weird circumstances,” Byron said. “I think Corey might have been trying to get up behind me and I was just early in the race trying to take care of everything and just made a bad decision, and I think Corey didn’t know that was coming and we just came together.”
While he knew he had enough time to rally, Byron couldn’t have been all that confident. But with three wins already in his pocket this year, he didn’t have a lot of pressure.
Byron wins at Atlanta
William Byron won the Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway after rain halted the race.
“When you and your team are clicking and things are going well, you don’t get so caught up when something bad happens in a race,” said four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, who is the HMS executive vice chairman.
“You go, ‘OK, no problem, we’ve been through this before, we can fight our way back’ or ‘Let’s just make the most of the day.'”
Weather Creates Wild Racing
It is not rare when weather threatens for drivers to make moves near the race’s halfway point as if they are potentially making the race-winning move.
That’s because, when it can’t resume a race, NASCAR rules a race official when it has completed half the scheduled laps or reached the end of Stage 2, whichever is sooner.
Fast Thoughts with Bob Pockrass
Should NASCAR continue Sunday night races at tracks where heat during the day can maybe be too much for fans, drivers and teams?
Once drivers hit about Lap 120 of the scheduled 260 laps, it seemed no holds barred out front. Brad Keselowski made several moves to keep the lead for 19 of the final 24 laps of the second stage.
“It’s just part of the deal,” Keselowski said. “You win races you shouldn’t and you lose ones you probably should win, and you have to take the punches as they come.”
Big Points Shakeup
With seven races remaining until the playoff cutoff, bubble drivers can’t afford to have a bad day.
Ty Gibbs entered six points up on Daniel Suarez for the final current playoff spot, but Gibbs got caught up in an accident and finished 34th. Suarez, who like Byron stayed out late for track position, finished second.
Suarez and McDowell went from below the cutline to above the cutline, with them both three points ahead of Bubba Wallace, 13 over Allmendinger and 26 ahead of Gibbs.
QUAKER STATE 400 highlights
NASCAR called the Quaker State 400 due to rain, resulting in a win for William Byron at Atlanta.
“You never want your competition to have trouble and feel happy about it,” Suarez said. “But it is what it is. We have had trouble the last couple of weeks as well. … We have to continue to work and continue to build.”
Byron is now 21 points ahead of Martin Truex Jr. in the race for the regular season title.
“We can’t have any major bad weeks,” Byron said. “This looked like it was going to be a bad week, and we overcame it. It’s a good lesson to learn.”
Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass, and sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass.
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