William Byron prevails in Goodyear 400 at Darlington

 

[May 15, 2023]  William Byron set a career-high with his third win of the season Sunday, while Ross Chastain again found himself at the center of controversy.

Byron won a wreck-filled conclusion of the Goodyear 400 as the NASCAR Cup Series reached its halfway point of the regular season at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C.

With the field bunched up following a pair of late cautions inside the final 20 laps, Byron's No. 24 gave Hendrick Motorsports its first win at Darlington since Jimmie Johnson in 2012 by pulling away from Kevin Harvick in a two-lap dash in NASCAR overtime.

"Things have a way of working out," said Byron, who was wrecked from the lead at Darlington with two laps to go last year. "We didn't have the best third stage, but we kept battling, and things kind of came back around. ... Definitely didn't expect this."

Front-row drivers Chastain and Kyle Larson crashed with six laps to go, putting Byron, 25, in position for his first win at the legendary speedway and his third this season. Chevrolet recorded its eighth win in 2023.

"Full commit into (Turn) 1," said Chastain of the incident that took out him and fellow Chevrolet driver Larson. "I got tight and drove up and turned myself. I wanted to squeeze him, I wanted to push him up."

Said Cliff Daniels, Larson's crew chief on the No. 5, over the radio: "That's three races the 1 car's taken us out of, Chevrolet. Good job."

Last week, Chastain punched Noah Gragson after being grabbed by the No. 42 driver on pit road following the 400-mile race at Kansas Speedway.

Chase Elliott finished third, followed by Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace.

Martin Truex Jr., the winner at Dover (Del.) two weeks ago, put his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for the first time in his career at the Palmetto State speedway -- his 21st overall top qualifying spot and first in 2023.

May 14, 2023; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) celebrates victory at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports

The JGR driver backed it up by using the clean air out front and leading all but one of the circuits in the 90-lap Stage 1 to win his first segment this season.

However, Chastain was able to do something no other driver had done -- run down and pass Truex's No. 19.

On Lap 151 on the backstretch of the 1.366-mile speedway, Chastain maneuvered his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro and roared past Truex, who lost the handle on his Camry.

The pair were involved in a Lap 185 incident when Chastain, who eventually won Stage 2, banged off the wall between Turns 3 and 4 and hit Truex, sending the No. 19 spinning onto the track apron.

The fourth caution occurred on the restart when two-time Darlington winner Erik Jones had a right-rear wheel problem while running in the back of the top 20, creating a nine-car incident off Turn 2 that collected Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.