William Byron wins from the pole at
Circuit of the Americas
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[March 25, 2024]
They say everything is bigger in Texas, but William Byron
found out Sunday that it was good to just be better.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver used a fast car and a quick final
pit stop to win the NASCAR Cup Series' first road-course race of
2024, the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the
Americas in Austin, Texas.
Byron passed Ross Chastain with 25 laps left and sat on pit road as
his crew serviced his No. 24 Chevrolet three seconds faster than
Chastain's No. 1.
The 26-year-old then roared to his 12th career win in 222 races,
beating a charging Christopher Bell by 0.692 seconds.
The season-opening Daytona 500 winner, Byron became the first
two-time winner through six 2024 events and won for the first time
ever from the pole.
It also marked the second straight season he has multiple wins
through the first six races.
"I just feel like when we're on, we're firing on all cylinders --
whether it's pit road, strategy, calls on top of the pit box for
changes in the car," said Byron, who led a race-best five times and
43 laps. "We prepared really well this week. (Winning) is difficult.
You've just got to keep working."
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Bell may have been able to catch Byron, but the Joe Gibbs Racing
driver said it would have been a different story trying to win.
"Obviously, once I got to him it was going to be tough to pass him,"
said Bell, who notched his third top-five finish. "William has been
really good on the road courses and he was flawless when it mattered
today."
Ty Gibbs, Alex Bowman and Tyler Reddick completed the top five.
Making his third Cup start, New Zealand's Shane Van Gisbergen, who
won in Chicago last July, was nabbed for speeding on pit road late
in Stage 2 and ended up 21st.
In his 2024 debut, Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi started his No.
50 23XI Racing Toyota 25th and finished 30th after spinning twice.
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![](../images/032524PIX/sports94.jpg)
Mar 24, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William
Byron (24) waits to exit the car in victory lane after winning the
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory
Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports
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After winning his first pole of the season and
fifth career on a road course, Byron led the 39-car field to the new
restart off Turn 20, farther away from the flagstand.
Problems arose immediately for the Toyotas of Martin Truex Jr. and
Bubba Wallace, who pitted on Lap 2 after contact with each other to
start the race.
However, Byron had no problem at all keeping his No. 24 Chevrolet up
front as he built a nearly four-second lead after six circuits, with
Reddick and Gibbs behind him.
Choosing a strategy that would help at race's end, most drivers
pitted in the final laps before the 15-lap Stage 1 concluded, but
Bell, already having won at Phoenix two weeks ago, stayed out to get
the maximum bonus points and beat second-place Daniel Suarez.
After Kyle Larson's Chevrolet spun from contact with Bell's Toyota,
the No. 20 Camry XSE -- the only car not to pit -- headed for
service with six laps to go in Stage 2 while running fifth, setting
Bell up with a strategy for two final stops to the end.
Denny Hamlin, last week's winner at Bristol, stayed out and won his
first segment this season and second ever at COTA.
--Field Level Media
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