Byron Claims First Nascar Cup Series Win

LU online student William Byron claimed his first NASCAR Cup Series win in his 98th start Saturday night, after clinching the crucial closing laps of his Coke Zero Sugar 400 win at Daytona International Speedway.

“Really just the final probably 10 laps of the race I was on offense, trying to just win the race and take whatever run I could,” Byron said in an interview with the Charlotte Observer. 

The last few laps were indeed something to behold.

With nine laps to go, race leaders Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick tangled into the outside wall in turn four, setting off a 10-car pileup. Byron, running 19th at the time, dove to the bottom through the smoke, narrowly avoiding the spinning No. 37 of Ryan Preece.

Byron restarted 11th with six laps to go and began to charge towards the front. With two laps to go, he pushed the No. 43 of Bubba Wallace to the lead and attempted to thread the needle, going four-wide for the lead into turn one. After banging on the doors of Bubba Wallace and Joey Logano, he squeezed past and into second place as an 11-car pileup ensued behind him. 

On the final restart in overtime, Byron, on the front row, was pushed ahead by rookie Christopher Bell. Byron held off the challenge of 2017 Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr. to claim the elusive first win of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

“It’s just an incredible feeling. I can’t describe winning a race in NASCAR,” Byron said in an interview with CBS Sports.

Byron’s first three seasons in the Cup Series have not been easy – he earned zero wins, six top-fives, and 25 top-10s in his first 97 races. He even went through a crew chief change from Darian Grubb to Chad Knaus after his rookie campaign in 2018. Everything appears to be coming together now, however, after Byron won his first race and earned his second consecutive playoff appearance. 

“It’s been a hard couple years in the Cup Series and trying to get my first win and trying to jell with this team,” Byron said in a post-race interview with NBC Sports. “These guys have done an amazing job all year and got us in the playoffs.”

The ride was not always pretty or perfect, but William Byron can finally say that he is a NASCAR Cup Series winner. Byron hopes to keep the momentum going heading into the championship.

Byron will compete next in the Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday at the Darlington Raceway.

Joshua Lipowski is a Sports Reporter and the host of the “Further Than the Cheap Seats” podcast. Follow him on Instagram at @j_lipowski23.