Byron’s Title Hopes Crushed at Bristol

A night that started out bright for William Byron ended in the garage.

Byron got caught up in an incident and failed to finish the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from Bristol Motor Speedway, scoring 38th. The DNF (Did Not Finish) means that Byron is eliminated from the NASCAR playoffs, and will not compete for his first career Cup Series championship this season. 

Byron seemingly began the night with luck on his side, moving up from his 15th starting position to 11th before the green flag waved when Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were forced to start from the back for failing inspection. 

After falling as far back as 15th as the race went on, Byron and his crew chief, Chad Knaus, used the pit stop under the competition caution to improve his car. The adjustments allowed Byron to move up to the eighth position by the end of stage one, earning him three stage points. Byron ended the stage multiple points above the 13th place playoff cutline. 

Byron restarted stage two in the eighth position after pit stops. After a hair-raising battle with Christopher Bell, Hamlin and Brad Keselowski, Byron settled into the 10th position for the majority of stage two. However, on lap 234, Byron pulled into the garage with his front bumper crunched and his engine spewing out smoke. 

Some mystery surrounded what happened, as no footage of the incident was shown on the NBCSN broadcast. NASCAR’s official caution report only mentions the No. 95 of Christopher Bell and the No. 24 of William Byron as cars involved. However, a dejected Byron detailed more about what happened to NBC Sports’ Marty Smith. 

“I think the (No.) 51 car, it was a black and green car, checked up in the middle of the straightaway,” Byron said. “As fast as we were running the top, I was right behind the (No.) 95, and I had literally nowhere to go.”

With how well he had run earlier in the race, Byron believed that this could be a great night for him. Unfortunately, circumstances got in the way of that happening. 

“It’s just ridiculous that that’s what takes us out,” Byron said. “I thought honestly we had a shot to run top five or seven.” 

Despite his elimination from the playoffs, Byron’s season is not over, but he will only be able to finish as high as fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He will compete next in the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. EST on NBCSN.

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