Byron wins 2nd in row in Cup Series
For the second consecutive week, William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team took advantage of a late caution to grab a victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Sunday, Byron prevailed in overtime in the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway. He took the lead on the outside of a threewide battle coming to the white flag, using a shove from Tyler Reddick to clear Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.
“I owe the last couple of weeks to him,” Byron said of crew chief Rudy Fugle. “He’s done a really good job strategy-wise and executionwise.”
The race’s complexion changed when a caution flew with 11 laps to go for a Harrison Burton spin. At the time, Kevin Harvick was driving away in the lead, with Larson second.
Larson had dominated the day but lost the lead to Harvick after a round of green flag pit stops with less than 70 laps to go.
On the final trip down pit road after Burton’s spin, Harvick took four tires. He exited pit road seventh as Larson, Byron, and four others took two tires.
On the restart with three laps to go, the caution quickly flew again when AJ Allmendinger spun in Turn 3. Larson chose the inside lane for the restart as Byron moved to second, choosing the outside lane.
The teammates battled hard on the restart. Coming off Turn 2, they were joined by a charging Blaney, who made it three-wide going into Turn 3. Byron surged ahead with an assist from Reddick, who was among those who took four tires, and was clear into the final lap for his second straight win.
Blaney finished second, Reddick third and Larson fourth. Harvick rounded out the top five.