Logano bumps Byron on last lap to win at Darlington

Joey DARLINGTON, S.C. — Logano bumped leader William Byron from behind on the last lap to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday.

Logano, the pole-sitter, tracked Byron for about 25 laps until catching him with one to go and hitting him hard in the rear bumper. Byron slid into the wall and Logano went on to his first win of the season and first at the track “Too Tough To Tame.”

Byron, who signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, seemed as if he’d keep up his team’s dominant season over the final laps. Instead, Logano broke a 40-race winless drought.

Tyler Reddick was second followed by Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez.

Byron fell to 13th and was not happy with Logano’s tactics.

“He’s just an idiot,” Byron said. “He does this stuff all the time, I’ve seen him do it with other guys.”

Logano led 109 of the 293 laps and reached Victory Lane for the first time since winning on the dirt at Bristol in 2021.

It was the first time the new Next Gen car was took on NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway and the results were mixed. The racing was strong, although several of the top competitors didn’t last to the end.

Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson was out with engine failure after 112 laps. Past champions Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were also out well before the finish.

Larson was the betting favorite to win for the first time at Darlington. But the defending Cup series champion continued his tough luck at NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway.