William Byron Wins at Atlanta, Tallies 2,000th Cup Win for Goodyear

William Byron’s grip on the regular season championship may have gotten tighter after his Atlanta win. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

HAMPTON, Ga. – It may have taken some time to get there, but William Byron is emerging as a consistent NASCAR Cup Series frontrunner.

The 25-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native is in the midst of a career season. Prior to last Sunday night’s Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Byron tallied wins at Las Vegas, Phoenix and Darlington.

With 17 Playoff points and a decent grip over rival postseason contenders, the driver of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 entry was ready to rumble at Atlanta. Despite qualifying 18th, the quiet, unassuming racer knew he had a good, fast car for this wild card race.

From the get go at the 1.54-mile speedway, Byron rocketed his way to a fifth place result in Stage 1. However, about 16 laps into Stage 2, Byron spun on the fronstretch, forcing the driver to limp his way to pit road to address his flat tires.

Spin and win like Danny Sullivan in the 1985 Indianapolis 500. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

Losing a lap in the process, the North Carolinian did not fret. He kept poised, staying in the draft in the hopes of obtaining a “Lucky Dog” pass.

Not long after, Byron got his fortunate canine moment on Lap 93 when Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, Chase Briscoe and Austin Hill tangled in Turn 4. As Byron rejoined the fray, his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Larson, encountered his own tire issues when his right front tire popped and heavily damaged his right front fender.

With rain approaching the track’s vicinity, drivers and teams plotted their best strategies to be in the front of the field. Byron rebounded to a respectable 18th place finish in Stage 2, in position to rejoin the fight.

As rain inched its way closer to the track, Byron did not waste much time working his way to the front. On Lap 167, the 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year drove to the lead, passing AJ Allmendinger for what became the decisive pass of the race.

On Lap 179, a Turn 3 incident involving Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. resulted in a caution that eventually led to the race’s only red flag. Rain showers arrived, dampening the track.

The unmistakable colors of the No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet glistened under the lights at Atlanta. (Photo: Kevin Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

In spite of NASCAR’s efforts to wait out a potential opening with the storms, Mother Nature curtailed a competitive Round 19. For the fourth time in 2023, Byron won, scoring Goodyear’s 2,000th NASCAR Cup Series win.

Coincidentally, the No. 24 entry tallied Goodyear’s 1,000th Cup race victory when Jeff Gordon emerged triumphant in the 1995 Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

After winning races in the last moment, Byron’s latest victory stood out in more than 24 ways.

“Honestly, I don’t completely understand this one,” Byron said. “It’s a really good feeling. I’ve never had a rain victory like this. Thank you to Hendrick Motorsports, Axalta, Chevrolet. It’s cool – we went through so much throughout the night; spinning through the infield.

“Destroyed the bottom of the car dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic. But Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) made a good call to pit there and then stay out. Once we got towards the front, it was OK.”

Clean air was king last Sunday night as was being in the right place at the right time. Regardless, Byron acknowledged how his team prepared a Camaro worthy of the win, regardless of Mother Nature’s timing.

“Yeah, it was awesome,” he said. “I think that’s all you can ask for on a superspeedway. We want handling to matter. We want to be able to drive the thing. I feel like the first stage was really fun. I was able to make some moves on the bottom.

“You’d lift in every corner, so it’s different than a 550 old-style race – it’s more packed up, but handling still matters and guys can make aggressive moves. Sometimes that’s what it takes. Just thankful for the whole team and just staying in it. We were a lap down and it could have been over.”

Instead, Byron may be working his way toward ensuring that the regular season championship hunt is over soon.

With seven regular season races remaining, Daniel Suárez hoped to win his second career Cup race and first of the year. Then again, the driver of the No. 99 Quaker State Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 ride had to settle for a runner up result that kept him three points above the Playoffs cutoff line.

Suárez was in a bit of a dogfight with Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch. (Photo: Kyle Ritchie | The Podium Finish)

“I feel like I have mixed feelings, but overall, very proud of my No. 99 Quaker State Chevy team,” Suárez said. “It’s been a little bit rough lately because we’ve had the speed, but we haven’t had the results, so this feels good.”

Suárez may have some close competition coming his way in the next month and a half with AJ Allmendinger’s recent surge. Undoubtedly, the Kaulig Racing driver was in position to score the win before Byron’s decisive pass on Lap 167.

“We didn’t have enough speed to lead, but it was a lot of fun to drive,” Allmendinger said. “I’m proud walking away from this one. We had a good points day, top-five finish, our best finish of year. We rebounded after the disappointment last week and we moved on to the next one.”

On the other hand, Byron does not have to sweat out a Playoffs spot after clinching his with a Las Vegas victory last March. Given the young racer’s propensity to be steely-eyed, he is remembering to have fun especially during the good times like his 2023 season.

Despite the rain shortening last Sunday’s Atlanta Cup race, Byron tallied a historical win. (Photo: Trish McCormack | The Podium Finish)

“I think Rudy and I have a good process during the week, and I think Jeff (Gordon) and I have a great relationship,” Byron said. “It’s just about trying to win more races, and then yeah, be excited and be happy that those moments happen, but for me, it’s all about kind of the process and the work.”

Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers

1. Ryan Blaney
2. Kyle Larson
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Joey Logano
5. William Byron
6. Christopher Bell
7. Austin Cindric
8. Michael McDowell
9. Tyler Reddick
10. Aric Almirola

Stage 2 Top 10 Finishers

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Chris Buescher
4. Austin Cindric
5. AJ Allmendinger
6. Bubba Wallace
7. Justin Haley
8. Michael McDowell
9. Christopher Bell
10. Ryan Preece

Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway Race Results