AUSTIN, Texas - William Byron was a model of consistency on Sunday Circuit of The Americas, running up front all day and pressuring leader Christopher Bell down the stretch before ultimately finishing second.
And while things went smoothly all day long for Byron, a couple of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates - Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman - had to overcome major adversity on their way to their own solid finishes.
Elliott overcame damage on the first lap, chipping away and scoring stage points on his way to a fourth-place showing and Bowman endured multiple penalties and a spin to rally all the way back to ninth. That gave Hendrick Motorsports three drivers in the top 10.
Byron was a fixture in the top 10 all day, scoring two points in stage one and four points in stage two. Avoiding trouble throughout the event, the driver of the No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet was well inside the top five when a caution fell with 18 laps ago. He'd restart on the outside of the front row, falling to third on the ensuing restart.
However, with Bell and then-leader Kyle Busch engaged in a battle for first, Byron crept closer and when Bell took the lead, Byron followed into second. That set up a final, eight-lap duel and though Byron hounded the back bumper of the No. 20, he remained clean and came home with another great points day to begin a 2025 that also included a second-straight, DAYTONA 500 win.
"Bell got by (Busch) and I felt like once he got clear, his car was super loose and that kind of gave me a couple of shots at him, I just couldn't ever get beside him. We've always raced super well together, so I didn't want to move him blatantly and all that kind of stuff," Byron explained. "Sucks to be so damn close, right? You can be on the bumper of the guy coming to the line and that sucks, but a lot of races ahead and hopefully we'll keep bringing this speed."
While Byron's day was a Sunday cruise, Elliott's was more a trip through hell and back.
After starting third, Elliott was slammed in the left rear in the race's very first corner by Ross Chastain, suffering damage and necessitating repairs on multiple pit stops. The No. 9 squad was able to sustain itself somewhat with strategy, taking advantage of other competitors short-pitting stages by staying out and collecting six stage points.
From the start of stage three, Elliott began making his move, slowly working up through the field. When the final caution waved, crew chief Alan Gustafson brought Elliott down pit road for tires and with fresh rubber, the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet rocketed forward. Elliott picked up one, final spot on the last lap to finish fourth, matching his best showing on a road course in 2024 (Sonoma Raceway).
"Alan and the guys did a great job fixing it and getting it that close," Elliott said. "We got behind on a restart there and just had to play major catchup there. Alan made a great call there at the end to put tires on it. We were rolling up through there really good at the end. Obviously, when you have a good car like that, I would have liked to have been in the fight with those guys, but it was a great recovery from where we were at during the end of the second stage.”
And then there was Bowman. It all started well enough with the No. 48 Ally Chevy moving from 21st to 11th under a green flag in stage one. But stage two brought with it adversity. As Bowman tried to duck on pit road, a caution waved, resulting in a penalty and sending the 48 to the back.
However, the same late caution that benefitted Elliott was also a game changer for Bowman. While several competitors, like Elliott, came in to pit for tires, Bowman stayed out, leapfrogging half the field. Luckily, Bowman had enough speed to sustain and even pick up spots, coming home with his first top-10 finish of the season.
Rounding out the Hendrick Motorsports contingent, Kyle Larson finished 32nd in the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevy.
The NASCAR Cup Series will return next week with a trip to Phoenix Raceway.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet
- Tyler Reddick
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Brad Keselowsi, No. 6
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Denny Hamlin, No.11
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Connor Zilisch, No. 87