WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – It was an eventful day at Watkins Glen International for William Byron and the No. 17 HendrickCars.com team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
All in all, Byron would finish the race in the 12th position. But that finish does not tell the whole story. Not even close.
The day began from the seventh position where the Charlotte, North Carolina, native would settle into the race and eventually short-pit the first segment from the top 10. To begin stage two, Byron and the No. 17 team stayed out to earn track position. The strategy worked and after a few laps, Byron claimed the top spot from AJ Allmendinger and would drive away to victory in the second segment.
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On the restart to begin the final segment, Byron was shown the bumper into turn one and fell back to fifth. However, a quick caution came out and three of the leading drivers chose not to take the inner loop under the yellow. The result was all three of those cars, Ty Gibbs, Sam Mayer, and Connor Zilisch, all were forced to go to the tail of the field. Byron all of a sudden found himself back on the front row with his three main competitors deep in the field.
On the ensuing restart, Byron would pass Cole Custer in the No. 00 entry to retake the point position. He would hold that spot until Lap 53 when he would pit for four tires and fuel. Unfortunately, blisters on the left front tire caused a second pit stop during the final run to the finish and changed the course of the day for the team.
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With eight circuits remaining, Matt DiBenedetto's No. 38 machine stalled and brought out a yellow, bringing Byron back into the mix. However, the ensuing restart saw the No. 17 entry once again have contact in the first turn, resulting in damage. That said, Byron did avoid the majority of the carnage. Crew chief Brandon McSwain brought his driver into the pits under the yellow to check the extent of the damage before returning to the race.
Ultimately, Byron was able to avoid terminal damage on the ensuing two NASCAR Overtime restarts to finish in the 12th position. It was Zilisch who was able to take the checkered flag.
Check out the full results sheet from Watkins Glen below.
NASCAR Xfinity results - Watkins Glen
- Connor Zilisch, No. 88
- Sheldon Creed, No. 18
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Chandler Smith, No. 81
- Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 97
- Ross Chastain, No. 92
- Parker Kligerman, No. 48
- Jesse Love, No. 2
- Joey Logano, No. 15
- Josh Bilicki, No. 91
- Austin Green, No. 32
- William Byron, No. 17 Chevrolet Camaro
- Riley Herbst, No. 98
- Parker Retzlaff, No. 31
- Ryan Ellis, No. 43
- Leland Honeyman, No. 42
- Justin Allgaier, No. 7
- Jeremy Clements, No. 51
- Sammy Smith, No. 8
- Sam Mayer, No. 1
- Cole Custer, No. 00
- Ryan Seig, No. 39
- Brennan Poole, No. 44
- Ed Jones, No. 26
- Ty Gibbs, No. 19
- Aric Almirola, No. 20
- RC Enerson, No. 14
- Brandon Jones, No. 9
- Thomas Annunziata, No. 35
- Mike Skeen, No. 87
- Jeb Burton, No. 27
- Josh Williams, No. 11
- Austin Hill, No. 21
- Anthony Alfredo, No. 5
- Matt DiBenedetto, No. 38
- Alon Day, No. 45
- Kyle Sieg, No. 28
- Kyle Weatherman, No. 36
Tune in for the NASCAR Cup Series main event at 3 p.m. ET with coverage on USA Network, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).