William Byron went through extreme emotions at the Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. On Friday, news of his contract with Hendrick Motorsports being extended by four years came to light. On Saturday, he won his first Xfinity Series race since 2017. But on Sunday, he missed out on reaching Victory Lane in the Coca-Cola 600 by a narrow margin.
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NASCAR reporter Alex Weaver was on Inside The Race with Steve Letarte, Kyle Petty, and Todd Gordon when she spoke about how the driver’s emotions went from jubilation to devastation over the three days.
She said, “I was the first interview that he had out there at FanFest for Hendrick Motorsports [on Friday]. He was on cloud nine.” Assurance of the future had helped him put together a great race in the Xfinity Series.
Weaver noted that he had a pep in his step following the win and that he fully knew that he had the chance to win a crown jewel race on his home track. But a late race surge from Ross Chastain ruined the day despite Byron winning the first three stages.
She continued, “I could tell, just from knowing William so well, that he didn’t want to react because he saw all of the cameras. So it was this instant like, ‘I need to stay composed and not show how disappointed I am.’
“He looked out at one point to see Ross doing the burnout which I have to imagine as a race car driver is the worst feeling in the world.”
How Byron missed out on winning the Coca-Cola 600
The Coca-Cola 600, being NASCAR’s longest event with four stages of 100 laps each, is the ultimate test of endurance. While Byron was easily the best of the lot for the first 300 laps, his No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro was humbled in the final laps of the race by Chastain. The Trackhouse Racing driver snuck by him with just six laps left and won the race.
Byron said, “He was catching me, and I was trying to defend. I felt like I put a couple of good defensive moves on and then just really didn’t get through [Turns] 3 and 4. Got really loose over there and that was really it. He had a huge run down the frontstretch. I tried to protect against that, but it was too much.”
Byron‘s next race will be at the Nashville Superspeedway. He is already atop the points table as things stand with six top-fives and eight top-10s. Unfortunately though, the Daytona 500 remains his only victory of the season so far and he will want to change this in the coming weeks.
