After winning this year’s Daytona 500 race, William Byron appears to be determined to add another feather to his cap — the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Just one day before the Cup event, on Saturday, by seizing the lead from Justin Allgaier on an overtime restart, and pulling away on fresher tires approaching the white flag, Byron won the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte, which marked his fifth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win and his first since 2017.
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Byron had dominated the opening stages, but a pit road speeding misstep sent the No. 17 HMS Chevy to the back of the pack. While Allgaier was moving in clean air, Byron cut his way back through the field. The race’s climactic moment came when Allgaier’s teammate, Carson Kvapil, spun with 22 laps remaining.
As the majority of the field flashed into pit road, Allgaier surprisingly chose to stay out — despite his crew chief calling him in. The ensuing restart triggered a pile-up, with Harrison Burton, Katherine Legge, and JJ Yeley among those caught in the melee. The wave of cars equipped with fresh tires eventually surged to the front. Further carnage unfolded on the backstretch, propelling the race into overtime.
Allgaier threw everything at Byron, but Byron pulled to his outside, and slight contact between the two sent Allgaier into a near-spin as they approached the white flag. Byron capitalized on the moment, pulling clear as Allgaier’s momentum faltered. The race ultimately ended under caution after a severe incident involving J. Burton and Brennan Poole.
Reflecting on the win and his momentum heading into the weekend, Byron shared that winning at his hometown track held deep significance. “I think winning in the #17 was important… It just kind of had been a little bit of weight on my back, just not being able to win yet in it. I felt like some things had gone wrong in the races that we had chances to win. So that was cool,” he said.
VIDEO: BetMGM race winner William Byron post-race press conference from Charlotte Motor Speedway
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He continued, “I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself to run well at Charlotte and try to win, finally get one here was really cool.” Moreover, he stated, “Hopefully, that kind of takes some pressure off and I can just go out there tomorrow and perform how we know how to.”
Byron currently sits second in the driver standings, trailing teammate Kyle Larson by 35 points. Should Byron prevail in the Coca-Cola 600, it would not only mark his first Cup win at Charlotte but also draw him level with Larson in wins at the track.
