In the second stage, Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet suffered damage and fell behind by one lap after colliding with Corey LaJoie.
Byron was able to regain his position on the lead lap and remained on the track during the transition from Stages 2 to 3, allowing him to advance to the front of the field due to taking necessary precautions and making prompt repairs.
After completing two laps in the final stage, Byron overtook A.J. Allmendinger and secured the lead. Despite rain interrupting the race after 185 laps out of the planned 260, Byron remained in first place.
Byron has achieved his fourth win of the season, which is the highest in the series, and his eighth win overall in his career.
Byron attributed his triumph to the collective effort of his team, stating, “I cannot fully comprehend this particular achievement. Nevertheless, it brings me immense satisfaction. I have never experienced a rain-induced victory of this caliber before.”
“It’s impressive. We experienced a lot throughout the night – maneuvering through the inner part of the track, damaging the underside of the car, navigating the lower section of the track to remain on the same lap as the leaders. At that moment, the traction was lacking and I felt quite uneasy when surrounded by other cars. Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) made an excellent decision to pit at that time and subsequently remain on the track (later).”
After reaching the front, everything was fine. We were able to make the correct choices and block effectively. We took the lead from A.J. and successfully controlled the race. It was simply an eventful evening.
Byron was awarded an extra trophy made of the valuable metal Rhodium to celebrate Goodyear Racing’s 2,000th Cup victory as a part of his triumph.
In 1959, at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, driver Jim Reed became the first winner of the Cup on Goodyear rubber.
Goodyear’s Rhodium plated trophy
Photo by: Goodyear
Suarez ultimately received recognition for second place, while Allmendinger secured third, Michael McDowell claimed fourth, and Kyle Busch finished in fifth position.
Completing the top-10 were Brad Keselowski, J.J. Yeley, Ryan Blaney, Justin Haley and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Stage 1
Blaney overtook Joey Logano with only two laps remaining out of a total of 60, and successfully defended his lead against a late push from Kyle Larson to secure the victory in Stage 1. Martin Truex Jr. finished in third place, followed by Logano in fourth, and Byron rounded out the top five.
During the first stage, Harrison Burton had a spin on the backstretch, resulting in the only caution of the race.
Aric Almirola, who won the pole position, led the initial 39 laps. However, Logano managed to overtake him on lap 48 and brought Blaney into second place.
Stage 2
Keselowski claimed the Stage 2 win under caution when a wreck involving Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin put the race under caution with four laps remaining in the 100-lap stage.
Blaney came in second place, Chris Buescher secured third place, Austin Cindric claimed fourth place, and Allmendinger completed the top five positions, all while the race was at risk of being shortened due to severe weather.
Truex was spun around by McDowell on pit road during the pit stops between Stages 1 and 2, causing him to drop to 35th place. Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Byron all faced penalties and had to restart the stage from the back of the field.
Buescher took the lead for the first time when three cars spun out of Turn 4 on lap 92, resulting in a restart with 61 laps remaining in the stage.
Stage 3
After Stage 2, a number of cars on the lead lap chose to make a pit stop, while a few opted to stay on the track despite the approaching rain. Allmendinger took the lead when the race resumed, with 96 laps left to go.
After the race resumed, Byron overtook Allmendinger by moving to the outer lane, with Suarez closely following him. This maneuver allowed Byron to advance and take the lead.
With Byron still in the lead, Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace spun on lap 178 to place the race under caution.
During the caution period, light rain was reported and NASCAR responded by bringing the cars to pit road after completing 185 laps. The red flag was then displayed.
The race was declared official – and Byron the winner – at approximately 10 p.m. ET.
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