William Byron grabs a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Saturday afternoon in the BetMGM 300.
CONCORD, N.C.—William Byron’s long rally from a speeding penalty put the driver of the No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in Victory Lane—and left reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier heartbroken.
William Byron Grabs a Victory at Charlotte
Fresh from the announcement of a four-year contract extension with HMS, Byron passed Allgaier for the lead through the fourth turn of the first lap of overtime at Charlotte Motor Speedway and stayed out front until a violent wreck involving Jeb Burton and Brennan Poole brought out the 11th caution of the race and froze the field.
By then, Connor Zilisch had taken second and Nick Sanchez third, as Allgaier faded to fourth.
But the crux of the race had occurred much earlier, when Allgaier, leading under caution on lap 180 of 205, chose to stay on the track instead of coming to pit road for new tires.
Byron got fresh rubber under the caution. That and a spate of cautions that allowed him to move closer to the front of the field for a succession of restarts gave Byron the track position he needed to salvage the victory.
A speeding penalty during the Stage 2 break sent Byron to the back of the field for a restart on lap 99, and it took him until the overtime to get back to the front. The victory was his fifth in the series and the first at Charlotte, his home track.
“I was somewhat confident,” Byron said of his prospects for a rally. “I felt like if we got some yellows, it would be good, but, man, it didn’t work out the way we thought it (would). Just had a lot of green-flag running and couldn’t get back to the front.”
Leading Up to the Closing Laps
Until the final 20 laps, that is. After a multicar wreck in the first turn on lap 184, Byron restarted ninth. He gained one position before an accident involving Katherine Legge and JJ Yeley slowed the field again on lap 189.
On the subsequent restart, however, Byron gained ground and was running third when Brandon Jones’ Toyota bounced off the outside wall and collected the No. 70 Cope Family Racing Chevrolet of Leland Honeyman and the No. 28 RSS Racing Ford of Kyle Sieg.
That caution, the tenth of the race, forced overtime and gave Byron the chance to restart behind Allgaier in the bottom lane. Ultimately, the fresher tires made the difference.
“Man, it feels awesome to win at my home track,” Byron said. “It feels really good. It’s fun to be back in Victory Lane. I haven’t won in a while. I just needed to get to the front couple of rows, and I wasn’t able to get there until the last one.
“Justin got a good restart, and I was able to push him and get clear of the 88 (Zilisch) and had some clean air on the nose.”
Allgaier Felt Nothing but Regret at the Outcome.
“I should have just come down pit road,” he said. “I thought there would be a lot of games played on pit road, and if (those on fresh tires) had to travel though a lot of traffic, we were going to maybe net OK.
“And all those cautions, one after the other, it was great because we were able to hold those guys off, but they really just hurt us because they (his pursuers) were able to get a spot or two every restart.
“I’m heartbroken… My daughter, all she wanted for her birthday was a trophy, and I feel like I gave that away. That’s the hardest part.”
Allgaier led 103 laps, the most coming after Byron led 69 of his 71 laps in sweeping the first two stages. Despite the disappointment, Allgaier maintained a 72-point lead over second-place Austin Hill in the series standings.
The BetMGM 300 Results
Sammy Smith finished fifth, followed by Dean Thompson, Josh Williams, Hill, Ryan Ellis, and Christian Eckes. In his 144th start, Ellis posted the first top ten of his Xfinity Series career.
Four Sunoco rookies—Zilisch, Sanchez, Thompson, and Eckes—finished in the top ten.
NOTE: The No. 8 has been disqualified following post-race inspection at Charlotte Motor Speedway for failing to meet the minimum weight requirement, resulting in a 38th-place finish.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series Point Standings
Despite his disappointment, Allgaier maintained a 72-point lead over second-place Austin Hill in the series standings. Sam Mayer, Jesse Love, and Brandon Jones complete the top five.
In the sixth and seventh spots are Connor Zilisch and Ryan Sieg. Completing the top ten are Carson Kvapil, Jeb Burton, and Sheldon Creed.
Next Up
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Nashville Superspeedway next weekend. The Tennessee Lottery 250 begins at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday, May 31st. Coverage is on CW, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. John Hunter Nemechek is the 2024 winner of this race. He is now racing full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series.