“That’s the way it goes” William Byron disappointed after a late race wreck at the Richmond Raceway
William Byron won the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He had a back-to-back victory as he also conquered the Phoenix Raceway.
Follow Us
William Byron. Image via Twitter.
William Byron led 117 laps out of 400 at the Richmond Raceway. The Hendricks driver was looking forward to getting his third win of the 2023 Nascar Cup Series season. However, things did not turn out as he had expected. Tyler Reddick’s spin brought out the caution. It sent the race leaders down the pit road. Kyle Larson was the first off, he had a lead on the restart. There were 21 laps to go.
William Byron tried to get to Larson and fight for a win, but fate had other plans. The 25-year-old got hit by Christopher Bell the field went wide briefly. Byron’s No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 wrecked into the wall on Lap 380. However, he managed to finish in 24th place. His Chevy was the last car on the lead lap.
William Byron spoke about the racing incident. “It looked like … (Bell) just overcooked the corner and had the fronts locked up and nailed us in the left rear. So, I was just kind of restarting fourth there and trying to stay tight to (Josh Berry) and get a good restart. I just got tagged in the left rear.” Byron, the back-to-back winner in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Phoenix Raceway was left distressed.
Related: JJ Yeley lashes out at ‘hypocrite’ Denny Hamlin for running him over at Richmond
William Byron had a great car to lead over 100 laps
“So, yeah, just a dive bomb move on the inside on his part and it is what it is. I had a great race car. It was looking like it could be another win before the caution. That’s the way it goes.” Byron made peace with the incident. There was nothing he could do but bring the car home. And he did exactly that. William Byron led the most laps (385) this season.
Last season, Byron led 746 laps. He has already led more than half of that in the 2023 season. Despite his unfortunate race at the Daytona 500, the Hendricks Motorsport driver had two victories and is currently fourth in the Cup Series standings. After the race at the Richmond Raceway, Christian Bell blamed Ross Chastain for triggering the crash with Byron.
Christian Bell, however, posted a message on social media stating he had watched the replay and admitted his mistake. Bell tagged William Byron and apologised to him. Bell wanted the race to stay green but it did not work out for him. He was left disappointed, mainly because he felt he had enough speed to be in front. But, the restarts put him in the back. It was not an ideal situation for the driver.
In case you missed it:
Stay Updated!
Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)