Daytona 500 Champion William Byron found his way back to Victory Lane for only the second time this season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver sat on the pole for the Echopark Texas Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas road course. Byron led the race early but fell behind on pit stops. He found his way back out front with 17 laps to go and held off a hard-charging Christopher Bell to become the first driver to win two races this season.
Byron has now won two of the last three NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series road course races after winning at Watkins Glen in 2023. The youngest of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers also snapped a funk he’s been in since winning at Daytona. He only recorded one other Top 10 finish, a tenth in Atlanta, and finished lower than 17th over the past three races. While one win meant he most likely would qualify for the playoffs, a second win locks him in the postseason.
Echopark Texas Grand Prix Top 10 Finishers
- William Byron
- Christopher Bell
- Ty Gibbs
- Alex Bowman
- Tyler Reddick
- AJ Allmendinger
- Ross Chastain
- Chris Buescher
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
Monster Energy Cup Top 10 Standings
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Ty Gibbs
- Ryan Blaney
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson
- William Byron
- Christopher Bell
- Ross Chastain
- Chase Elliott
- Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Xfinity Race at COTA
William Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, raced his way to Victory Lane in Saturday’s Xfinity Race at COTA. Larson sat in third place as the cars took the green flag for overtime Saturday night. Shane Van Gisbergen and Austin Hill duked it out for the lead, and that’s when Larson picked his spot. The 2021 Monster Energy Cup Series Champion drove by both Van Gisbergen and Hill to cruise to victory. The final lap was the only lap Larson led in the race. Van Gisbergen crossed the finish line second but was docked a 30 second penalty dropping him to 27th in the race and giving Hill second place.
COTA Xfinity Top 10 Finishers
- Kyle Larson
- Austin Hill
- John Hunter Nemechek
- Cole Custer
- Parker Kligerman
- Jesse Love
- Austin Green
- Chandler Smith
- Sam Mayer
- AJ Allmendinger
NASCAR Xfinity Top 10 Standings
- Austin Hill
- Chandler Smith
- Cole Custer
- Jesse Love
- Riley Herbst
- AJ Allmendinger
- Parker Kligerman
- Justin Allgaier
- Brandon Jones
- Sheldon Creed
Craftsman Truck Series at COTA
Earlier Saturday, Corey Heim dominated the Craftsman Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas. Heim led 31 of 46 laps but still needed overtime to secure the victory. He beat his teammate, Taylor Gray, by more than a second and a half en route to the convincing win. It’s the first win of the season for Heim and the sixth of his career.
COTA Craftsman Truck Series Top 10 Finishers
- Corey Heim
- Taylor Gray
- Ty Majeski
- Connor Zilisch
- Ross Chastain
- Jack Hawksworth
- Ben Rhodes
- Christian Eckes
- Dean Thompson
- Tanner Gray
Craftsman Truck Series Top 10 Standings
- Corey Heim
- Ty Majeski
- Tyler Ankrum
- Taylor Gray
- Rajah Caruth
- Christian Eckes
- Nick Sanchez
- Matt Crafton
- Grant Enfinger
- Tanner Gray
Next Up
NASCAR leaves the road course and heads back to the short track next week. The Monster Energy Cup Series and Xfinity Series head to the three-quarter mile track in Richmond, Virginia. The Craftsman Truck Series takes next weekend off, but they will return in two weeks at a different Virginia short track, as the trucks will next race at Martinsville.
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