NEWS

Race Report | Las Vegas

RACE REPORT
WILLIAM BYRON ? NO. 24 RAPTORTOUGH.COM CHEVROLET CAMARO ZL1
 
DATE: MARCH 5, 2023
TRACK: LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SPECS: 1.5-MILE OVAL
START: 2nd
FINISH: 1st
RANK: 13th (-44 POINTS)
 
SPEED READ

• Showing speed right off the hauler, William Byron was fast during Saturday’s practice session at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and followed that up with a second-place qualifying effort – his second front row start at the 1.5-mile venue.
• Taking over the lead on lap 11, Byron paced the field, even through green-flag pit stops to collect his first stage win of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
• Continuing his domination, Byron led almost every lap in stage two, capturing the stage win and back-to-back stage wins for the first time in his Cup Series career.
• Initially keeping the lead at the start of the final stage, a slow pit stop under green-flag conditions relinquished Byron to the fourth position. Maneuvering his way back to second, Byron was catching the leader in the closing laps until the caution came out with four laps to go. Able to regain the lead on the green-white-checkered attempt, Byron powered his way to his first win of the year and fifth overall Cup Series win.
• After three races in the 2023 season, Byron sits 13th in the driver point standings, 44 points behind the leader.

 
RECAPPING THE RACE
Heading into the second race of the West Coast swing, the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 was fast off the hauler. William Byron held the fastest 10-lap average following Saturday’s practice session and followed it up with a second-place qualifying effort – his second front row start at the 1.5-mile venue at the top level. When the field went green Sunday, it only took Byron 11 laps before he took over the top spot. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native paced the field until his green-flag pit stop on lap 37. Complaining about being a touch free, crew chief Rudy Fugle made the call for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. Once pit stops fully cycled through, Byron regained the lead and never looked back. He worked through lap traffic on the way to his first stage win of the season. Fighting a tight condition while working through traffic, Fugle made the call for four tires, fuel and another air pressure adjustment.
 
Winning the race off pit road, Byron was able to maintain his lead on the restart. Liking the handling of his Raptor Chevy, the 25-year-old driver continued his dominance pacing the field. When green-flag pit stops began again, Byron hit pit lane on lap 126 for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to keep up with the changing track conditions. Once again when pit stops fully cycled through, Byron regained the lead. However, as he made his way through lap traffic, the handling of his No. 24 swung to the tight side again. As the laps wound down in the second stage, Byron continued to grow his lead on the way to scoring the stage win – the first time in his Cup career that he swept both stages in a single race. Wanting a little bit of help with his handling while in dirty air, Byron came down pit road to the attention of his team for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment.
 
Once again winning the race off pit road, Byron restarted from the low lane with 94 laps to go and continued to lead until the caution came out on lap 183. Coming down pit road for four tires and fuel under the yellow, Byron slid too far forward in his stall, adding time to his pit stop, relinquishing him to the fourth position. Going back green with 78 laps to go, Byron focused on working his way back to the front. Needing to be a bit more free, Byron brought the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Chevy down pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment on lap 221. Cycling back to the third position, Byron powered his way to second on lap 230 and set his sights on the lead again. Picking up the pace as the laps dwindled down, Byron had made up significant time on the leader before the caution came out with four laps remaining. Under the caution, Fugle made the call for his driver to come down pit road for two right side tires and fuel, exiting as the first car off pit road. However, with one car electing not to pit, Byron lined up in second for the green-white checkered attempt. On the restart, Byron fought on the outside for the lead, making the pass coming to the white flag. With one lap to go, Byron pulled away from the field, scoring his first Cup Series win of 2023, and his fifth Cup Series win overall. 
 
Hendrick Motorsports had a stout day Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway capturing the first three finishing positions. Not only did Byron take home the win, but Kyle Larson crossed the stripe in the second position with Alex Bowman close behind in third. Josh Berry, who was filling in for the injured Chase Elliott, scored a 29th-place finish after his first race in the Next Gen car.
 
 
QUOTING WILLIAM BYRON:
"I've been really confident about this group of guys on the 24 team. They work extremely hard. We spent a lot of time in the offseason just going through and running at the sim with Chevy and running on iRacing and just trying to get better as a racecar driver and as a team. It's all about the team. It's a great pit crew. We're also thinking of Chase (Elliott) back home. We wish he was out here. He's a great racecar driver and great teammate. I wish he was out there. Thanks to Mr. H (Rick Hendrick) and Jeff Gordon. I know he's watching. This RaptorTough.com Chevy was awesome. When we got back in traffic, it was a little tight but we knew we had speed so just had to have the right things play out. Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) made a good call, so it was good."

ON THE FINAL PIT STOP: "The one pit stop they had where we lost the lead, I slid through the box or slid long so that delayed the stop. That was on me and I knew they could get it done in the end. Rudy has been under the weather all day so he's been really quiet on the radio. Luckily, it worked out there. Just thanks to all the fans for coming out. I always love racing at Vegas and how you move around. I'm excited for the year."

 
THE NEXT RACE
 
TRACK: PHOENIX RACEWAY
DATE: SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023
TIME: 3:30 P.M. ET
TUNE-IN: FOX, SIRIUSXM, MRN