William Byron won a wreck-filled end of the Goodyear 400 as the NASCAR Cup Series reached its halfway point of the regular season Sunday at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S. C.
With the field bunched up following a pair of late cautions inside the final 20 laps, Byron’s No. 24 gave Hendrick Motorsports its first win Darlington since Jimmie Johnson in 2012 by pulling away from Kevin Harvick in a two-lap dash in NASCAR overtime.
Front-row drivers Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson wrecked with six laps to go, putting Byron, 25, in position for his first win at the legendary speedway and his third this season. Chevrolet recorded its eighth win in 2023.
Chase Elliott finished third followed by Brad Keselowski and Bubba Wallace.
Martin Truex Jr., the winner at Dover (Del.) two weeks ago, put his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for the first time in his career at the Palmetto State speedway — his 21st overall top qualifying spot and first in 2023.
The JGR driver backed it up by using the clean air out front and leading all but one of the circuits in the 90-lap Stage 1 to win his first segment this season.
However, Chastain was able to do something no other driver had done — run down and pass Truex’s No. 19.
On Lap 151 on the backstretch of the 1.366-mile speedway, Chastain maneuvered his No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro and roared past Truex, who lost the handle on his Camry.
But the pair were involved in a Lap 185 incident when Chastain, who eventually won Stage 2, banged off the wall between Turns 3 and 4 and hit Truex, sending the No. 19 spinning onto the track apron.
The fourth caution occurred on the restart when two-time Darlington winner Erik Jones had a right-rear wheel problem while running in the back of the top 20, creating a nine-car incident off Turn 2 that collected Austin Dillon, Daniel Suarez and Ryan Newman.
–Field Level Media