July 9, 2023 | By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

William Byron overcomes adversity in rain-shortened NASCAR Cup Series race to win at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. —  Neither an early spin nor damage to his No. 24 Chevrolet could prevent William Byron from winning Sunday night’s rain-shortened Quaker State 400 Available at Walmart at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With a storm approaching the 1.54-mile track, Byron surged past AJ Allmendinger into the lead on Lap 167 and remained out from until an accident in Turn 3 involving Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Preece and Bubba Wallace caused the seventh caution of the evening on Lap 178.

With Byron out front, the NASCAR Cup Series cars circled the track until the rain arrived and began falling more heavily. NASCAR brought the cars to pit road and red-flagged the race at 9:47 p.m. after 185 laps were complete.

With severe weather moving into the area, the sanctioning body called the race and made Byron the first four-time winner in the series this season. The victory was Byron’s second at Atlanta and the eighth of his career.

Daniel Suárez was second when NASCAR called the race, with Allmendinger running third. Michael McDowell and Kyle Busch completed the top five.

Crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron to pit road on Lap 125 under caution for a pileup in Turn 2 that damaged the cars of Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs.

That enabled Byron to restart fourth on Lap 165 after roughly half the field (cars that had not pitted since Lap 95) came to pit road on Lap 161. Two laps later, Byron had the lead.

Byron hardly looked like a winner after spinning through the grass on Lap 80 and losing a lap getting to pit road. But the 25-year-old from Charlotte, N.C., regained the lost circuit as the beneficiary under caution for Kyle Larson’s spin on Lap 92.

“It’s cool, man,” Byron said. “We went through so much throughout the night—spinning through the infield, destroyed the bottom of the car dragging it around the apron trying to stay on the lead lap. At that point, you just don’t have the grip, so I was real edgy back in traffic, but Rudy made a good call to pit there and then stay out.

“Once we got towards the front, it was OK. We could make the right decisions, block OK, and I got the lead from AJ and was able to manage the run. Just a crazy night.”

The race was a boon not only for Byron, who leads the Playoff standings, but for winless drivers around the Playoff bubble. First, there was no new winner in the series to reduce the number of spots available on points.

Moreover, Suárez, Allmendinger and McDowell improved their chances with top-five finishes. Those three drivers all gained ground on Chase Elliott, who is trying to qualify for the Playoffs despite missing seven of the 19 races this season.

Elliott wasn’t a factor on Sunday night, failing to earn any stage points and finishing 13th.

Despite his early struggles, Byron was pleased that handling played such an important part in the racing on the recently repaved racing surface.

“It was awesome—that’s all you can ask for on a superspeedway,” Byron said. “We want handling to matter. We want to be able to drive the things. I felt like the first stage was really fun. I was able to make some moves on the bottom.

“And you’re lifting every corner, so it’s different than a 550 (horsepower) old-style race. It’s more packed up, but still handling matters, and guys can make aggressive moves… I’m thankful for the whole team and just staying in it, ‘cause we were a lap down, and it could have been over.”

The race started with team owner Richard Childress driving pace laps in the No. 29 Chevrolet that launched Kevin Harvick’s career with an Atlanta win after Dale Earnhardt’s death in 2001. It wasn’t Harvick’s night, however. After a late spin, he finished 30th in his final run at Atlanta. Harvick is retiring from Cup racing at the end of the season.

NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 19

Race Results for the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart - Sunday, July 9, 2023
Atlanta Motor Speedway - Hampton, GA - 1.54 - Mile Paved

Total Race Length - 185 Laps - 284.9 Miles
Provided by NASCAR Statistics - Sunday, 7/9/2023 @ 10:20 PM Eastern
Fin Str Car Driver Team Laps Stage 1 Pos Stage 2 Pos Pts Status Tms Laps Playoff Pts
1 18 24 William Byron Axalta Chevrolet 185 5 46 Running 1 20 5
2 26 99 Daniel Suarez Quaker State Chevrolet 185 35 Running
3 19 16 AJ Allmendinger Farmsmart Chevrolet 185 5 40 Running 1 6
4 20 34 Michael McDowell FR8Auctions.com Ford 185 8 8 39 Running
5 22 8 Kyle Busch Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen Chevrolet 185 32 Running
6 11 6 Brad Keselowski Castrol Edge Ford 185 1 41 Running 3 19 1
7 24 15 JJ Yeley(i) Patriot Mobile Ford 185 0 Running
8 17 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 185 7 33 Running
9 2 12 Ryan Blaney Wurth Ford 185 1 2 47 Running 3 20 1
10 29 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Kroger/Slim Jim Chevrolet 185 27 Running
11 25 43 Erik Jones Allegiant Chevrolet 185 26 Running
12 10 2 Austin Cindric Menards/Quaker State Ford 185 7 4 36 Running 2 10
13 23 9 Chase Elliott NAPA/Children's Chevrolet 185 24 Running
14 14 11 Denny Hamlin Coca-Cola Toyota 185 23 Running
15 15 17 Chris Buescher Fastenal Ford 185 3 30 Running 1 39
16 9 38 Todd Gilliland Georgia Peanuts Ford 185 21 Running
17 4 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 185 4 27 Running 2 11
18 1 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield/IHOP Ford 185 10 20 Running 2 46
19 27 77 Ty Dillon Raze Energy Blue Shock Chevrolet 185 18 Running
20 35 78 BJ McLeod Gunk Chevrolet 185 17 Running 1 1
21 33 3 Austin Dillon Dow Salutes Veterans Chevrolet 185 16 Running
22 3 14 Chase Briscoe Magical Vacation Planner Ford 185 15 Running
23 34 20 Christopher Bell Rheem Toyota 185 6 9 21 Running
24 13 41 Ryan Preece Sony Mobile ES Ford 185 10 14 Running
25 37 23 Bubba Wallace Leidos Toyota 185 6 17 Running 1 5
26 36 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 185 11 Running
27 12 45 Tyler Reddick The Beast Unleashed Toyota 185 9 12 Running
28 5 21 Harrison Burton DEX Imaging Ford 184 9 Running
29 16 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 184 3 16 Running 1 5
30 6 4 Kevin Harvick Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford 181 7 Running
31 28 7 Corey LaJoie Gainbridge Chevrolet 179 6 Running
32 21 51 Cole Custer(i) Jacob Companies Ford 178 0 Running
33 31 42 Noah Gragson # Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet 174 4 Running
34 7 54 Ty Gibbs # He Gets us Toyota 150 3 Running
35 30 1 Ross Chastain Worldwide Express Chevrolet 124 2 DVP
36 8 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 111 2 10 Accident 1 4
37 32 62 * Austin Hill(i) Bennett Transportation/Beard Chevrolet 92 1 DVP

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 24 Mins, 17 Secs. Average Speed: 118.475 MPH Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 12, 5, 19, 22, 24, 20, 2, 34, 45, 10
Stage 2 Top 10: 6, 12, 17, 2, 16, 23, 31, 34, 20, 41

 Failed to Qualify: None.

 Caution Flags: 7 for 43 laps; Laps: 18-23 (No. 21 Incident Backstretch [None]); 62-66 (Stage 1 Conclusion [21]); 81-85 (Nos. 24 & 7 Incident Frontstretch [21]); 93-98 (Nos. 5, 43,14 & 62 Incident Turn 4  [24]); 124-128 (Nos. 7, 19, 45, 54, 1. 38 & 43 Incident Turn 2 [21]); 156-164 (Nos. 11 & 48 Incident Frontstretch / Stage 2 Conclusion [21]); 179-185 (Nos. 23, 41 & 47 Incident Turn 3 [48]).

 Lead Changes: 18 among 12 drivers; A. Almirola 1-39; J. Logano 40; A. Almirola 41-47; J. Logano 48-57; R. Blaney 58-62; B. McLeod 63; K. Larson 64-67; R. Blaney 68-81; B. Wallace 82-86; M. Truex Jr. 87-91; C. Buescher 92-130; A. Cindric 131-136; B. Keselowski 137; A. Cindric 138-141; B. Keselowski 142-145; R. Blaney 146; B. Keselowski 147-160; A. Allmendinger 161-166; W. Byron 167-185.

(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series