NEWTON, Iowa - By now, the gas mileage gods owed William Byron one.
And he and the No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet team cashed in big time on Sunday.
A rash of caution flags throughout the first half of stage three allowed Byron to save fuel and slowly gather track position as other cars peeled off to pit under yellow. It set up a long, nail-biting, final run to the checkers and Byron was able to save enough fuel and hold off a few hard-charging competitors to claim his second victory of the season at Iowa Speedway.
All told, Byron ran 144 laps, including the entirety of stage three on one tank of gas, aided by the segment break and seven yellow flags. Certainly, when Byron short-pitted a few laps before the stage two conclusion, gas mileage was hardly a thought. But the 24 team adapted and changed strategies and by doing so, reclaimed the NASCAR Cup Series points standings lead from teammate Chase Elliott with just three races left in the regular season.
"How about that for some fuel mileage?" Byron grinned after the race. "We've had our fair share of things not go our way with fuel mileage just super thankful for Rudy, all these guys, all the engineers back at the shop and just this whole race team. We've been through a lot this year, it's been a lot of growing pains, it's been tough on us, but it feels good today to get a win."
To Byron's point, the 24 car ran dry on gas while battling for the win earlier this season at Michigan International Speedway and yet again while running in the top five at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last week.
But this time, Byron and company had enough to see it through.
The first stage lacked all of the drama that would define the race from around the midpoint on. Byron led the first 67 laps and finished off the segment with a third-place showing, earning eight bonus points. Kyle Larson picked up five tallies with a sixth-place finish and Elliott came in eighth, earning three markers.
It was more of the same throughout the first half of stage two until a single car spin for Shane van Gisbergen turned the event on its head. The day's first caution for cause came as the field was in the midst of a green-flag pit cycle, trapping several cars a lap down including Byron, Elliott and Larson. Alex Bowman, meanwhile, was still on the track and on the lead lap, allowing him to pit with the leaders and gain track position. A restart attempt didn't last long as Ty Dillon crashed with seven circuits remaining in the segment, setting up a two-lap sprint to the end.
Byron was among a small group of cars to duck onto pit lane, forgoing stage points but, as it would turn out, putting himself in a position to win the race. Bowman scored four stage points with a seventh-place finish in the segment.
By the start of stage three, all four Hendrick Motorsports cars were back on the lead lap. But the restart chaos had just begun.
Seven cautions would fly in the event's final stage and the calamity began almost immediately with Denny Hamlin spinning just a handful of laps after the green flag waved. With each caution, strategies splintered further and further apart with teams trickling down pit road in small groups. That included Elliott, who stayed out and led 11 laps in stage three before having to stop for gas.
That turned the lead over to Byron for good as the 24 paced the field the final 74 circuits.
The win broke a tough-luck string of results for the 24 team, full of fast race cars and unfortunate happenstance. But through it all, Byron said the team remained steadfast.
"I think our confidence in each other never wavered," Byron said. "I feel like our speed has been better than it's ever been and that's a big reason we stay confident. I feel like every week we work really hard together, show up prepared, show up fast and we just needed one to go our way and today, it did."
Bowman registered his fifth top-10 result in the last six races with a seventh-place finish. Elliott rallied from his late stop to finish 14th and Larson came home 28th.
Who won the NASCAR race today?
- William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Tyler Reddick, No. 45
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Joey Gase, No. 66