CONCORD, N.C. - In the short term, it was a fairly heartbreaking ending for William Byron on Sunday.
But in the long run, the performance could go a long way toward the playoff push.
Byron swept the first three stages in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and was in control until late. He ultimately came home second, finishing off a monster points day that gave him the lead in the NASCAR Cup Series standings back from teammate, Kyle Larson.
"I was trying to defend, I felt like I put a couple of good defensive moves on and just really didn't get through (turns) three and four," Byron said. "It's a good lesson, right? I'm sure there's a bigger plan in the future so, just got to understand what that is and keep working. I feel like our team's ability and my abilities are really good right now, we've just got to capitalize."
Byron led 283 of the 400 circuits, the most in any race in his career. Across the last half of the race, he engaged in several battles at the front of the field, particularly with Denny Hamlin, as the two exchanged the lead and green-flag passes.
The hectic pace and pressure at the front continued until the last round of pit stops. Both Byron and Hamlin pitted on lap 348 with the No. 24 Axalta team turning in a fast pit stop to preserve the lead. On top of that, Hamlin's team didn't get his car full of fuel, necessitating an extra, unscheduled stop at the end, taking him out of the battle for the win.
However, also emerging in the final stage was Ross Chastain who began to close on Byron down the stretch. Hamlin, then a lap down but with fresh tires, came out near the leaders, passing them both to get his lap back. Byron, meanwhile, got loose in turns three and four during the fracas, allowing Chastain to pull to the inside and clear out of turn two with just six laps remaining.
Still, Byron scored 65 points in the race and garnered three playoff points as well. He will carry a 29-point lead over Larson into next week's race at Nashville Superspeedway according to the unofficial standings.
Chase Elliott had a solid day in the No. 9 NAPA Chevrolet. Elliott scored stage points in each segment and came home sixth, piling up 37 markers.
Larson's attempt at the #H1100 didn't quite go according to plan on Sunday. After some positive early gains, a crash on lap 92 sent him behind the wall early in the Indianapolis 500.
He seemed poised to rebound in Charlotte, grabbing the lead early and holding it until spinning out on lap 42. The No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet crew worked on the car intermittently throughout the next stage and a half, eventually working up to the Lucky Dog spot by the end of stage two.
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Once on the lead lap, Larson continued his rally, nearing the top 20 when he was collected in a crash that broke out in front of him. This time, the damage was too great and he settled for a 37th-place finish.
Alex Bowman had a tough 600 miles as well. He was running squarely in the top 10 throughout the early portion but spun out with just a couple of laps left in stage one. The No. 48 Ally Chevrolet team lost a couple of laps on pit road and spent the rest of the night trying to claw its way out of the early hole. He finished 29th.
Next week's race at Nashville is set to start at 7 p.m. on Sunday and will air on Prime Video.
Here's a look at the results from Sunday's Coca-Cola 600.
Who won the NASCAR race Sunday?
- Ross Chastain, No. 1
- William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
- Chase Briscoe, No. 19
- AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
- Brad Keselowski, No. 6
- Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- Michael McDowell, No. 71
- Christopher Bell, No. 20
- Ryan Preece, No. 60
- Noah Gragson, No. 4
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
- Josh Berry, No. 21
- Erik Jones, No. 43
- Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88
- Kyle Busch, No. 8
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11
- Joey Logano, No. 22
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34
- Ty Dillon, No. 10
- Austin Dillon, No. 3
- Cole Custer, No. 41
- Chris Buescher, No. 17
- Connor Zilisch, No. 87
- Ty Gibbs, No. 54
- Cody Ware, No. 51
- Tyler Reddick, No. 54
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
- Riley Herbst, No. 35
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet
- Justin Haley, No. 7
- Austin Cindric, No. 2
- Derek Kraus, No. 44
- Josh Bilicki, No. 66
- Carson Hocevar, No. 77
- Bubba Wallace, No. 23
- Daniel Suarez, No. 99
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12
- Zane Smith, No. 38
- Jimmie Johnson, No. 84