Byron Runs With Giants in Kentucky

William Byron led the charge for the NASCAR XFINITY Series being the highest finishing rookie and series regular as the Charlotte native ran upfront all day long.

Weather forced the Alsco 300 to be postponed to Saturday afternoon, before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series took to the track Saturday night. Byron rolled off fifth but the green flag quickly turned to yellow at the beginning when a pile-up would happen midpack. Byron fell back to seventh on the start and would restart the race from that position. He began running with the big name Cup drivers early where he would battle with 2014 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion Kevin Harvick for the 10th spot.

As the first stage came to end, Byron crossed the start/finish line in seventh, earning himself an additional four points. Byron brought the No. 9 car down pit road for right-side tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment. Byron restarted ninth on Lap 52 and worked his way up to sixth within eight laps.

Byron reported a slightly free running car through the run, but he would bring home another sixth-place finish at the end of an uneventful Stage 2.

Byron came down pit road again for fresh tires and fuel along with another trackbar adjustment to help the car’s loose handling condition. The team restarted sixth and worked their way up to fourth when the caution came out at Lap 102. Byron again complained that the car was free in dirty air, but the team elected to stay out and would restart fourth when the green flag flew again.

As the race drew closer to its conclusion, Byron would continue to run with the Cup regulars like former boss Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Erik Jones, Harvick and Ty Dillon, but he was unable to make the moves on them. He would cross the line seventh earning his fourth consecutive top-10 finish of the season after two straight wins.

“It was a pretty good run for us today,” Byron said after the race. “I think we lacked a little bit, but I feel like we made really good adjustments all day. We were able to get up there on some of the restarts, but ultimately finished seventh. We lacked a little bit of speed, but overall a pretty good day. We will get ready for New Hampshire and come back strong next week.”