What happened in Vegas might not stay in Vegas this time.
With two laps left in last Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, William Byron restarted second beside race leader and eventual winner Joey Logano.
Byron didn’t hold that spot for long. Matt DiBenedetto, restarting third, had a strong run to the inside of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, but DiBenedetto slid up the track into Byron’s left-side door and caused a tire rub on Byron’s Camaro.
Byron’s tire went flat during the two-lap dash to the finish, relegating the 22-year-old driver to an 11th-place finish. DiBenedetto ran second to Logano, matching his career-best result.
DiBenedetto reached out to Byron after the race.
Yeah, he texted me,” said Byron, who made it clear he won’t forget what happened in Vegas. “We’ll just race guys like they race me. That’s pretty much how it goes.”
Was there anything Byron could have done differently on the final restart?
“I think the third-place guy was in a big advantage last week—that’s the guy who had the best restart,” Byron said. “But I think you’ve just got to learn from it, see what you can do with your mirrors and try to make a quicker adjustment. And my spotter and I talked a little bit, too, so that’s really all it is.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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