Byron Recovers Victory in Iowa and Seeks Momentum for NASCAR Playoffs

William Byron Conquers Iowa Speedway and Secures a Crucial Boost

Driver William Byron, already qualified for the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, arrived at Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway in second place in the regular season standings. Despite his position, Byron was not satisfied with the recent performance. With five results below 27th place in the last eight races, he was looking to regain confidence on a track where he had been successful in the past, just before the start of the playoffs.

I think we’ve been fast every weekend. I can’t think of a week where we’ve been slow; the results just haven’t come. And that was starting to affect us a little bit, to create some “What’s going to happen next?”

William Byron

Byron’s strategy paid off on Sunday, earning his second win of the season by betting on fuel management. He completed the final 144 laps of the 350-lap race without stopping, and yellow flags during the third stage helped him conserve enough fuel to reach the finish line. This victory at Iowa Speedway, where he has won in all three NASCAR series, gives him an 18-point lead over his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Chase Elliott, in the fight for the regular season title.

This is going to change the pendulum.

William Byron

Byron, winner of the Daytona 500 at the start of the season, has eight top-10 finishes this season, including three second places. However, he also suffered setbacks such as 37th place in Atlanta, 40th in the Chicago street race and 31st in Dover. The previous week, in Indianapolis, he finished in 16th place, after having to make a late stop to refuel. The crew chief, Rudy Fugle, was hoping for this victory.

He’s an incredible driver. I think he’s the best overall driver in the field right now. He’s mine, and I should say that. But I really think he’s maturing and gaining the experience to prove it. He’s very versatile and he’s a fighter. He has a hard line and fights everything. He doesn’t give up.

Rudy Fugle

Byron had fuel issues in Michigan and Indianapolis the previous week, but Fugle was confident in his ability to handle the situation.

Those are things he’s also improved on over the years, taking the hits and what happens afterward. And suddenly, you’re leading and you have a chance to win.

Rudy Fugle

Byron admitted to feeling nervous as the laps wound down on Sunday.

I knew what to expect. I knew what to look for, and all that in terms of if I was running out of fuel. But I was just thinking about preserving as much as I could, doing a lot of different things in the car, lifting earlier and just not using a lot of percentage of the throttle. So the guys did a very good job guiding me on what to do.

William Byron

Byron thought he had a little fuel left at the end.

I felt that if I could get out of turn four, enter with the white flag, I could win the race. That’s what I had in mind. And that was mostly true. When I did the burnout, at the end of the burnout, the fuel pressure went up. So I don’t know how many laps it would have been.

William Byron

Byron is now focused on the playoffs.

I really feel like we needed to win a race like this, we deserve to win a race based on how we’ve grown throughout the year, and it just wasn’t happening. It’s a big relief for us that one of them goes our way. We’ve been running really well this year; I feel like this is going to be a big momentum boost for our team.

William Byron