William Byron Lost It All as Strategy Call Backfires

Newsweek

10-06-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
William Byron was on his way to a glorious NASCAR Cup Series victory at the Michigan International Speedway, but the same strategy that nearly helped him win backfired greatly. He led the race for 98 laps but had to go down pit road with just four laps to go.
The Michigan race demanded drivers to be quick, but they also needed to conserve fuel at the same time. It turned out that the race strategy to maintain a dominant lead during the race consumed more gas from Byron's car, which then prevented him from winning. He had to pit to refuel and settle for a 28th place finish. Denny Hamlin passed him and claimed his third victory of the season.
Speaking to Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, Byron admitted that it was hard to save fuel and maintain the lead. He said:
William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor High Heat Chevrolet, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee.
William Byron, driver of the #24 Raptor High Heat Chevrolet, enters his car during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on May 31, 2025 in Lebanon, Tennessee."We end up running out there. We needed one and a half laps more fuel, so we probably saved three quarters of a lap, I guess. It was hard to save enough obviously and keep the lead, and also kinda drew him [Hamlin] in.
"It seemed like he could just run hard, didn't seem like he had to worry about fuel at all. I was having [to] kinda do both. He got me there for sure, but I was going to run out. It was racing, and then it didn't really matter because we ran out."
When asked if he would follow a more conservative approach for the regular season title or if he would just go for the win, Byron said:
"Just try to go for the win. I felt like we had one of the dominant cars all day, and unfortunately, when you're so close to a window like that, you are right in front, you burn a lot more fuel. It was time to manage both. It sucks."
William Byron was told to keep the lead and save fuel. He wasn't able to save enough. His thoughts after a potential win turned into a 28th-place finish. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/aSdAGOD0OG — Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) June 8, 2025
Byron admitted in another interview that there was not much he could do in such a situation. He told Sports on Prime:
"We didn't have enough. We were going to run out with a lap and a half left, we did run out with a lap and a half left. I was trying to manage both [and] manage the gap and save [gas]. It sucks, it really stings. Not able to do much about that. It is what it is."
Running out of gas was the detriment for @WilliamByron today. #NASCARonPrime pic.twitter.com/HqgComs2tM — Sports on Prime (@SportsonPrime) June 8, 2025
FireKeepers Casino 400 Cup Series Race Results
1. Denny Hamlin
2. Chris Buescher
3. Ty Gibbs
4. Bubba Wallace
5. Kyle Larson
6. Ross Chastain
7. Zane Smith
8. Kyle Busch
9. Ryan Preece
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Erik Jones
12. Josh Berry
13. Tyler Reddick
14. Daniel Suarez
15. Chase Elliott
16. Christopher Bell
17. AJ Allmendinger
18. Shane van Gisbergen
19. Austin Dillon
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
21. Justin Haley
22. Joey Logano
23. Chase Briscoe
24. Ty Dillon
25. Riley Herbst
26. Cody Ware
27. Noah Gragson
28. William Byron
29. Carson Hocevar
30. Michael McDowell
31. Austin Cindric
32. Ryan Blaney
33. Todd Gilliland
34. John H Nemechek
35. Cole Custer
36. Alex Bowman