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Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
William Byron Dominates Much of Darlington NASCAR Cup Race, Fails to Seal the Deal
Through three quarters of the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, Willim Byron was untouchable, leading the first 243 laps in the scheduled 293-lap race. With 50 laps remaining, Byron possessed a 4.965-second lead over eventual winner Denny Hamlin, but he still had to make his final pit stop. Byron pitted with 49 laps remaining, received four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment on his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and returned to the track in 12th. With fresh tires, Byron quickly moved through the field and with 37 laps remaining had taken over third. However, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native wasn't able to advance any further and had actually fallen for fourth behind Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney and Hamlin, respectively, with five laps remaining. When the eighth and final caution flag waved on lap 290, Byron had one last shot at victory. He had the first pit stall on pit road due to earning the pole, which meant he didn't have to go that far to get off pit road first and claim the No. 1 position. However, Hamlin's Joe Gibb Racing's crew sub-10-second stop left him third behind Hamlin and Reddick, respectively. For the restart, Hamlin took the outside, Reddick the inside and Byron lined up behind Hamlin. Reddick faltered and Hamlin jumped into the lead. Byron couldn't catch Hamlin. 'We just needed control of the race there under green and we lost that with the pit sequence,' Byron said. 'We lost a few spots under the green flag sequence, and that was the difference. The No. 20 (Christopher Bell) did a good job kind of air blocking and just keeping us behind him. It stings to be this close.' The 44-year-old Hamlin knowns how Byron feels to dominate an event and then have the victory slip through one's grasp. 'I think at Richmond I led all but 13 laps and had a flat tire at the end,' Hamlin recalled. 'I get how it feels. It sucks. Only I finished 20-something that day. It's painful.' 1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 297. 2. (1) William Byron, Chevrolet, 297. 3. (17) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 297. 4. (7) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 297. 5. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 297. 6. (14) Chris Buescher, Ford, 297. 7. (25) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 297. 8. (15) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 297. 9. (11) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 297. 10. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 297. 11. (6) Austin Cindric, Ford, 297. 12. (16) Zane Smith, Ford, 297. 13. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 297. 14. (12) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 297. 15. (30) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 297. 16. (29) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 297. 17. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, 297. 18. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 297. 19. (26) Noah Gragson, Ford, 297. 20. (36) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 297. 21. (5) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 297. 22. (31) Cole Custer, Ford, 297. 23. (23) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 297. 24. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 297. 25. (28) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 297. 26. (2) Ryan Preece, Ford, 297. 27. (35) Cody Ware, Ford, 297. 28. (4) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 297. 29. (10) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 297. 30. (27) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 297. 31. (37) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 296. 32. (13) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 296. 33. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 295. 34. (32) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 295. 35. (33) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 280. 36. (24) Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 194. 37. (19) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Suspension, 122. 38. (38) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 30. Average Speed of Race Winner: 120.965 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 21 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory:.597 Seconds. Caution Flags: 8 for 45 laps. Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers. Lap Leaders: W. Byron 1-243;D. Hamlin 244-247;T. Reddick 248-289;R. Blaney 290-291;D. Hamlin 292-297. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): William Byron 1 time for 243 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 42 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 10 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 2 laps. Stage #1 Top Ten: 24,23,60,17,45,6,12,2,38,16 Stage #2 Top Ten: 24,22,11,12,21,20,54,10,45,48
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Denny Hamlin Wins at Darlington, Moves Past a Legend on NASCAR All-Time Wins List
Denny Hamlin finished 0.597-second ahead of William Byron at Darlington on Sunda. The win was Hamlin's 56th in the NASCAR Cup Series, and broke break the tie with Rusty Wallace for 11th on NASCAR's all-time Cup victory list. Hamlin's victory was the 219th win for Joe Gibbs Racing. Shortly after Denny Hamlin secured his 56th career victory on Sunday night, the Virginia native said with a smile that he loved two people—his pit crew and Kyle Larson—both of whom put him in position to record his fifth career Darlington Raceway victory. With four laps remaining in the scheduled 293-lap Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race, Ryan Blaney had just taken the lead from Tyler Reddick when Kyle Larson spun off turn two for the second time in the race and smashed the front end of his Chevrolet into the inside wall. Hamlin was third at the time and 20 cars were on the lead lap. Fresh tires were the ticket. All of the lead-lap cars pitted, and Hamlin's pit crew once again delivered, executing a 9.42-second pit stop to get him off pit road first. 'Those guys, man, they are just villains,' crew chief Chris Gayle said about Hamlin's pit crew. 'They just want that moment to where they can go in there and just rip everybody's hearts out and win the race, walk away, don't care what anybody else thinks, unapologetic.' When they lined up for the overtime restart, Hamlin took the outside and Reddick the inside. William Byron, who had dominated the event, was behind Hamlin. Reddick stumbled and by the time Byron cleared Reddick, Hamlin was too far ahead on the green-white-checker finish to be caught. Hamlin finished 0.597-second ahead of Byron to break the tie with Rusty Wallace for 11th on NASCAR's all-time Cup victory list. 'This is just a quintessential race where you just put yourself in the right place, things will fall your way,' Hamlin said. 'I knew coming in third I was going to have to have my best roll of the day. That is my fastest pit roll, my fastest speed into the box. I needed to put it perfectly on the sign, so they don't have to adjust. I needed to stack 10ths and 10ths and 10ths on my side of the job. When they dropped the jack on the right, I know right then, 'Oh boy, this is going to be a heater.' Our pit crew won it.' Hamlin's victory was the 219th win for Joe Gibbs Racing and the 11th for Gibbs at the historic 1.366-mile track. It also was Hamlin's first back-to-back victories since 2012 when he won Bristol in August and Atlanta in 2012. With Hamlin's victory, JGR swept the Darlington weekend. Brandon Jones snapped a 98-race winless streak with a JGR Toyota in Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race, the day before the Goodyear 400. 1. (3) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 297. 2. (1) William Byron, Chevrolet, 297. 3. (17) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 297. 4. (7) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 297. 5. (9) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 297. 6. (14) Chris Buescher, Ford, 297. 7. (25) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 297. 8. (15) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 297. 9. (11) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 297. 10. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 297. 11. (6) Austin Cindric, Ford, 297. 12. (16) Zane Smith, Ford, 297. 13. (18) Joey Logano, Ford, 297. 14. (12) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 297. 15. (30) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 297. 16. (29) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 297. 17. (34) Erik Jones, Toyota, 297. 18. (22) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 297. 19. (26) Noah Gragson, Ford, 297. 20. (36) Shane Van Gisbergen #, Chevrolet, 297. 21. (5) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 297. 22. (31) Cole Custer, Ford, 297. 23. (23) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 297. 24. (21) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 297. 25. (28) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 297. 26. (2) Ryan Preece, Ford, 297. 27. (35) Cody Ware, Ford, 297. 28. (4) Chase Briscoe, Toyota, 297. 29. (10) Michael McDowell, Chevrolet, 297. 30. (27) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 297. 31. (37) Austin Hill(i), Chevrolet, 296. 32. (13) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet, 296. 33. (20) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 295. 34. (32) Riley Herbst #, Toyota, 295. 35. (33) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 280. 36. (24) Josh Berry, Ford, Accident, 194. 37. (19) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, Suspension, 122. 38. (38) JJ Yeley, Chevrolet, Brakes, 30. Average Speed of Race Winner: 120.965 mph. Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 21 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory:.597 Seconds. Caution Flags: 8 for 45 laps. Lead Changes: 4 among 4 drivers. Lap Leaders: W. Byron 1-243;D. Hamlin 244-247;T. Reddick 248-289;R. Blaney 290-291;D. Hamlin 292-297. Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): William Byron 1 time for 243 laps; Tyler Reddick 1 time for 42 laps; Denny Hamlin 2 times for 10 laps; Ryan Blaney 1 time for 2 laps. Stage #1 Top Ten: 24,23,60,17,45,6,12,2,38,16 Stage #2 Top Ten: 24,22,11,12,21,20,54,10,45,48
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NASCAR Darlington winners and losers: William Byron dominates, comes up 1 spot short
Denny Hamlin was the fortunate driver in a late-race pit stop sequence and went back-to-back on Sunday. Hamlin was the first off of pit road ahead of a green-white-checkered restart, then pulled away in the final two laps to win the Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. Hamlin was the fortunate one in a turn of bad luck for William Byron (who led 243 of 297 laps) and Ryan Blaney (who took the lead with four laps to go and was on his way to victory before the final caution). Hamlin won last week in Martinsville via a dominant final 200 laps, but Sunday's victory was earned in a much different manner. Byron finished in second, with Christopher Bell in third. Here are the winners and losers from Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington: RACE RESULTS: NASCAR Darlington results: Denny Hamlin is winner, plus full leaderboard Byron will feel hard done by a second-place finish on Sunday, but it was a good result overall after getting the wrong end of the final green-flag pit cycle. Byron was The Show on Sunday, leading the first 243 laps before falling behind Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell after staying out too long on older tires. But after the late-race caution, Byron moved up to second on the green-white-checkered finish. Byron was not satisfied with the finish in his postrace interview with FOX, but the No. 24 team will take that exact performance again in September when the playoffs open with the Southern 500 at Darlington. This space has been very critical of Ty Gibbs' recent slump, but Sunday's race had to be a pleasantly calm and positive day for the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. Gibbs struggled like most of the Toyotas during a very long run to end Stage 1, then used strategy and a timely caution to improve track position in Stage 2. While others who did the same fell out of the top 10, Gibbs continued on before finishing 9th. It's Gibbs' first top-10 finish since Sept. 2024 at Kansas. It's going to be a long road toward making the playoffs without a victory for Gibbs, but piling up finishes like Sunday's top-10 will help. Larson is a former Darlington winner whose race on Sunday all but ended on Lap 4, when he lost control of the No. 5 Chevrolet coming off of turn 2 and spun down the backstretch. Larson's Chevrolet bounced off of the inside retaining wall, suffering major damage to the front end. Larson's team worked on the car enough to get him back out by the end of Stage 2, 160 laps down. But it was a surprisingly quick end for one of the pre-race favorites. To make things worse, Larson made an unfortunate impact on the final result with a spin with four laps to go after contact with Bubba Wallace just after Tyler Reddick lost the lead to Ryan Blaney. The subsequent pit stop sequence and restart assisted Denny Hamlin in his victory. "There's two people I love right now — my pit crew and Kyle Larson," Hamlin said on FOX postrace. Keselowski won here last year, earned points in Stage 1 and was running in the top 10 before a Stage 2 pit cycle gone awry. Keselowski lost a right-rear wheel nut shortly after leaving pit road, and spun on the apron. NASCAR didn't throw a caution until after he had lost three laps and was back outside the top 30 in the running order. Keselowski finished 33rd, two laps down. The No. 6 RFK Racing team needed a good day at a track in which it has had a lot of success, but that didn't happen. Keselowski remains without a top-10 finish in 2025. Teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece have a combined eight. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Darlington winners and losers: William Byron dominates, comes up 1 spot short
