KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Despite earning the most points, William Byron left Kansas Speedway with mixed emotions after a second-place finish to non-playoff driver Ross Chastain.
On a restart with 15 laps to go, both Chastain and Byron got past Martin Truex Jr. – who brought the field to green – and pulled away. Chastain created a half-second gap over Byron but couldn’t extend his lead out any further.
Byron closed back within a few tenths, but that’s as close as he got. He attempted a last-ditch effort in the low groove on the final lap to no avail as Chastain snagged his first victory of the season.
For Byron, it’s arguably the best chance he’s had to win since his Martinsville (Va.) Speedway victory in April. Ultimately, he felt that he lacked clean air in the closing laps.
“I feel like [Chastain] got the restart he needed to, and I was in the second row just trying to clear those guys,” Byron said. “Once I got clear of them, my balance was OK. Just a little bit tight, but just kind of inching up on him. I needed probably, you know, for it to be a longer run being in second.
“Just kind of being stuck in his dirty air, it seemed like the top got really dominant there at the very end. The shade just started creeping in and it was just hard to work other lanes. That is probably some of it, but just a little bit here and there. Had a good restart and that was nice to go from third to second and to be able to chase him down, but just needed a little more.”
“Damn it, I wanted that one really bad. It just sucks, man. You’re so close, and you know going to Talladega, you know what that is.”
Starting sixth, Byron led the last seven laps of Stage One after Christopher Bell – who led at the time – hit the wall defending his position. He earned seven more stage points with a fourth-place finish in Stage Two, contributing to a total of 52 markers on the afternoon.
Byron’s runner-up result helped snap a mini skid over the last several weeks. It’s his first top-five since finishing second at Michigan Int’l Speedway last month and his first top-10 in three races. Byron was involved in a massive wreck at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) Int’l and finished 34th while he finished 17th and one lap off the pace at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
As teammate Kyle Larson blew a tire early and finished 26th, it allowed Byron to take over the points lead. He paces Ryan Blaney, who finished fourth, by six points with two races remaining in the round of 12.
But while ultimately short of the win, Byron felt the effort helped silence some of his doubters.
“We’ve gotten a lot of BS over the summer from the outside and just I know how good this team is, and I know what we’re capable of,” Byron said. “Brought an awesome car … We have work to do, but proud of the effort today. It was really good.”