William Byron, driver of the #9 Axalta/Mansea Metal Chevrolet, sits in his car during practice for the NASCAR XFINITY Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway on July 7, 2017 in Sparta, Kentucky. Photo – Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

JR Motorsports driver William Byron came to Kentucky Speedway with a chance to make history.

Fresh from back-to-back wins at Iowa and Daytona, Byron could have become the first NASCAR XFINITY Series driver to notch his first three victories in the series in succession, had he won Saturday’s Alsco 300.

But the Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender was mixing it up with the sport’s heavy hitters, and he rolled home seventh behind race winner Kyle Busch and five other full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers.

“It was a pretty good run for us,” said Byron, who collected his fourth straight top-ten in the series. “I think we lacked a little bit, but we made some really good adjustments, and I was able to get up there on a few restarts and have a chance at a top-three or four.

“Ultimately, we finished seventh, but I think it was a pretty good overall day. Just lacked a little bit of speed, but we’ll go to New Hampshire (next Saturday), which is a really good track for us and hopefully get a win there.”