William Byron claims his first NASCAR Cup Series road course win at Watkins Glen International in the Go Bowling at The Glen on Sunday afternoon.
The regular season for the NASCAR Cup Series has wound down to two remaining races of their regular season coming into Sunday. A tough task at Watkins Glen International followed by an unpredictable race at Daytona International Speedway. This has been a tough closing stretch of the season with two road course races and a superspeedway race in three straight weeks. The wide variety of racing has produced a nerve-wrenching battle to close out the regular season.
The Pole Sitter, Denny Hamlin Quickly Falls Off the Pace at the Start
Denny Hamlin set the pace in qualifying, but coming to the green flag on Sunday, he quickly fell off that pace. On the fourth lap, Michael McDowell slipped by Hamlin for the lead. Daniel Suarez spun around at the bus stop, and Harrison Burton spun around coming out of the fifth turn. No cautions were waved with these incidents, and Michael McDowell was able to cruise ahead to win the first stage of the race.
McDowell Starts the Second Stage with a Penalty
No cautions for stage breaks at road courses this year, but the leaders still cycled through pit road under the green flag. Michael McDowell passed through too many pit stalls entering his box and had to serve a pass-through penalty. This allowed William Byron to take the lead with Denny Hamlin following closely behind. Byron was able to hold off Hamlin however, and win the Second Stage.
William Byron Claims His First NASCAR Cup Series Road Course Win at Watkins Glen
William Byron continued to lead into the final stage of the race. Fifteen laps into the third stage, Chase Elliott ran out of fuel and came to a stop on the track. NASCAR threw the caution bringing the field back together once more.
William Byron and Denny Hamlin lined up side-by-side for an important restart. Byron beat him down to the corner of the first turn and took off. William Byron led the final thirty laps to win his first-ever road course race in a dominating fashion.
The Go Bowling at The Glen Results
The NASCAR Cup Series Point Standings
One More Race in the NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season
One final race remains on the regular season schedule, and that is taking place at Daytona International Speedway. This superspeedway will have the spotlight Saturday night as there is only one playoff spot to be filled.
Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick have enough points to advance, as Bubba Wallace has a 32-point buffer to the cut line. Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez hang in the balance as they have a slim chance to race their way in as well. Alex Bowman and Chase Elliott both need a miracle victory to continue their playoff streak. Daytona International Speedway is the best place for a cut-off race. A place where anything can, and will happen.