William Byron Wins NASCAR Cup Series Race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway for Chevrolet’s 11th Win

On Mar 5, 2023, William Byron won the NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, marking Chevrolet’s 11th win at the 1.5-mile Nevada oval and the manufacturer’s fourth win in the series’ past six races there. The win was Byron’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Byron was leading by more than two seconds over teammate Kyle Larson followed by Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman and Ross Chastain while Ryan Wallace, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch were competing in the top 10.[0] Josh Berry, substituting for Chase Elliott, finished 29th and two laps down in his first race in NASCAR’s Next Gen car.[1]

Truex seemed poised for a top-five finish in the closing laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but a gamble on pit strategy gave his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota a slender hold on the lead when Sunday afternoon’s Pennzoil 400 lurched into overtime with a late-race caution period.[2] The veteran driver, Truex, praised crew chief James Small's decision to keep their older tires, which moved Truex from fourth to first for the final restart, even though he ultimately ended up in seventh place.[3]

When a crash by Aric Almirola brought out a caution with four laps to go and pushed the race to overtime, only one driver — Martin Truex Jr.[4] This time, Byron beat Larson off pit road and stayed out.[5] He easily passed Truex and sped away from the field over the final two laps, leading an eventual 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports ahead of Larson and teammate Alex Bowman.[6]

It marked the third time Hendrick drivers have finished one-two-three in a Cup race, with Bubba Wallace in fourth and Christopher Bell in fifth.[7] Chevrolet has now won the first three races of the season, the first instance of a manufacturer achieving this feat since 2010, when Chevrolet drivers won the first three races.[8]

Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Corey LaJoie and JJ Yeley also finished in the top 20.

0. “William Byron Reclaims Lead in NASCAR Overtime; Completes Dominant Performance at Las Vegas” TobyChristie.com, 6 Mar. 2023, https://tobychristie.com/2023/03/05/william-byron-reclaims-lead-in-nascar-overtime-completes-dominant-performance-at-las-vegas

1. “William Byron leads 1-2-3 Hendrick Motorsports sweep at Las Vegas – Jayski's NASCAR Silly Season Site” Jayski.com, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.jayski.com/2023/03/05/william-byron-leads-1-2-3-hendrick-motorsports-sweep-at-las-vegas

2. “Martin Truex Jr. fades after late strategy gamble, settles for seventh at Vegas” NASCAR, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.nascar.com/news-media/2023/03/05/cup-series-2023-las-vegas-martin-truex-jr-pit-gamble/

3. “Martin Truex Jr. fades after late strategy gamble, settles for seventh at Vegas” Yahoo Life, 5 Mar. 2023, https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/martin-truex-jr-fades-strategy-205602414.html

4. “Byron Prevails In Overtime, Heartbreak For Larson In Vegas – SPEED SPORT” SPEED SPORT, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.speedsport.com/nascar/nascar-cup-series/byron-prevails-in-overtime-heartbreak-for-larson-in-vegas/

5. “William Byron Wins Las Vegas, Continues Chevrolet Dominance” Road & Track, 6 Mar. 2023, https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a43202315/william-byron-wins-las-vegas-continues-chevrolet-dominance

6. “CHEVROLET NCS: Byron Delivers Chevrolet's Third Consecutive NCS Win at Las Vegas” Speedway Digest – Home for NASCAR News, 6 Mar. 2023, https://speedwaydigest.com/index.php/news/nascar-cup-series-news/75850-chevrolet-ncs-byron-delivers-chevrolet-s-third-consecutive-ncs-win-at-las-vegas

7. “William Byron wins NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway” NASCAR on NBC Sports, 5 Mar. 2023, https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2023/03/05/william-byron-wins-nascar-cup-series-race-at-las-vegas-motor-speedway/

8. “Byron rallies in overtime to lead Hendrick 1-2-3 finish at Vegas” Motorsport US, 6 Mar. 2023, https://us.motorsport.com/nascar-cup/news/byron-wins-vegas-hendrick-larson-bowman/10440400

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