It’s win-or-else for Chase Elliott, others as Daytona looms on NASCAR Cup Series schedule
William Byron looks like he’s ready for the postseason.
The 25-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver won his fifth race of the season Sunday, and let other drivers know he is a definite contender for his first NASCAR Cup Series championship.
Byron is in the midst of a career year, but the team had struggled following his last win at Atlanta on July 9; he hadn’t had a top-10 finish since.
“We seem to go through that summer slump in July and August,” Byron said in an NBC interview after the race. “For some reason, we can’t just quite put the races together. I think it is just racetracks themselves. Came this weekend with a great mindset and tried to get ready for the postseason.
“We have had fast cars but haven’t executed. But today was flawless.”
Byron’s crew chief, Rudy Fugle, said in a news conference after the race that the tough stretch the team has gone through this summer has made the team work harder and get them ready for the postseason.
“We are going to have faster cars when the playoffs start,” Fugle said. “We are going to have more pace and hopefully we can execute. That is what the playoffs are about.”
Byron, who won the second stage, retook the lead on lap 58 from Kyle Busch and really wasn’t challenged after that in winning for the first time on a road course. After the race, the Charlotte native credited road-course specialist Max Papis with helping him prepare to be successful on the road courses.
“We worked years and years for this,” Byron said. “Thanks to Max. I know he is watching back home. … I did a lot of laps on iRacing this week. I got a new simulator, so that helped.”
Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin was second, followed by Christopher Bell, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs.
Hamlin remains in contention for the regular season championship. He trails Martin Truex Jr. by 39 points headed into Saturday’s race at Daytona, the last one before the playoffs begin at Darlington Raceway the following week.
Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick can rest easier going into the Daytona; the duo clinched playoff spots with good finishes Sunday.
Who’s in, who’s out
With Keselowski and Harvick wrapping up spots in the postseason, that leaves just one spot in the 16-driver playoff field heading to the unpredictable restrictor plate race at Daytona International Raceway.
A driver, who hasn’t won this season, can clinch a playoff spot with a win at Daytona. If not, then it would come down to who is 16th in points.
Chase Elliott was looking to lock up a spot in the playoffs with a win at Watkins Glen, a track he won twice at in his career. But Elliott ran out of gas with 36 laps left and ended up 33rd. The team thought they had at least a couple laps left in the tank.
That’s the way things have gone for the 2020 Cup champion this season. Elliott missed six races because of a broken leg he suffered in a snowboarding accident in March. He also missed a race after NASCAR suspended him for a week hooking Hamlin’s car at Charlotte.
Now, Elliott must win at Daytona to advance to the playoffs.
“To show up there with a must-win situation is like going to Las Vegas and having to hit the nearest slot machine for the jackpot,” Elliott told reporters on Saturday.
Bubba Wallace is in front for the final spot by 32 points over Gibbs, and has a bit more breathing room after finishing 14th at Watkins Glen. Wallace began the race Sunday with a 28-point lead.
“We wanted to maintain our gap (for the final spot) and not lose too many, and we gained,” Wallace said. “... It was just a great day for the 23 team.”
Gibbs has looked strong over the past few weeks, and was in the mix on Sunday. Now, it will come down to a one-race scenario.
“I don’t know what mindset I have going there,” Gibbs said. “I want to stay clean, try and make it to the end and have a good finish.”
Daniel Suarez is 43 points behind Wallace followed by AJ Allmendinger (72) and Alex Bowman (96).
Locked in
These drivers have clinched a spot in NASCAR’s Cup Series playoffs:
Martin Truex Jr.
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Ryan Blaney
Kevin Harvick
Kyle Busch
Tyler Reddick
Joey Logano
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Michael McDowell
This story was originally published August 20, 2023 at 7:21 PM.
