William Byron had the field covered Sunday at Watkins Glen International, delivering such a dominant performance that no other driver even got to his bumper in the final third of the race.
It was unusual for the NASCAR Cup Series anywhere and even more rare for Byron at a road course. The 25-year-old Hendrick Motorsports driver from Charlotte, North Carolina, won on a serpentine track for the first time in six seasons on the top circuit, but it was his series-leading fifth victory of the season overall.
If there was any doubt, it stamped him as a contender to win his first Cup Series championship.
“We’ve worked years and years for this,” Byron said, crediting veteran open-wheel racer Max Papis with helping him. “It’s a great win. I don’t know what it means and all that. I don’t read into that. But I think it shows that when we’re at our best, we can perform like this.”
Driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for powerhouse Hendrick, Byron overtook Michael McDowell — coming off a win the week before on the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — in the first quarter of the 90-lap event and pretty much remained in control the rest of the way. Byron led 66 laps in all, including the final 33, on the 14-turn, 2.45-mile layout in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region.