DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.: Six laps from the conclusion of Stage 1 in the rain-postponed Daytona 500, Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron saw his opportunity to win the “Great American Race” end abruptly after contact from fellow Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
On Lap 59 of 200, Stenhouse appeared to attempt to throw a block on the contingent of Fords led by Aric Almirola but as Stenhouse switched lanes, his car made contact with the rear bumper of Byron’s No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet sending him careening through the grass and into the inside wall nose-first.
Byron was running fourth behind three of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate at the time of the crash.
Byron attempted to drive his No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE away from the scene of the accident, but his automobile was damaged heavily. The Charlotte, N.C. native climbed from his vehicle visibly upset for his mandatory trip to the infield care center.
Once evaluated and released, Byron showcased his frustration from the aggression from Stenhouse – especially so early into a 500-mile race.
“I think he slid left to cross my bumper and if he would have hit me square, it would have been fine,” said Byron. “But when he was sliding left and hitting me, it moved my car a little left too and, ultimately, it’s kind of caused him to turn me in the left rear.
“I’m not really sure how that happens, but it is what it is. I don’t really know what to do differently; just kind of go back, look at it, go onto Vegas and try to do well there.”
The 2017 Xfinity Series champion also seemed to suppress some of his comments – obviously knowing he had a car capable of winning NASCAR’s Super Bowl event – but couldn’t understand Stenhouse’s intention.
“He had given me a couple of bumps earlier before that and the car handled it fine,” added Byron. “I think the fact that he was pushing me and sliding left across the bumper is what really got me slightly left. He moved to go out of line and misjudged that move it seemed like.
“Ultimately, he hit me in the left rear quarter panel and turned me straight into the inside wall. I understand making moves and stuff. I think we were all in line to that point. It wasn’t like I was trying to block him or anything; I just don’t really know where that came from.”
Impressively, the Hendrick Motorsports driver had blasted to the front of the field and it appeared as if the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE was a significant improvement over the ZL1 body style.
“Yeah, I think it was just a good organizational effort there with the other Hendrick guys to work our way through the field,” added Byron.
“Everyone was single file on the top and we decided to go to the bottom and pick that lane up. I thought everything was going well there. We were just kind of riding around and wait to try to get to the end of this race, but it didn’t happen.”
Leading up to Monday’s accident, it had been a couple of days for Byron and crew chief Chad Knaus.
During Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacation Duels at Daytona, Byron held off Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Larson for his first checkered flag in Cup Series competition albeit being a nonexhibition qualifying event.
The triumph, however, earned Byron 10 stage points – which proved to be extremely beneficial based on Monday’s 40th place finish.
Looking ahead, Byron says it’s important to rebound at Las Vegas.
“We got something points-wise out of this race or less we’d have one point. I guess we have 10 or 11 points going into Las Vegas,” Byron sounded. “We’re going to have to rebound and rally
there. I don’t know, I’m not really sure what I could have done differently.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
