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‘Devastated’ William Byron Runs Into Ty Dillon, Takes Major Hit To Title Hopes

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
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William Byron

A promising day for William Byron at Las Vegas Motor Speedway came crashing down both literally and figuratively Sunday with just over 30 laps to go.

And as a result of the misfortune Byron experienced, his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy wasn’t all that took a major hit.

So did his NASCAR Cup Series championship hopes.

What Caused William Byron’s Day At Las Vegas Motor Speedway To Unravel?

After starting fifth at Las Vegas, William Byron appeared to be sailing toward a strong outcome. He led 55 laps and seemed poised to walk away with, at worst, a top-five finish.

Then came Lap 235 of 267.

Unaware that Ty Dillon — a non-playoff driver — was about to enter pit road, Byron didn’t have enough time to react to Dillon’s slowing vehicle just ahead. As a result, Byron slammed into the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet with tremendous force in Turn 4.

“I didn’t see any indication that he was pitting,” Byron said via Team Chevy PR. “It was probably 12 to 15 laps after we had pitted. So, I thought the (pit) cycle was fully over. Nobody said anything to my spotter, from what I know. I had zero idea.

“He just started slowing. And I had no idea what was going on. I’m just devastated. I had no indication. Obviously, I wouldn’t have just driven full-speed into the back of him like that.”

William Byron Left Las Vegas Feeling Frustrated And Regretful

The collision between William Byron and Ty Dillon sent Byron straight to the garage with a severely damaged car, leaving the winner of the last two Daytona 500s with his first DNF since late July.

Listed with a 36th-place finish in the 38-car field, Byron went from being on the bubble for making the Championship 4 to being one spot back of the cutline.

Byron, who arrived for the Round of 8 opener at Las Vegas with a four-point advantage over the first man out, now trails the bubble driver — Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chase Briscoe — by 15 points.

So, with two events left in the Round of 8 to determine the four drivers who will battle straight up for the championship at Phoenix Raceway, Byron faces an uphill climb.

Had things not taken such an awful turn for Byron in the late going at Las Vegas, he would have left Sin City in a much better situation for advancement into the championship round.

“I got loose a few laps before (the accident) and lost the lead, which I was bummed about,” Byron said. “But I was going to try and get my (car’s) balance back to a reasonable place. I was a little bit loose that run, looser than I was expecting to be. And I was just kind of pacing it.”

Byron believed he had a car on par with that of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson, who finished second to race winner Denny Hamlin.

“With as good as we were and as good as the race was going, for random things like that to happen, it just sucks,” Byron said. “I can’t believe it. It just sucks.”

Jared Turner Written by Sports EditorJared Turner
Jared Turner is a motorsports writer who has covered NASCAR for 20 years. He has interviewed over 20 NASCAR Hall of Famers and around 100 drivers, crew chiefs, and team owners, both past and present. He has also covered the sport for FOX Sports (where he was a two-time recipient of the FOX “X” Award for “Xtraordinary” job performance), NASCAR.com, Sporting News, NASCAR Pole Position Magazine, the SPEED network, and plenty of other online and print-only publications throughout his career. Notably, Jared has penned dozens of articles for NASCAR souvenir programs, including several featured prominently in Daytona 500 keepsakes. A Virginia Press Association award winner and former member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Jared has racked up accolades both for his writing and his academic work. He studied both Communication and Psychology at Virginia Tech, where he was permanently enshrined in Phi Beta Kappa — the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Jared excels at feature writing and opinion writing, much of which stems from his dedication to all levels of racing.
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