Byron Takes Fifth Checkered Flag for 2023
William Byron and Jeff Gordon announced his drive in the No. 24 car - 2018
RIS photo by John Davison
It’s Win Five for the No. 24 at Watkins Glen
(WATKINS GLEN, NY – AUG 20, 2023 – RIS) William Byron seemed to channel his mentor’s road course skills in dominating the Go Bowling at the Glen NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen’s historic road course in New York’s Fingerlakes region. Chase Elliott’s woes continued as he coasted to a halt at the Bus Stop chicane on the back straight, out of fuel on lap 57 and had to be pushed to the pits for the only caution flag of the race.
Denny Hamlin got passed after only three laps by Indy winner Michael McDowell, who went on to lead the next 17 laps and win the first stage before pitting and handing the lead to William Byron McDowell drove through too many stalls entering the pits for his stop and had to serve a drive-through penalty with the additional time dropping him out of the top ten runners. AJ Allmendinger took the lead from Byron when the Hendrick driver pitted a lap later. ‘Dinger pitted after two more laps and Byron retook the lead, staying in front of the pack and winning the second stage, with Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Kyle Larson and Allmendinger the rest of the top five as another pit cycle approached.
Byron’s crew left him out an extra lap before pitting for tires and fuel and Chase Elliott coasted to a stop at the Bus Stop chicane with the No. 9 Chevy out of fuel and needing a push to the pits under caution. “Bad information” reported Elliott’s crew chief as the team discussed the problem.
Byron and Hamlin led at the restart with Byron pulling out to the lead exiting the first turn as the pack followed them through the uphill esses, with Christopher Bell, Allmendinger and Gibbs finishing the top five positions after the first lap.
McDowell coasted into the pits with about 17 laps left, the engine not running, before the crew finally pushed the No. 34 Ford behind the wall as the first car out of the race. The crew seemed to think the problem was the ECU engine management system, the same component that Brad Keselowski’s team had to replace before the race, sending the No, 6 Ford to the back of the field at the start. “We’re not really sure – engine just shut off there , not sure if it was engine or electrical,” said last week’s winner on television.
The waning laps of the race saw comparative lap times only a few hundredths of a second between Byron and his pursuers, but the 24-year-old kept stretching the gap to a victory margin of 2.632 seconds. Approaching the checkered flag, Kyle Larson dove inside of Austin Dillon in the last turn, spinning them both out, with Dillon
The win “feels really good, I need to thank Max Papis. It’s a great win. It shows when we’re at our best, we can perform like this. We seemed to go through that summer slump in July and August. We’ve had fast cars but we just haven’t executed…. It’s fun to get a win.”
Byron headed 66 of the 90 laps in the race for his ninth career victory and fifth win of the season.
“I’m happy with my day. It was a fun race,” commented Hamlin after his runner-up finish.
It’s the first time I’ve felt proud of myself after a road course race,” said Bubba Wallace after finishing twelfth and 32 points above the cutoff line for the Playoffs as NASCAR heads into the final regular season race at Daytona next week.
Unofficial Results: Go Bowling at The Glen, August 20, 2023 - Watkins Glen International
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 2, William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Chevrolet, 90, 2, 1, 3, 66, 6, 59, Running
2) 1, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, 90, 3, 2, 1, 3, , 52, Running
3) 7, Christopher Bell, No. 20 DEWALT Concrete Total Solutions Toyota, 90, 7, 6, , , , 43, Running
4) 6, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 90, 5, 5, 1, 2, , 45, Running
5) 4, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 90, 4, 3, , , , 47, Running
6) 19, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Siemens Toyota, 90, , , , , , 31, Running
7) 13, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fastenal Ford, 90, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 8, Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota SmartPath Toyota, 90, 10, , , , , 30, Running
9) 23, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, 90, , , , , , 28, Running
10) 11, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 90, , , , , , 27, Running
11) 25, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Serial1.com E-Bikes Ford, 90, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 12, Bubba Wallace, No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 90, 8, 9, , , , 30, Running
13) 28, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Sugarlands/EggoBrunchaJarSippinCream Chev., 90, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 9, Kyle Busch, No. 8 Mark III Chevrolet, 90, 9, 8, 1, 2, , 28, Running
15) 24, Brad Keselowski, No. 6 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 90, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 17, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Autotrader Ford, 90, , , , , , 21, Running
17) 30, Ryan Preece, No. 41 United Rentals Ford, 90, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 22, Ross Chastain, No. 1 Moose Fraternity Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 21, Mike Rockenfeller, No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 10, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 17, Running
21) 33, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Busch Light Ford, 90, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 14, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 18, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 20, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 29, Andy Lally, No. 15 Camping World Ford, 90, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 5, Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 90, 6, 4, , , , 23, Running
27) 35, Josh Bilicki(i), No. 78 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 34, Cole Custer(i), No. 51 Biohaven/Jacob Co. Ford, 90, , , , , , 0, Running
29) 31, Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet, 90, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 27, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Go Bowling Ford, 90, , , , , , 7, Running
31) 16, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Okuma Chevrolet, 90, , 10, , , , 7, Running
32) 15, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 89, , 7, , , , 9, Running
33) 32, Harrison Burton, No. 21 DEX Imaging Ford, 89, , , , , , 4, Running
34) 36, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Ferris Commercial Mowers Chevrolet, 89, , , , , , 3, Running
35) 26, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Mahindra Tractors Ford, 83, , , , , , 2, Running
36) 3, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 74, 1, , 1, 17, 1, 11, Electrical
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie
Total Race Length: 90 Laps - 220.5 Miles
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 58 Mins, 44 Secs.
Average Speed: 111.426 MPH
Margin of Victory: 2.632 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 34, 24, 11, 54, 16, 5, 20, 23, 8, 45
Stage 2 Top 10: 24, 11, 54, 5, 16, 20, 9, 8, 23, 3
Comments: William Byron won the 37th running of the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International, his ninth victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 6, 7, 10, 31, 51 (unapproved adjustments).
Cautions: 1 for 4 laps;
Laps: 57-60 (No. 9 Stopped on Track (Out of Fuel) [99]).
Lead Changes: 6 among 5 drivers;
D. Hamlin 1-3;
M. McDowell 4-20;
W. Byron 21;
A. Allmendinger 22-23;
W. Byron 24-55;
K. Busch 56-57;
W. Byron 58-90.
Unofficial Driver Points Report: Go Bowling at The Glen
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Race Wins Stage Wins Playoff Pts
1. Martin Truex Jr 19 25 0 861 0 0 3 5 20
2. Denny Hamlin 11 25 0 822 -39 39 2 5 15
3. William Byron 24 25 0 785 -76 37 5 8 28
4. Christopher Bell 20 25 0 752 -109 33 1 2 7
5. Kyle Larson 5 25 0 721 -140 31 2 3 13
6. Brad Keselowski 6 25 2 697 -164 24 0 3 3
7. Chris Buescher 17 25 3 695 -166 2 2 1 11
8. Ross Chastain 1 25 -1 695 -166 0 1 5 10
9. Ryan Blaney 12 25 0 694 -167 1 1 3 8
10. Kevin Harvick 4 25 -4 693 -168 1 0 1 1
11. Kyle Busch 8 25 0 688 -173 5 3 2 17
12. Tyler Reddick 45 25 0 683 -178 5 1 4 9
13. Joey Logano 22 25 0 666 -195 17 1 3 8
14. Bubba Wallace 23 25 0 590 -271 76 0 0 0
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 47 25 1 566 -295 24 1 0 5
16. Ty Gibbs # 54 25 2 558 -303 8 0 0 0
17. Michael McDowell 34 25 -2 553 -308 5 1 2 7
18. Daniel Suarez 99 25 -1 547 -314 6 0 0 0
19. AJ Allmendinger 16 25 2 518 -343 29 0 0 0
20. Alex Bowman 48 22 0 494 -367 24 0 0 -5
21. Chase Elliott 9 18 -2 489 -372 5 0 1 1
22. Austin Cindric 2 25 0 476 -385 13 0 1 1
23. Justin Haley 31 25 0 428 -433 48 0 0 0
24. Ryan Preece 41 25 1 423 -438 5 0 1 1
25. Aric Almirola 10 25 -1 413 -448 10 0 1 1
26. Todd Gilliland 38 25 1 405 -456 8 0 0 0
27. Corey LaJoie 7 25 -1 404 -457 1 0 0 0
28. Erik Jones 43 25 0 375 -486 29 0 0 -5
29. Austin Dillon 3 25 0 369 -492 6 0 0 -5
30. Harrison Burton 21 25 0 343 -518 26 0 0 0
31. Chase Briscoe 14 25 0 324 -537 19 0 0 -25
32. Ty Dillon 77 25 0 233 -628 91 0 0 0
33. Noah Gragson 21 0 199 -662 34 0 0 0
34. Bj Mcleod 15 0 117 -744 82 0 0 0
35. Cody Ware 7 0 65 -796 52 0 0 0
36. Jenson Button 3 0 45 -816 20 0 0 0
37. Andy Lally 15 4 2 32 -829 13 0 0 0
38. Mike Rockenfeller 42 2 4 31 -830 1 0 0 0
39. Travis Pastrana 1 -2 26 -835 5 0 0 0
40. Ryan Newman 3 -2 24 -837 2 0 0 0
41. Jordan Taylor 1 -1 16 -845 8 0 0 0
42. Brodie Kostecki 1 -1 15 -846 1 0 0 0
43. Jimmie Johnson 3 0 12 -849 3 0 0 0
44. Kimi Raikkonen 1 0 8 -853 4 0 0 0
45. Jonathan Davenport 1 0 1 -860 7 0 0 0
46. Shane Van Gisbergen(i) 2 0 0 -861 1 1 0 0
47. Josh Berry(i) 9 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
48. Jj Yeley(i) 16 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
49. Zane Smith(i) 6 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
50. Riley Herbst(i) 2 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
51. Chandler Smith(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
52. Josh Bilicki(i) 78 8 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
53. Austin Hill(i) 3 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
54. Cole Custer(i) 51 5 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
55. Grant Enfinger(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
56. Brennan Poole(i) 4 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
57. Conor Daly(i) 2 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
58. Gray Gaulding(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
59. Anthony Alfredo(i) 2 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
60. Kamui Kobayashi(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
61. Matt Crafton(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
62. Carson Hocevar(i) 1 0 0 -861 0 0 0 0
-Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series
Rank Driver Car Starts GL Points Ldr Nxt Wins Stages Playoff Pts
3. William Byron 24 25 0 785 -76 37 5 8 28
1. Martin Truex Jr 19 25 0 861 0 0 3 5 20
11. Kyle Busch 8 25 0 688 -173 5 3 2 17
2. Denny Hamlin 11 25 0 822 -39 39 2 5 15
5. Kyle Larson 5 25 0 721 -140 31 2 3 13
7. Chris Buescher 17 25 3 695 -166 2 2 1 11
8. Ross Chastain 1 25 -1 695 -166 0 1 5 10
12. Tyler Reddick 45 25 0 683 -178 5 1 4 9
9. Ryan Blaney 12 25 0 694 -167 1 1 3 8
13. Joey Logano 22 25 0 666 -195 17 1 3 8
4. Christopher Bell 20 25 0 752 -109 33 1 2 7
17. Michael McDowell 34 25 -2 553 -308 5 1 2 7
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr 47 25 1 566 -295 24 1 0 5
6. Brad Keselowski 6 25 2 697 -164 24 0 3 3
10. Kevin Harvick 4 25 -4 693 -168 1 0 1 1
21. Chase Elliott 9 18 -2 489 -372 5 0 1 1
22. Austin Cindric 2 25 0 476 -385 13 0 1 1
24. Ryan Preece 41 25 1 423 -438 5 0 1 1
25. Aric Almirola 10 25 -1 413 -448 10 0 1 1
John Davison
Long-time RIS staffer, beginning in the mid-80s. Charlotte, NC area local contact.