William Byron Takes COTA Checkered Flag

William Byron turned in a nearly flawless performance on Sunday in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas. The Chevrolet driver started from the pole, led the most laps and ultimately claimed his second NASCAR Cup Series victory of 2024.

Byron, this year’s Daytona 500 winner, led the first 12 laps on the 20-turn, 3.41-mile road course in his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Camaro ZL1 before electing to pit just before the end of Stage One. He and his Rudy Fugle-led crew did the same from the lead shortly before the conclusion of Stage Two, setting up prime track position for the run to the finish. However, they still scored points in each of the race’s first two stages.

The No. 24 team made one more blistering pit stop in the final stage and Byron inherited the lead for good on the 51st circuit. He held off competitors with fresher tires due to varying pit strategies and scored his 12th career win by 0.692 seconds.

“Just super thankful for this team,” said Byron, who led 42 laps. “Rudy, all the guys on this race team – it’s pretty amazing what we have been able to do the last couple of years, but we just have to keep working hard and keep it going. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport, and we just have to keep it going.”

Byron’s victory was the second of his career on a road course, with the first coming at Watkins Glen last August.

“Honestly, the road courses were probably the most difficult thing for us starting out and then we just continued to build on it,” he said. “We had a lot of pole positions on road courses, but we weren’t able to close the deal. A lot of that was on me and knowing what I need in the car to push the whole race. It’s come a long way.”

Chevrolet has now won four of the six Cup Series races contested in 2024 and Byron is the year’s first repeat winner. His Sunday triumph was also the 855th overall for the Bowtie Brand in NASCAR’s premier series, extending its record as the all-time winningest manufacturer.

At COTA, Chevrolet captured five of the top-10 finishing positions, representing four organizations. Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Alex Bowman came home fourth; AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing took the sixth spot; Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain was seventh; and Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch finished ninth.

Team Chevy has been dominant on road courses recently with 18 wins in the past 23 events featuring right and left turns. Eight of those victories have come in the Next Gen Camaro ZL1. Additionally, Byron is the third different Chevrolet driver to win a race in four NASCAR Cup Series races at Circuit of the Americas.

That success is a testament to the versatility of the Chevrolet brand across all of NASCAR racing.

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