William Byron captured his first win of the season at the newly repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway. Byron’s third Cup Series race win made him the fifth different winner through the first five races of the 2022 season. The victory marked the third win for Hendrick Motorsports, joining teammates Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman.
The driver of #24 Chevrolet Camaro was extremely happy with his first win at the Atlanta track. Expressing his joy at the victory, William Byron said:
“It was so different. You know honestly the last few laps there, just trying to manage the gap to Bubba [Wallace] and trying to not get too far out front. We had a pretty rough practice; worked hard on it and got it handling well. Like I told you, it was kind of an intermediate style with a little bit of superspeedway to it, so it was lot of fun. Thanks to everyone at Hendrick Motorsports super exciting.”
The track’s renovation led to a superspeedway racing style and evolved into the application of superspeedway racing rules, including an out-of-line at the bottom of the track.
Christopher Bell was behind Byron at the checkered flag as several other cars wrecked. Bell, however, took that position by going below the line to overtake Ross Chastain. The move led to a penalty that sent Bell towards the end of the lead lap and Chastain finished in 2nd place. Chastain lost the race by 0.145 seconds to Byron.
What did William Byron have to say about the packed stands at Atlanta Motor Speedway?
Fans are returning to the new 1.54-mile-long Atlanta Motor Speedway after it was last rebuilt in 1997. William Byron in the post-race thanked all the fans and teammates who have been a part of him in this amazing experience. Further adding to the conversation, Byron said:
“It’s so cool. I think these fans saw one heck of a race. It was certainly long from my seat. It was mentally taxing. Just thanks to all the fans for coming out. It as an awesome weekend. I got the win last night in the Late Model too, so it’s been a lot of fun.”
The NASCAR Cup Series returns next week with the EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas on Sunday, March 27. The action will go live at 3:30 pm EST on FOX and MRN.