“The #6 was loose and overcorrected”: William Byron details how his Chevrolet ended atop Brad Keselowski's Ford

Defending champion William Byron, who won the race at Watkins Glen last year leading 66 laps by a margin of 2.6 seconds, began the second playoff race ranked fifth in the standings. However, a collision that relegated Byron to a 34th-place finish has made him drop to tenth in the playoff rankings. Reflecting on the incident involving Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, Byron shared his perspective, noting that it appeared Keselowski's car became unstable and he overcorrected, triggering the wreck.

During the race, on Lap 84, Byron was positioned just outside the top 15, in close competition with Keselowski and Logano. The incident unfolded as Logano made contact with the left rear of Keselowski’s car, pushing it up the track. Simultaneously, Byron, in #24, was attempting an outside pass on Keselowski when his car’s right front wheel mounted Keselowski’s driver’s window, leading to both cars crashing into the wall.

Discussing his viewpoint on the sequence of events in a post-race interview, Byron explained:

"I don't know, like the #22 and the #6 were kind of started too wide and... and I was gonna get to the outside of the 22. It looked like the #6 was loose and over corrected back to the left and and got us. Yeah, it was it was a bummer, but had a good car, once we made some adjustments and kind of got us back in the ball game and I thought we were going to finish right back side of the top 10. And that was gonna be pretty good."

The #24 Hendrick Motorsports driver made a pit stop for repairs on Lap 86 but was only able to climb back to 34th position by the race’s end. Meanwhile, Keselowski, piloting the #6 Ford Mustang, crossed the finish line in 26th place.

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William Byron reflects on Hendrick Motorsports' success at Watkins Glen

Although no Hendrick Motorsports drivers broke into the top 10 at Watkins Glen this year, the team boasts a stellar record at the track. Over the last five races, it was a Hendrick Motorsports driver who has consistently emerged victorious. Chase Elliott secured victories in 2018 and 2019 driving the #9 Chevy.

Although the 2020 race was relocated to Daytona due to COVID-19, the team resumed its winning ways upon returning to Watkins Glen, with Kyle Larson clinching wins in 2021 and 2022, followed by William Byron in 2023.

Byron shared insights into the team's road course mastery:

"I think we’ve had pretty good road course stuff for like a little less than a decade and I feel like it just builds on itself even though there was a car chance. We actually did struggle with this car on the road courses initially, like quite a bit. And then once we figured out kind of what it needed, it seemed like we have smart drivers, smart crew chiefs, like we all [kind of] contribute and we get a package that we like and then we go from there."

Looking ahead, William Byron is ready to compete at Bristol Motor Speedway, where he has an average finish of 17.4 in 10 races.