"I didn’t really have a chance," claims William Byron after finishing third at NASCAR Bristol race

In the first round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron managed to secure the third position on Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race ended with a consecutive victory for a non-playoff driver, with Chris Buescher taking the win.

The #24 Acronis Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver's P3 finish was his best result of the Round of 16. He was among three drivers, Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell being the other two, to earn a top 10 finish in all three races in the opening round of the playoffs.

William Byron claimed to have tried very hard to ensure that he had avoided all the troubles by all means. Speaking during the post-race interview, he said:

“Honestly, with this Next Gen car, the pace is so fast around here and I didn’t really have a chance to see what was going on around me. I would see guys up in the wall, having flat tire issues or blowing up, so I just tried to avoid it. Our team did a great job tonight. We were a little bit timid early and didn’t really quite have the car in stage one. We wanted to get those points so we could advance. And then they told me after stage one that we were locked in.”

He added:

“We were a little bit freer after that. We really didn’t change much, but we got the car better and had a good second and final stage. I’m really proud of this team. This whole round, we’ve been getting better each race. Just really proud of the effort. After a rough summer, this is really good to see how we brought ourselves to the playoffs. Thank you to all of our partners and supporters back home. We’re really excited.”

Although he has struggled at Bristol Motor Speedway, William Byron is among the 12 NASCAR drivers who will advance to the Round of 12. He was also one of three Hendrick Motorsports cars in the top five for his first top-five and best total finish since winning Martinsville in April. Following a season downturn, Byron played a strong Round of 16 performance, finishing eighth, sixth, and third.

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How William Byron managed to secure 3rd place at Bristol Motor Speedway

William Byron started the race in 16th place and gained four positions in the first six laps. He shifted to a higher groove to see if he could make time there. When the caution came out on Lap 43, the 24-year-old was still in 12th place. Byron pitted for four tires, fuel, and an air pressure adjustment, and his team completed the pit stop in 10.41 seconds. At the end of Stage 1, Byron managed to secure 9th place.

William Byron then restarted 19th on Lap 134, and on the fourth caution, he managed to jump to the 18th position on Lap 180. Under the yellow flag, the driver informed his team that he approved of the most recent set of changes. On Lap 146, he remained out to restart from that spot and rejoined the top 15 on Lap 177. After working hard in Stage 2, Byron jumped to the top 10 in the 8th position.

Byron kept track of his position in the final stages. For the Lap 260 restart, he was third in the running order. On the restart, he moved into second place but was passed by teammate Kyle Larson a few laps later. Byron was third when the caution came out on Lap 271 for Kyle Busch. On Lap 277, he stayed out to restart third.

Later, he gained four positions on pit road with a 10.54-second stop, allowing him to restart third on Lap 444. William Byron maintained his lead throughout the final lap to earn his fifth top-five finish of the season.