William Byron drops a hot take after a heartbreaking defeat to Christopher Bell: “I didn’t wanna move him blatantly”

William Byron let his feelings known after a close battle with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell on Sunday at COTA. The race marked Bell’s second consecutive victory of the season.

Bell took the lead from Kyle Busch with just five laps to go. Byron and Tyler Reddick were right behind, chasing the lead. The Hendrick Motorsports ace tried his best to clear Bell, but the latter’s Camry was faster.

But there was a time when Bell got loose during his battle with Busch. At that moment, Byron was waiting for either one of them to slide their tires and thus lose momentum. Reflecting on the same during a post-race interview, Byron said,

“I was really close. I felt like the battle between him and Kyle...sitting there waiting for one of them to bobble or slide their tires. Bell got by him and I felt like once he got clear, his car was super loose and it kind of gave me a couple shots...I just couldn't get beside him.”

Byron could have gone berserk and moved Bell out of the way. But he didn’t want to wreck Bell’s No. 20. They share a great relationship on the track and Byron didn’t want to ruin it.

“We've always raced really well together, so I didn't wanna move him blatantly,” William Byron added.

Byron placed second, while Reddick finished third. Busch ended up fifth, marking his first top-five of the season. For the NASCAR Cup Series regulars, next up is the Shriners Children’s 500 scheduled for Sunday, March 9.

Fans can watch the 312-lap race on FOX Sports 1 from 3:30 pm ET onwards. Alternatively, they can listen to its live radio coverage on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

William Byron explains what makes winning the Daytona 500 back-to-back so difficult

On February 16, William Byron did something that has been accomplished only once in the last three decades of the crown jewel Daytona 500. And that is him winning the historic event back to back.

In its past 66 years of running, the Daytona 500 had witnessed only four Cup Series drivers bagging consecutive victories; Richard “The King” Petty, Cale Yarborough, Sterling Marlin, and Denny Hamlin. In its 67th year, Byron joined the list as the fifth driver to pull off the feat.

Ahead of the famed 500-miler, Byron told Motorsport.com,

“It's really tough. There's a lot that goes into this race and it's difficult to make it to the end, much less to win. I think the goal has to be to have a really good week leading up (to the Daytona 500) and being able to kind of manage it from there.”

“I know why it's been so difficult but I don't know why it hasn't happened more often. I just think it's the nature of the race and how crazy it gets towards the end of the race,” he added.

Winning the Daytona 500 is what got him a spot in the 2025 playoffs. He was also the first driver to make the postseason. As of today, he tops the Cup Series standings with 116 points to his name. His HMS teammate Chase Elliott is tied with Christopher Bell in P4 with 95 points to their names.