Byron comes up one spot short of Charlotte sweep

William Byron acknowledged that losing the Coca-Cola 600 was tough, but also a valuable lesson.

He dominated Sunday night with 283 of 400 laps led and swept three stages, but he lost the lead and the win to Ross Chastain with five laps to go.

“I felt like I put a couple of good defensive moves on and then just really didn’t get through [Turns] 3 and 4 – got really loose over there – and that was really it,” Byron said. “He had a huge run down the frontstretch and I tried to protect against that, but it was too much.”

Because of the extra stage, Byron earned 65 of a potential 71 points. He missed the weekend sweep at Charlotte and missed claiming the first two crown jewel events on the Cup Series schedule by one position.

He wasn't the first driver to encounter an issue in Turns 3 and 4. It's the roughest part of the 1.5-mile racetrack, in part because of the bumps in those corners.

The first incident of the night was for Byron’s teammate, Kyle Larson, who smacked the wall and then spun off Turn 4 a few laps later. Jimmie Johnson caused a caution when he got loose in Turn 3 and spun.

“I was trying really hard; if anything, just overstepped it a little bit,” Byron said. “The moment in [Turns] 3 and 4, I got super loose and was able to hang onto it, but lost a bunch of momentum, and that’s what gave him the run down the frontstretch. If I try to defend anymore into [Turn] 1, I probably get loose and crash.

“So I thought I put a good block on at the end of the straightaway and was just going to run the top to keep momentum, and he was able to clear me.”

Sunday night was the second time this season Byron has led the most laps and swept the stages, but came up empty. He also led over 200 laps at Darlington Raceway and finished second.

“It’s frustrating,” Byron said. “I don’t really have any words for it. I wish we won.”

The disappointment and miss aside, Byron is back atop the Cup Series championship standings.

“Tough, but it’s a good lesson,” Byron said. “I’m sure there is a bigger plan in the future, so I just have to understand what that is and keep working. I feel that my team and I have good abilities right now, and we need to capitalize on them. It sucks.”