After spending three years at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the NASCAR Cup Series CLASH made its way to Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time. Action kicked off Saturday evening with timed-practice and heat races. William Byron laid down the 11th-fastest time in his No. 24 Chevrolet, slating him to start third in the third heat race. When the green-flag waved on the 25-lap race, the Charlotte, North Carolina, native kept his position and maintained it until the checkered flag, locking himself into the main event Sunday.
Starting 11th for Sunday night’s main event, Byron ran side-by-side for the opening laps before settling into the 13th position after 10 laps. Just as he made the pass to take over 12th, the caution came out on lap 21. Choosing the outside lane on the restart, Byron restarted 12th but unfortunately got trapped, slipping back to 15th. As the green-flag run went on, the handling of Byron’s No. 24 Chevy was too loose to handle. The 27-year-old driver did his best to maintain track position but dropped to 19th. Unfortunately while battling for position on lap 77, Byron was squeezed into the outside wall, sending him around. Taking a trip behind the wall, crew chief Rudy Fugle gave his driver the “all clear” allowing him to return to the track one lap down. Byron was able to finish out the final 22 laps on track before the caution came out for the halfway break. Scored the first car one lap down, Byron was able to be scored on the lead lap. Under the yellow, the No. 24 team changed tires and made massive chassis and air pressure adjustments to try to aid in Byron’s handling.
For the second half of the 200-lap event, Byron restarted 22nd. With a string of consecutive cautions to start the half, Byron worked his way up to 16th by lap 109. Looking to continue his forward momentum, the driver of the No. 24 was unfortunately involved in another on-track incident. After the spin, Byron lined up 23rd for the restart and once again did his best to move his way forward. As a long green-flag run ensued, Byron raced his way up to 17th with 50 laps remaining. However, the handling of the No. 24 Chevy began to go away again with Byron slipping to 18th and ultimately went one lap down with 20 laps to go. With the race going green to the end, Byron crossed the finish line in the 18th position.