In 2022, William Byron recorded his first multi-win season in the NASCAR Cup Series after eight races. In 2023, he only needed four races to achieve that.
After winning at Las Vegas last week in an overtime finish, déjà vu probably washed over Byron in Sunday’s United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway as he scored yet another victory in overtime.
Byron dominated the first stage by leading every lap but the first, which was by his Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson, to win the segment. He fell back in Stage #2 due to a poor pit stop and had to work back through the order.
At the front, Larson dominated the second stage to win before Kevin Harvick took the lead on lap 269. Unfortunately for Harvick, he could not put much distance on the field as Harrison Burton spun on lap 303 due to a shredded right-front tyre, and Harvick would lose seven spots on pit road. This shuffled Larson back into first for the ensuing restart, only for A.J. Allmendinger, Ty Gibbs, and Noah Gragson to wreck together after just one lap and trigger overtime.
Larson and Byron comprised the front row for overtime and raced side by side until Ryan Blaney tried to get involved. Riding along the outside, Byron cleared the two then drove off to the win while Blaney was left trying to fend off Tyler Reddick for second.
“Last year, even though we won early, we didn’t really know the car or understand the car,” commented Byron. “We were kind of just adapting to what we had. We were just making the most of an unpredictable situation with the entire field. There was a lot of attrition in the races, a lot of just weird things that were happening.
“I feel like now, it’s strength on strength. It feels different. It feels like we’re more consistently towards the front and we’re leading laps.
“We just want to focus on our processes during the week. I think our processes this week were kind of frustrating because we didn’t really get to do the things we wanted to do. Everyone was a little tired. There was a lot going on on the outside. It was a little frustrating going into today, but it’s cool to see that we can overcome those things and still get a win.”
Harvick finished fifth to continue an impressive streak of scoring a top ten at Phoenix in every race since the fall 2013 event, a run of twenty.
“That one is not fun to swallow,” said Harvick. “We had a great car and didn’t need that caution at the end. We had a strong car and a chance to win. Just hate missing an opportunity when you have a car that strong.”
All four Hendrick cars finished in the top ten, with Josh Berry scoring his best Cup finish in relief of Chase Elliott in tenth.
Race results
| Finish | Start | Number | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Status |
| 1 | 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 2 | 8 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 3 | 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 317 | Running |
| 4 | 1 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 5 | 15 | 4 | Kevin Harvick | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 6 | 5 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 317 | Running |
| 7 | 24 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 8 | 9 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 9 | 18 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 10 | 17 | 9 | Josh Berry* | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 11 | 16 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 12 | 25 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 13 | 7 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 14 | 19 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 317 | Running |
| 15 | 21 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 16 | 30 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 17 | 13 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 317 | Running |
| 18 | 4 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 317 | Running |
| 19 | 23 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 20 | 22 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 21 | 10 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 22 | 11 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 23 | 2 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 317 | Running |
| 24 | 6 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing Team | Chevrolet | 317 | Running |
| 25 | 20 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 316 | Running |
| 26 | 28 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 316 | Running |
| 27 | 26 | 31 | Justin Haley | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 316 | Running |
| 28 | 14 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 316 | Running |
| 29 | 32 | 42 | Noah Gragson | Legacy Motor Club | Chevrolet | 316 | Running |
| 30 | 35 | 77 | Ty Dillon | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 315 | Running |
| 31 | 34 | 38 | Zane Smith* | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 315 | Running |
| 32 | 29 | 15 | Todd Gilliland | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 314 | Running |
| 33 | 31 | 10 | Aric Almirola | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 313 | Running |
| 34 | 36 | 51 | Cody Ware | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 311 | Running |
| 35 | 27 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 310 | Running |
| 36 | 33 | 78 | B.J. McLeod | Live Fast Motorsports | Chevrolet | 50 | Fuel Pump |
* – Ineligible for points