By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
The end of the opening stage in Monday’s Gander RV was particulary important for two drivers: Joey Logano and second-year Hendrick Motorsports talent William Byron.
As they ran near the front throuhgout the first 120-lap stage, the two decided to go for stage points, flipping their pit strategy with the majority of the front-runners.
For Byron, it hit hard.
Finishing sixth in the first stage, a pit stop to start Stage 2 put the No. 24 Chevrolet to the rear of the field. And on a day where passing wasn’t an easy task, the North Carolinian wasn’t moving fast.
“Coming from the back that one time, it took me the whole race to get back there,” Byron said. “Us and the No. 22 worked our way back to wherever we were at the end of Stage 2. Then, it took another 130 laps to get any further.”
Finishing eighth after a 131-lap green run to the end, it was only his second top-10 finish of 2019 and sixth of his career. Leading five laps under pit cycle mid-race, Byron and crew chief Chad Knaus knew the importance of track position — something they lost following the first stage.
“That was unfortunate. But you could run the top which was nice,” he said. “It may have just been me, but it was hard to pass anybody on the bottom and really beat them on the bottom. I don’t think I passed many guys there all day.
“If they ran up a car length, then I could. But the only passes I made all day were on the top.”
Monday was a positive for most of Hendrick’s four-car organization, as Chase Elliott won the pole, led a race-high 145 laps and finished fifth while Alex Bowman led 16 laps and finished second.
For Byron, a top 10 udner circumstance was a good result to head into the week.
“I thought we made good progress. I knew it would be tough,” he said. “Honestly, the beginning of Stage 2 was the hardest part of our race. If we picked off a few guys quicker, it may have been a better result. We ended up eighth, so not bad.”