By Aaron Bearden, Motorsports Editor
William Byron’s first top 10 in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series came from the back of the field.
Byron rose from last on the grid after enduring an engine change earlier in the weekend to become one of just 10 drivers to complete all 334 laps on Sunday, earning a 10th-place finish in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.
The race was a slow build for the rookie. He earned his first seven positions quickly, rising in the opening three laps after a crash that damaged teammate Alex Bowman and others.
From there the passing difficulties of the repaved Texas Motor Speedway oval proved challenging.
Texas’ first stage saw Byron rise to 16th. A poor trip to pit road mired him back in traffic before the second stage, and he lost a lap on the ensuing green-flag run. It wasn’t until a caution on Lap 126 allowed the North Carolinian to claim the free pass that he began to claw his way back into contention.
Byron made his way into the top 10 for the first time during the pit stops after the second stage. He would spend the rest of the race in or near the top 10, staying on the lead lap and slotting in 10th at race’s end.
“It feels great to get a top 10,” Byron said afterward. “It obviously takes a lot of things to happen. We didn’t quite have the speed we wanted to. We were really good in practice but I think some of our weaknesses showed up when the rubber laid down on the track a little bit on the bottom groove.”
The run served as a coming-of-age moment for the 20-year-old Byron. He put together a complete race, minimizing mistakes and leading Hendrick Motorsports as he rose to 18th in the championship standings.
Simply put in Byron’s own words, the rookie finished where he believed his team should have at race’s end.
“Overall, I thought it was pretty good,” he said. “So, it was a pretty solid day. We had a ton of things happen but I thought that we ended-up about where we should have.”