William Byron turns rough first half into Kansas top-5
KANSAS CITY, KAN. — As quickly as William Byron’s fortunes faded in the first half of Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, it brightened again in the second half.
Byron started on the pole Sunday at Kansas Speedway. Then, he dropped to ninth before a lap 35 pit stop. During that stop, he caught a drive-through penalty for speeding on pit road.
Byron fell two laps down and caught the wavearound on lap 109. He did it all over again between then and lap 139. This time, though, he got the lucky dog on lap 149 and got back on the lead lap.
Byron and his team maneuvered four cautions from laps 159-195 and cracked the top-5 again on lap 202.
Then, remarkably, the young Hendrick Motorsports driver passed dominant teammate Kyle Larson and took the lead on lap 212.
Although Larson retook the lead eight laps later, Byron finished third. While he didn’t earn any stage points, he gained two spots in the championship points and remained 73 points behind leader Ross Chastain.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com
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