William Byron Led 161 of 175 laps turned in Saturday’s UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on his way to claiming his first win in the CWTS Chase. Byron made it look easy on his way to advancing to the second round of the playoffs and his trip to Victory Lane. The win was the rookie’s sixth on the 2016 season.
“I wore myself out passing some lappers,” William Byron said. “But with the amount of laps we had left, I thought I’d be OK. I was afraid the 4 (Bell) was going to catch us there at the end. We started to get tight, but that’s what happens sometimes when you get out front. It was really good – just a great race for us. I can’t thank these guys enough. Everyone at KBM, (sponsor) Liberty University – it’s just really cool to get a win here in the Chase. It feels awesome.”
Runner-up Christopher Bell, William Byron’s teammate, made it as close a race as he could in the closing laps. The Kyle Busch Motorsports closed in as Byron was mired in lapped traffic. He narrowed the gap from 1.325 seconds to .430 seconds with just five rotations to go.
Nevertheless, Christopher Bell ran out of time and finished less than half a second behind the #9 Liberty Toyota of William Byron. Two-time series champion Matt Crafton followed in third, Tyler Reddick fourth and Timothy Peters rounded out the top five in fifth.
The CWTS Chase field will be trimmed from eight to six drivers after the next to races. Ben Kennedy and Daniel Hemric dropped below the cut-off line with their efforts on Friday. Kennedy ended his contest in the 11th position and now trails 11th Johnny Sauter (10th) by one point.
Ben Kennedy’s outcome didn’t compare to the tragedy that Daniel Hemric suffered through. Hemric spun his truck after cutting a tire only 25 revolutions into the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Speedway. As a result, his hot-rod suffered a severed brake line that caused him to head to the garage for repairs.
Daniel Hemric forfeited 33 revolutions under repairs, and finished 28th. Unfortunately, the young speedster fell to last place in the playoff standings. Furthermore, the Brad Keselowski Racing driver is 21 points behind Johnny Sauter with two races left in the first round. As a result, Hemric will have to win one of those two events, at Las Vegas and Talladega, to advance to the Round of 6.
Cody Caughlin managed to grab the lead from William Byron when Byron went to the pits on lap 54. Furthermore, Christopher Bell, Spencer Gallagher, and Ben Kennedy all passed the rookie phenom during his stop. The other drivers all decided to just take two tires and fuel instead of a full set of new rubber.
The strategy only paid off for 15 circuits and William Byron re-took the lead from Christopher Bell on Lap 69. That was the last time any driver would see any time in the front of the field. Bell gained ground in the final laps, but Byron was trying to save his tires in case of a late race caution.
John Hunter Nemecheck finished out his evening in ninth. However, he will likely face penalties from NASCAR officials when his truck failed post-race inspections. The
#8 Chevrolet of Nemecheck’s was deemed two low to the ground. Any penalties that will be enforced will be announced later in the week.
Cameron Hayley narrowly missed making the Chase field in the last race of the regular season. He impressively stayed in the top 10 for most of the event and it also looked as if he was on his way to a top five performance. Despicably, a loose wheel on his pit stop placed him a lap down and he finished out the race in the 19th spot.
William Byron exited New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a 16 point lead in the standings. With the win, he is guaranteed a spot in the second round of six. Matt Crafton is 11 points above the cutoff line and is also second in the Chase standings.
The UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Speedway took just under two hours to complete. The average speed of the field was 94.343 miles per hour and the margin of victory was .446 seconds. There were also eight cautions for 41 laps in the event at New Hampshire Speedway.
The race had three different lead changes between three different competitors. William Byron received the Keystone 21 Means 21 Pole Position Award for his qualifying efforts before the race. Byron also drove off with the Mobil 1 Driver of the Race award and the Sunoco Rookie of the Race honors. Joe Gibbs Engines won the coveted MAHLE Clevite Engine Builders of the Race Award.
Chase Standings After the UNOH 175 at New Hampshire Speedway:
William Byron
Matt Crafton (-16)
Christopher Bell (-17
John Hunter Nemechek (-22)
Timothy Peters (-24)
Johnny Sauter (-26)
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Ben Kennedy (-27)
Daniel Hemric (-47)
