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William Byron’s winning moments and Kyle Larson’s second consecutive disappointing finish are some of the standout moments we witnessed on Sunday at the newly renovated Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Driving the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports, Byron claimed his third NASCAR Cup Series victory at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. The victory marked his first win of the season as well as his first at Atlanta.
The victory also marked the third win of the 2022 season for Hendrick's team. Earlier, Kyle Larson won at WISE Power 400, Alex Bowman won at Pennzoil 400 and now Byron has won the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
The driver of #24 took the lead from Bubba Wallace Jr. in the final 10 laps and held off Ross Chastain and Kurt Busch on the 1.54-mile-long track. He captured the win by 0.145 seconds over Ross Chastain. The 24-year-old overcame quite a few hurdles to win the race.
Expressing his joy at the victory, Byron said:
“It was so different, honestly, the last few laps there and trying to manage the gap to Bubba and trying to not get too far out front. You know, my spotter Brandon (Lines), his first win, so congrats to him. Thanks to this whole team. They’ve done a great job this year.”
In the 2022 season, the first five Cup Series races have seen four different winners so far. Austin Cindric won the Daytona 500, Kyle Larson won the WISE Power 400, Alex Bowman won the Pennzoil 400, Chase Briscoe the Ruoff Mortgage 500 and now William Byron took the checkered flag at Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
Kyle Larson crashes out at Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
The WISE Power 400 winner suffered another disheartening finish on Sunday at the repaved Atlanta Motor Speedway. Before the end of the second stage, Denny Hamlin gave Larson a push in the rear of the #5 Chevrolet Camaro. The push was intense, causing Larson to spin out. Hamlin also suffered severe damage which ended the day for both drivers.
His DNF left him in a critical position in the Cup Series points table, dropping him from 4th to 12th place with him adding only nine points to his tally.
Larson had earlier won at Auto Club Speedway and finished second at Pennzoil 400. He has had three rough races now, including the Daytona 500, Ruoff Mortgage 500 and Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500, in his last five races.
