William Byron, driving the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, ran out of fuel late in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a critical error that prevented a strong finish. The 27-year-old driver explained that an early pit stop combined with unexpected multiple green-white-checkered restarts ultimately depleted their fuel supply.
Byron’s team pitted on lap 118, one lap before competitor Bubba Wallace, who later claimed victory. The race experienced a rain delay on lap 157, which led to overtime. The first restart on lap 162 was soon followed by a multi-car collision involving Zane Smith and Tyler Reddick, triggering a second overtime. On the final lap, Byron’s car ran dry on the backstretch while running third.
Comparing Strategies: Lessons From Michigan to Indianapolis
Prior to the race at Iowa Speedway, Byron reflected on the fuel strategy issues at the 2.5-mile Indy oval, contrasting it with a similar challenge faced at Michigan International Speedway. He indicated that while Michigan forced more precise calculations, Indy roughly aligned with their initial estimates, but lacked extra fuel reserves to contend with unforeseen race extensions.
“Michigan probably forced us to get a little bit more calculated with our predictions, and then, Indy probably was just about what we predicted; we just didn’t have any in reserve,” Byron said via Dustin Long.
“Michigan was the situation where we were short on fuel, no matter what. We filled the car as much as we could. But we were short, based on the length of the run and having cleaner air, and then Indy, we weren’t expecting to have so many green-white checkered.”
“We were on the early side of pitting there on the green flag cycle. It was planning on being good for one green-white checkered… unfortunately, that didn’t happen.”
Race Results and Standings Impact After Brickyard 400
Bubba Wallace secured the win at Indianapolis, with Kyle Larson finishing second after battling through two overtimes. Denny Hamlin, Ryan Preece, and Brad Keselowski filled out the top five. Willam Byron dropped to 16th following his fuel issue.
Byron has one win this season at the Daytona 500, along with seven top-five finishes and 11 top-10 placements. In the overall points standings, he is currently second, sandwiched between Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott, who leads, and Kyle Larson in third.
Byron’s Frustration Grows After Dover Setback
Following the recent race at Dover Motor Speedway, Byron voiced his disappointment after an incident on lap 393 ended his run prematurely. Having competed consistently near the front, Byron was frustrated to lose his points lead to teammate Chase Elliott following the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400.
“Last weekend (was) a tough one. We ran basically in the top five all day just to get involved in someone else’s mess at the end. It sucks, but we have to move on now.”
With Chase Elliott now holding a four-point advantage over Byron, he is favored to win the regular-season championship, which grants 15 additional playoff points valuable for progressing through NASCAR’s postseason rounds.