William Byron dominates at Watkins Glen, full finishing order, updated playoff

William Byron on Sunday proved once again that when a Hendrick Motorsports entry dials everything in, they are nearly unbeatable.

Byron led 63 of 90 laps en route to a dominant win at the Go Bowling at the Glen. Byron benefitted from a pit-lane violation committed by then-leader Michael McDowell on the first round of green-flag pit stops, assumed the lead on McDowell’s pass through and never looked back. Pole-sitter Denny Hamlin never could muster enough to mount a serious challenge to the No. 24 machine, which had opened up a three-second lead by the final lap.

“I did a lot of driving in iRacing this week, got a new simulator at home, so thanks to those guys,” Byron said after his first career road course win.

After the elation of last week’s win, McDowell had a nightmare of a day, as the team was penalized on pit road again later in the race for having a man over the wall too early. They later retired the car with engine failure.

While it was all smiles for the No. 24 team, Hendrick teammates Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott were snake-bitten in upstate New York. Larson was in the mix for the win going into the second and final round of green-flag pit stops, but a speeding penalty shuffled him back toward the middle of the field. Larson wound up 26th after an incident with Austin Dillon going into the final corner of the race.

Elliott — in must-win mode to make the playoffs — brought out the only caution of the day on lap 55 when he ran out of fuel on the backstretch. Elliott started 15th and the team opted for an alternative pit strategy hoping things would break their way, but a miscalculation on when to refuel doomed the No. 9.

Go Bowling at the Glen results

1. William Byron (24), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2. Denny Hamlin (11), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

3. Christopher Bell (20), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

4. A.J. Allmendinger (16), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

5. Ty Gibbs (54), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

6. Martin Truex Jr. (19), Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

7. Chris Buescher (17), RFK Racing Ford

8. Tyler Reddick (45), 23XI Racing Toyota

9. Ryan Blaney (12), Team Penske Ford

10. Joey Logano (22), Team Penske Ford

11. Todd Gilliland (38), Front Row Motorsports Ford

12. Bubba Wallace (23), 23XI Racing Toyota

13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (47), JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet

14. Kyle Busch (8), Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

15. Brad Keselowski (6), RFK Racing Ford

16. Austin Cindric (2), Team Penske Ford

17. Ryan Preece (41), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

18. Ross Chastain (1), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

19. Mike Rockenfeller (42), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

20. Corey LaJoie (7), Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

21. Kevin Harvick (4), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

22. Daniel Suárez (99), Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

23. Alex Bowman (48), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

24. Justin Haley (31), Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

25. Andy Lally (15), Rick Ware Racing Ford

26. Kyle Larson (5), Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

27. Josh Bilicki (78), Live Fast Motorsports Ford

28. Cole Custer (51), Rick Ware Racing Ford

29. Erik Jones (43), Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet

30. Aric Almirola (10), Stewart-Haas Racing Ford

31. 

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