CHEVROLET NCS AT PHOENIX: Byron Drives Chevrolet to Fourth Consecutive Win of 2023

William Byron became the first repeat winner of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, powering his No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 to the win at Phoenix Raceway.

·       The win is Byron’s sixth victory in 184 career starts in NASCAR’S premier series.

·       The win marked Byron’s first NASCAR Cup Series victory at Phoenix Raceway. 

·       Chevrolet has now won the first four NASCAR Cup Series points-paying races in 2023 with Byron becoming the series’ first repeat winner of the season.

·       This marks the first time since 2001 that a single manufacturer has won the first four NASCAR Cup Series races in a season, which was last accomplished by Chevrolet.

·       Byron’s victory marked Chevrolet’s 26th NASCAR Cup Series win at Phoenix Raceway, extending its series-leading record at the track.

·       The winningest brand in NASCAR Cup Series history, Chevrolet now has 837 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories.

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1 – Race Winner Quotes

On the two-tire call from crew chief Rudy Fugle:

“I owe the last couple of weeks to him. He’s done a really good job strategy-wise, and execution-wise we’ve done a good job to put ourselves in those positions on the front row with a shot at the end. Thanks to everybody back at Hendrick Motorsports putting together great cars and just doing a great job. It’s a big credit to them, the engine shop, Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and everybody. It’s cool to have Valvoline back on the car with a really historic-looking paint scheme, so it’s nice to get into Victory Lane.”

More on the win:

“Thanks to Valvoline and all the sponsors we have. It’s a great day for us. We weren’t the best car at times. We were really good at the beginning, and it was nice to see it come back our way. It definitely was a top-four car. Rudy made a great decision there and a great pit stop. Execution… that’s what we’ve been good at.”

Importance of late pit stops the last two weeks and get on the front row for restarts:

“It’s big. You’ve got to have a chance there on the front row to really have clean air on your nose and make the right moves. We were able to get on the front row there and stay on the outside of Kyle the second time and have a good enough restart. Those green-white-checkers, you can either wreck or win. We’ve been on the good side of them for a couple of weeks.”

Momentum of two wins in a row:

“It’s great. This team has been working really hard. We didn’t want to stop last week, and we just wanted to keep it going. We have more work to do but hopefully this week is a little bit calmer and we can relax a little bit.”

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL TOP-10 RESULTS:

POS.   DRIVER

1st      WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 VALVOLINE CAMARO ZL1

4th      KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 HENDRICKCARS.COM CAMARO ZL1

8th      KYLE BUSCH, NO. 8 CHEDDAR’S SCRATCH KITCHEN CAMARO ZL1

9th      ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY BEST FRIENDS CAMARO ZL1

10th    JOSH BERRY, NO. 9 KELLEY BLUE BOOK CAMARO ZL1 

TOP-FIVE UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:

POS.  DRIVER

1st      William Byron (Chevrolet)

2nd      Ryan Blaney (Ford)

3rd      Tyler Reddick (Toyota)

4th      Kyle Larson (Chevrolet)

5th      Kevin Harvick (Ford)

The 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season continues at Atlanta Motor Speedway with the Ambetter Health 400 on Sunday, March 19, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY RACE HIGHLIGHTS: 

Stage One

·       Kyle Larson (No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1) topped the charts in both the NASCAR Cup Series’ practice and qualifying sessions, leading the field to the green from the pole position for the first time this season.

·       The 60-lap Stage One went caution-free with William Byron (No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1) leading the field to the checkered flag to take his third stage win of the season.

·       Hendrick Motorsports teammates Byron and Larson led every lap of Stage One (Byron – 59 laps; Larson – one lap).

·       Four Chevrolet drivers scored stage points with top-10 finishes in Stage One:

1st     William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1

2nd    Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

7th     Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1

10th   Kyle Busch, No. 8 Cheddar’s Scratch Kitchen Camaro ZL1

Stage Two

·       Stage Two only saw one caution with green-flag pit stops playing a crucial role in track position during the duration of the stage. 

·       After leading 120 of the 125 laps in the stage, Larson powered his No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 to the Stage Two win, marking his first stage win of the season.

·       Chevrolet drivers have now taken seven of the eight stage wins thus far this season: (Chastain – three; Byron – three; Larson – one).

·       At the conclusion of the stage, Chevrolet drivers had led 184 of the 185 laps, recorded by three different drivers (Larson – 121 laps; Byron – 62 laps; Chastain – one lap).

·       With a round of pit stops taking place at the conclusion of Stage Two, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1 pit crew got Larson off pit road first to give the team a front-row starting spot for the start of the final stage.

·       Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10

1st      Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Camaro ZL1

2nd     William Byron, No. 24 Valvoline Camaro ZL1

9th      Ross Chastain, No. 1 Kubota Camaro ZL1