“How’s That For Fuel Mileage?” Byron Stretches 144 Laps From One Tank to Win in Iowa

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron drove an incredible 144-lap fuel stint to cling onto victory in the NASCAR Cup Series, mere seconds ahead of rivals.

He previously lost a dominant victory at the Coca-Cola 600 when he ran out of fuel in the final laps, but the no. 24 team remained focused and delivered a high-risk, high-reward strategy to reclaim first place in the regular season standings.

The Iowa Corn 350 Powered by Ethanol marked the return to NASCAR Cup Series racing on NBC. Iowa Speedway is a one-mile oval, partially repaved last year for the inaugural Iowa 350 and presents a unique challenge: a short track that races like an intermediate.

Chase Briscoe started on the pole – his seventh front-row start and fifth pole in 11 races. Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron started on his inside on row one.

At the drop of the green flag, Byron cleared Briscoe on the inside and established an early lead. Penske’s Austin Cindric and RFK’s Brad Keselowski followed suit and broke away in the early laps of stage one.

Keselowski, then fastest man on the racetrack, passed Cindric with relative ease but lapped traffic gave the leaders a hassle – Noah Gragson in particular. The laps ticked by: Byron and Keselowski battled each other but failed to clear the lapped traffic, taking away their passing opportunities.

With only three to go in stage one, Byron’s no. 24 Chevy slid up the race track, enabling Keselowski to complete the move after 42 laps of persistent pressure. Cindric also slipped by the no. 24 to finish stage one in second place.

Stage break pit stops saw Briscoe reclaim the lead, followed by Byron, Blaney, Keselowski and Cindric. Briscoe started outside the no. 24 instantly cleared the Chevy with a perfect getaway. Blaney followed through to pressure the no. 19.

60 laps into stage two, Keselowski worked past Blaney, who slipped up while pressuring Briscoe for the lead among lapped traffic – including Gragson again. 

At lap 140 – half-way through stage two – green flag pit stops began. Of the leaders, Byron was first to blink on lap 147. Briscoe followed nine laps later with numerous adjustments. 

A caution came out on lap 170 courtesy of Shane Van Gisbergen getting loose on entry at turns one and two, and spinning into the wall. All drivers yet to pit in stage two were huge benactors.

What happened over the next 100 laps was nothing short of crazy: over 70 yellow flag laps under 11 different cautions across the remainder of stage two and the opening half of stage three.

Then the strategy fell into the hands of those who took advantage of cautions for fuel stops. A full tank of Sunoco fuel was projected to last 115 laps, but Byron took his last fuel stop with 144 laps to go. Each passing caution helped his cause, but it would be a huge task for the Hendrick driver to complete the race, let alone win.

A long green-flag run saw Briscoe, Keselowski and Blaney challenging the leader but nobody could get close enough – despite relentless calls from crew chief Rudy Fugle to “back it up,” in an effort to stretch the fuel mileage.

Leigh Diffey on NBC commentary kept those wsatching firmly at the edge of their seats as the laps ticked down – until Byron could power across the line to win the second Cup Series race at Iowa.

He even had enough in the tank to celebrate with a victory burnout. The double Daytona 500 champion has shown relentless consistency in his fight for the regular season championship. Missed opportunities through poor strategy in the Coca-Cola 600 and Goodyear 400 – and as recently as Indianapolis last week – have not derailed the team: “this team doesn’t quit,” said Byron.

“How about that for some fuel mileage?” He joked as he stepped from his RAPTOR no. 24 Chevy.

“We’ve been through a lot this year, it’s been a lot of growing pains. It’s been tough on us, but it feels really good today… I feel like our speed’s been better than it’s ever been and that’s a that’s a big reason why we we stay confident.”

William Byron’s second win of the year saw him reclaim the regular season championship lead over Hendrick team-mate Chase Elliott. The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen, NY, next week for some classic road course racing to decide the final spots in the Playoffs.