William Byron Scores First Win of The Season at Atlanta

Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 marked the 116th race hosted by Atlanta Motor Speedway in the series’ history. The 1.54-mile D-shaped oval racetrack debuted a new racing surface with 28 degrees of banking in the turns and 5 degrees on the straightaway. The repave completely transformed the track and created a superspeedway-style of racing with drafting and big wrecks which created one of the most exciting and captivating Atlanta races in recent memory.

LAP 1: Chase Briscoe led the field to green from the pole position alongside Ryan Blaney in the #12 Ford Mustang.

CAUTION – LAP 23: The #16 of Noah Gragson got loose in Turn 2 and made heavy contact with the wall that brought out the caution. Gragson’s day was over due to significant damage on the car.

CAUTION – LAP 45: The yellow flag waved for the competition caution so teams could check tire wear and make adjustments. Joey Logano, Ross Chastain, and William Byron stayed out, with Chastain taking the lead on the restart.

CAUTION – LAP 94: Ross Chastain, in the #1 Chevrolet Camaro, had the right-rear tire go down while leading. The rear of the car stepped out, causing Chastain to hit the wall in Turn 1. Most of the field decided to pit, with the exception of a handful of cars including Daniel Suarez and William Byron – the latter took over the lead.

CAUTION – LAP 100: The yellow came out once again when Kyle Busch and Austin Dillon tangled on the front stretch and collected the #14 of Chase Briscoe and the #42 of Ty Dillon as well. Both Dillon brothers were out of race with damage, while Busch and Briscoe continued after repairs.

STAGE 1 END – LAP 105: The stage finished under caution with William Byron picking up the segment win and the playoff point. Behind Byron, Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, and Erik Jones competed the top five repsectively.

CAUTION – LAP 144: A massive occured when Tyler Reddick, similar to Ross Chastain, had the right-rear tire go down while racing near the front of the field. Reddick spun infront of Kurt Busch and collected 11 other cars including Joey Logano, Austin Cindric, Alex Bowman, and Denny Hamlin.

CAUTION – LAP 155: NASCAR waved the yellow flag for debris on the frontstretch. It was a ‘quickie’ yellow, without any cars coming to pit road.

CAUTION – LAP 200: While leading, the #47 of Ricky Stenhouse Jr also experienced a right-rear tire issue that caused him to snap sideways and collect Austin Cindric in the #2. The #43 of Erik Jones and the #4 of Kevin Harvick were also involved, causing the yellow flag to wave again. Cindric and Stenhouse were finished for the day.

CAUTION – LAP 208: While racing aggresively in the Top 5, The #11 of Denny Hamlin gave several bumps to the rear of Kyle Larson’s #5 Chevrolet. The final bump made Larson loose which caused him to spin and make contact with his teammate, Chase Elliott. Hamlin and Larson both sustained damage and went to the garage where their days came to an end. Elliott’s team was able to make repairs and continue racing near the front of the field.

STAGE 2 END – LAP 210: The segment ended under caution with Ryan Blaney taking the stage victory. Behind Blaney, Chase Elliott, Chase Briscoe, Aric Almirola, and Brad Keselowski completed the Top 5.

CAUTION – LAP 253: NASCAR waved the yellow flag for debris in Turns 3 and 4.

CAUTION – LAP 300: For the 10th time during the race, the caution flag waved when the #38 of Todd Gilliland and the #51 of Cody Ware got together in Turn 2. Both drivers were out of the race.

CAUTION – LAP 308: The race restarted with 16 laps to go which made drivers aggressive as the sense of urgency rose. While racing in the Top 5, the #99 of Daniel Suarez shoved the #10 of Aric Almirola attempting to draft to the lead. Unfortunately, the bump spun Almirola into the infield grass.

CHECKERED FLAG – LAP 325: After taking the lead on the final restart, William Byron managed to hold off Ross Chastain to win his first race of 2022.

RESULTS:

1. William Byron
2. Ross Chastain
3. Kurt Busch
4. Daniel Suarez
5.  Corey LaJoie
6. Chase Elliott
7. Chris Buescher
8. Martin Truex Jr
9. Joey Logano
10. Alex Bowamn
11. Justin Haley
12. Brad Keselowski
13. Bubba Wallace
14. Erik Jones
15. Chae Briscoe
16. Josh Bilicki
17. Ryan Blaney
18. David Ragan
19. BJ McLeod
20. Greg Biffle
21. Kevin Harvick
22. Aric Almirola
23. Christopher Bell
24. Michael McDowell
25. Harrison Burton
26. Cody Ware
27. Todd Gilliland
28. Tyler Reddick
29. Denny Hamlin
30. Kyle Larson
31. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
32. Austin Cindric
33. Kyle Busch
34. Cole Custer
35. Austin Dillon
36. Ty Dillon
37. Noah Gragson