Jeff Gordon, one of the NASCAR Cup Series’ all-time top 75 drivers, celebrated throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway with a milestone moment.
But first, the owner of the No. 24 Chevrolet team, took time to walk over to the brick wall along pit row to shake the right hand of William Byron. The Hendrick Motorsports driver took advantage of additional Ross Chastain disorder to capture Sunday’s Goodyear 400 in overtime, giving the garage its 100 all-time checkered flag.
“Just incredible to see,” Gordon told Fox Sports. “This young driver and team continue to go to Victory Lane and keep that legacy alive. Especially today with the special paint scheme, that throwback. It meant a lot for me.”
For Kyle Larson, the ending of Sunday’s event meant something different.
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
Jeff Gordon: ‘Hate It For The No. 5 Team’
Racing for first place on Lap 288, Chastain beat Larson off a restart, but attempted to squeeze the 2021 Cup Series champion and ended up wrecking both contenders.
For Larson, it marked the third time this season that the controversial Chastain knocked him out of a race. Unlike Noah Gragson last week at Kansas Speedway, however, Larson didn’t charge into the No. 1 Chevrolet’s pit area and challenge the “Melan Man” to a fight.
Instead, Larson calmly exited the wrecked No. 5 Chevrolet and offered no immediate comments.
On the team radio, Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels reacted in real time: “How does that make any sense, running us into the fence? That‘s three races he’s taken us out of.”
Gordon, who was sitting in the No. 24 team’s box, reacted to the “wild finish.”
Even though Byron benefitted from Chastain’s over-aggressive move, Gordon, the Hall-of-Fame driver, understood Larson’s frustration. If Chastain raced Larson without the squeeze, one of the two likely would have claimed the checkered flag.
“Hate it for the No. 5 team,” Gordon said. “I think it was theirs to win.”
Larson ended up P2o, but was running. Chastain, who entered Sunday in the points lead, placed 29th and departed the facility on a tow truck. He has yet to win a race this season.
William Byron burns 'em down at Darlington with his Jeff Gordon #NASCARThrowback scheme. pic.twitter.com/SOKANBnRZs
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
William Byron: ‘Things Have A Way Of Working Out’
Byron’s win was his third of the season and seventh of his career. Gordon, the four-time Cup champ, piloted the No. 24 team to 93 wins from 1993-2015.
Byron was in the lead with two laps remaining last year at Darlington until Joey Logano’s machine swept him aside.
On Sunday, it was Chastain sweeping away the two leaders, opening an opportunity for Byron, who pulled away from Kevin Harvick during a green-white-checkered conclusion. Byron was fighting different emotions Sunday, claiming his seventh career Cup win four days after his grandfather died.
Byron’s teammate, Chase Elliott placed third, earning his best finish since returning from a broken leg he sustained while snowboarding.
Generally hard on his performances, Elliott wasn’t pleased with how things played out.
“I’ll certainly take third (but) I did a terrible job getting up through traffic,” Elliott told Fox Sports. “I was real lucky at the end with those guys crashing.”
“It’s pretty amazing,” said Byron, the Cup Series’ first three-race winner this season. “Things have a way of working out.”
When it comes to Chastain, however, things aren’t working out too well for Larson.
“[Ross is] gonna make a lot of enemies, and it’s hard to win a championship when you’ve got a lot of paybacks out there.”
Hear from Rick Hendrick on the incident between Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain.
(via @TreyLyleVT): pic.twitter.com/JumCG941pH
— Frontstretch (@Frontstretch) May 15, 2023
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