HAMPTON, Ga. – William Byron managed to keep an angry pack of drafting cars behind him for the final 10 laps of Sunday’s Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
In a race that produced 46 lead changes among 20 drivers — both track records — Byron crossed the finish line .109 seconds ahead of Christopher Bell and .145 seconds ahead of Ross Chastain.
Bell, however, was penalized for passing below the boundary line on the backstretch on the final lap and was demoted to 23rd, the last position on the lead lap. That elevated Chastain to his second straight runner-up finish.
Byron took the lead from Bubba Wallace on Lap 316 of 325 and held it the rest of the way.
There were 11 caution periods for a total of 65 laps. Only 23 of the 37 drivers in the race finished on the lead lap.
Stage 1 Winner: William Byron of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Ryan Blaney of Team Penske (Ford)
SHR Race Finish:
● Chase Briscoe (Started 1st, Finished 15th / Running, completed 325 of 325 laps)
● Kevin Harvick (Started 8th, Finished 21st / Running, completed 325 of 325 laps)
● Aric Almirola (Started 10th, Finished 22nd / Running, completed 325 of 325 laps)
● Cole Custer (Started 20th, Finished 34th / Accident, completed 150 of 325 laps)
SHR Points:
● Chase Briscoe (3rd with 155 points, 15 out of first)
● Aric Almirola (7th with 143 points, 27 out of first)
● Kevin Harvick (15th with 126 points, 44 out of first)
● Cole Custer (29th with 76 points, 94 out of first)
Briscoe earned his third top-15 of the season and his second top-15 in three career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Atlanta. This was Briscoe’s second straight top-15. He won last Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. Briscoe’s 15th-place finish equaled the previous best result at Atlanta, as he finished 15th last July. Briscoe finished third in Stage 2 to earn eight bonus points. Briscoe led once for five laps – his first laps led at Atlanta.
Harvick led twice for 11 laps to increase his laps-led total at Atlanta to a series-best 1,359. Harvick has now led 11,368 laps since joining SHR in 2014. He has led 15,794 laps in his entire NASCAR Cup Series career.
Almirola finished fourth in Stage 2 to earn seven bonus points. Almirola led once for six laps to increase his laps-led total at Atlanta to 50.
Chase Elliott leaves Atlanta as the championship leader with a seven-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
