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Byron In No. 24 Camaro Gambles For Nascar Win At Richmond, Falls To Hamlin: Video

The No. 24 Nascar Next Gen Camaro ZL1 driven by William Byron took a risk in the last stage of Sunday’s race at Richmond Raceway with sights on the win, but ultimately lost to the No. 11 Toyota TRD Camry of Denny Hamlin.

Instead of pitting for fresher tires as the laps wound down, Byron paced the field on aging tires in hopes that they would maintain grip until the end. Unfortunately, this strategy didn’t pan out quite like the No. 24 Chevy team hoped, as fresher tires proved critical as the race neared completion. Martin Truex Jr., driver of the No. 19 Toyota and last Richmond race winner, pitted long after Byron and began to reel in the No. 24 Camaro.

However, Truex’s No. 19 Toyota began to fall off in the last laps as his tires lost grip. Byron’s No. 24 Camaro suffered a similar fate, opening the door for eventual winner Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota. By the end of the race, Byron had 90 laps on his tires. For reference, Hamlin in the No. 11 Toyota only ran 47 laps on his last set of tires. Second-place finisher Kevin Harvick in the No. 4 Ford Mustang logged 48 laps with his. Byron’s No. 24 Chevy finished third, while Truex wheeled the No. 19 Toyota to a fourth-place finish. Defending Nascar Cup Series champion, Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Camaro, rounded out the top five.

“There at the end, when they told me I was just racing the 19 [Truex], I thought, ‘Ok, I got him,'” said Byron, who won at Las Vegas earlier this year, in a post-race interview. “But then the 4 [Harvick] and the 11 [Hamlin] were on a totally different planet. It’s just part of it. Different tire strategy.”

Polesitter Ryan Blaney in the No. 12 Ford led 128 laps, but finished seventh. Byron’s no. 24 led 122 laps, while Truex in the No. 19 Toyota led 80 laps. Hamlin in the No. 11 led just five – the last five.

Currently, Blaney in the No. 12 Mustang leads the Nascar Cup Series championship, tied for points with the No. 9 Camaro of Chase Elliott. Truex in the No. 19 Toyota is third.

Nascar Cup Series results, Richmond Raceway, April 3, 2022
Finish Start Car Number Driver Team Laps Run Laps Led Car
1 13 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 400 5 Toyota TRD Camry
2 7 4 Kevin Harvick Mobil 1 Triple Action Formula Ford 400 0 Ford Mustang
3 2 24 William Byron Liberty University Chevrolet 400 122 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
4 6 19 Martin Truex Jr. Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota 400 80 Toyota TRD Camry
5 21 5 Kyle Larson HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
6 9 20 Christopher Bell SiriusXM Toyota 400 63 Toyota TRD Camry
7 1 12 Ryan Blaney Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford 400 128 Ford Mustang
8 28 48 Alex Bowman Ally Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
9 3 18 Kyle Busch Mars Crunchy Cookie Toyota 400 1 Toyota TRD Camry
10 25 3 Austin Dillon BREZTRI Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
11 4 14 Chase Briscoe Mahindra Tractors Ford 400 0 Ford Mustang
12 16 8 Tyler Reddick Guaranteed Rate Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
13 19 6 Brad Keselowski Violet Defense Ford 400 0 Ford Mustang
14 15 9 Chase Elliott A SHOC Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
15 18 17 Chris Buescher Violet Defense Ford 400 0 Ford Mustang
16 14 99 Daniel Suarez CommScope Chevrolet 400 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
17 11 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 399 1 Ford Mustang
18 17 21 Harrison Burton # Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford 399 0 Ford Mustang
19 8 1 Ross Chastain ONX Homes/iFly Chevrolet 399 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
20 20 2 Austin Cindric # Discount Tire Ford 399 0 Ford Mustang
21 10 10 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 398 0 Ford Mustang
22 12 41 Cole Custer HaasTooling.com Ford 398 0 Ford Mustang
23 5 43 Erik Jones FOCUSfactor Chevrolet 398 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
24 30 42 Ty Dillon Chevyliners.com Chevrolet 398 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
25 22 38 Todd Gilliland # Black's Tire Ford 397 0 Ford Mustang
26 29 23 Bubba Wallace Dr Pepper Toyota 397 0 Toyota TRD Camry
27 26 16 AJ Allmendinger(i) Action Industries Chevrolet 396 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
28 32 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. SunnyD Chevrolet 396 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
29 36 31 Justin Haley LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet 396 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
30 24 34 Michael McDowell Navage Nasal Care Ford 395 0 Ford Mustang
31 31 7 Corey LaJoie Nations Guard Chevrolet 392 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
32 23 77 Landon Cassill(i) Voyager: Crypto for All Chevrolet 390 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
33 35 15 JJ Yeley(i) Nabor Force Ford 390 0 Ford Mustang
34 34 78 BJ McLeod Surface Sunscreen/MaintenanceSupplies.com Ford 386 0 Toyota TRD Camry
35 27 45 Kurt Busch Embrace Home Loans Toyota 291 0 Toyota TRD Camry
36 33 51 Cody Ware Nurtec ODT Ford 241 0 Ford Mustang
37 37 44 * Greg Biffle Norfolk State University Chevrolet 96 0 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
  • * – Rookie
  • i – Points ineligible
  • * – Part-time driver

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Alexandra is a Colorado-based journalist with a passion for all things involving horsepower, be it automotive or equestrian.

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