STAGE ONE: · Making his 200th career NASCAR Cup Series start, William Byron and the No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 team led Team Chevy to the green flag from the seventh-position in the rain-delayed Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. · The first caution of the day fell just short of the competition caution on lap 29. Varying strategies throughout pit road, crew chief Rudy Fugle called Byron in for a two-tire stop. Picking up five positions in the race off pit road, Byron took a front-row spot for the restart on lap 34. · Byron quickly powered his Chevrolet to the top position on the restart – recording his first career laps led in NASCAR’s premier series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. · Byron went on to lead nine circuits around the 1.058-mile oval, ultimately driving his No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 to a second-place finish in Stage One. · Team Chevy Stage One: Top-10 2nd William Byron, No. 24 RaptorTough.com Camaro ZL1 8th Daniel Suarez, No. 99 SLAM! Foundation Camaro ZL1 · At the end of the opening stage, Kyle Busch made contact with that wall, resulting in right-front damage. Taking his No. 8 Lenovo Camaro ZL1 to the garage to evaluate the damage, the team was unable to make repairs, forcing Busch’s early departure from the race. STAGE TWO: · During the stage break caution, Byron brought his Chevrolet to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The second car off pit road, Byron took a front-row starting spot for the beginning of Stage Two. · Running steady in the top-three for the beginning laps of Stage Two, Byron reported to his team that he was fighting tight conditions in his Chevrolet – falling to the 11th position while the team approached the green-flag pit cycle. · Meanwhile, Kyle Larson had worked his way up to the top-five prior to making a green-flag pit stop on lap 129. Crew chief Cliff Daniels called Larson to pit road for four tires and fuel, re-entering the field in the tenth position. · Upon completion of the green-flag pit cycle, Larson regained a top-five running position with 25 laps remaining in Stage Two – holding onto the position until the third caution of the day fell on lap 163. · Under the yellow, Larson was called to pit road for right-side tires only – gaining three positions on pit road to take a front-row starting position for the restart with 17 laps to go in the stage. Larson took the lead on the restart – leading six laps before settling into the second position before taking the green-white checkered flat to end Stage Two. · Team Chevy Stage Two: Top-10 2nd Kyle Larson, No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 7th Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Camaro ZL1 FINAL STAGE / POST-RACE NOTES: · With many competitors staying out during the stage break, Daniels opted to bring Larson down pit road from the second position for four tires, fuel and an adjustment – taking the green flag in the 15th position for the start of the final stage. · Among those opting to stay out during the stage break included Austin Dillon – starting the final stage from the ninth position in his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Club Camaro ZL1. · As green-flag pit stops cycled through for those that did not pit during the stage break, Dillon progressed to the top of the leaderboard – taking the lead with 50 laps to go. Dillon continued to pace the field until bringing his Chevrolet to pit road for a scheduled stop on lap 257 – taking four tires, fuel and a small adjustment. · Running in the 22nd position following his green-flag pit stop, the caution fell with 31 laps to go. With the team’s pit strategy, Dillon was able to stay out for track position – taking the inside front-row position for the restart with 24 laps to go. · Among those coming to pit road, Larson brought his No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 to pit road for right-side tires – taking the fourth position for the restart with 24 laps to go. · After a set of cautions in the closing laps of the race, the eighth and final caution of the day fell with 13 laps remaining. Third in line at the choose cone, Larson was the first to take the inside lane – leading the field to the green flag with nine circuits remaining. · Going green to the end, Kyle Larson and the No. 5 Valvoline Camaro ZL1 team led the Bowtie brigade to the checkered flag in the third position – his seventh top-10 finish in 13 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
· With 20 points-paying NASCAR Cup Series races complete, Chevrolet continues to lead the series in wins (12), top-fives (48), top-10s (88), stage wins (17) and laps led (2,255). |