DARLINGTON, S.C. — Even on Mother's Day, the Lady in Black was too tough to tame for a number of drivers looking to score a win on Sunday.
William Byron was one of the lone racers that made it through the day incident-free and was awarded a win at Darlington Raceway for his consistency. It's the Charlotte native's third NASCAR Cup Series win this season.
The win somewhat fell into Byron's lap after top challengers Kyle Larson, Ross Chastain, and Martin Truex Jr. were all taken out of contention after wrecking in the last dozen or so laps.
Byron and Kevin Harvick manned the front row on the race's final restart. Byron easily pushed out ahead of Harvick and held on for the win.
"We didn't have the best third stage, just kept battling," said Byron to reporters after the race. "Definitely didn't expect this... things have a way of working out."
The Darlington win is a redemption moment for Byron, who came one lap away from winning at the track in May 2022 but was bumped out of the top spot by Joey Logano.
Chastain and Larson opened the door for Byron to win after they wrecked each other in the top two spots on the race's previous restart with just six laps to go. Chastain started on the inside lane and went a little too hard into the first turn, forcing himself into Larson and planting them both into the wall.
"We had been trading it back and forth all day," said Chastain to reporters after the race. "I wanted to push him up for sure but definitely didn't want to turn myself into the wall."
Larson declined to talk to reporters after the race, according to media at the track.
Truex's wreck was the one that prompted that restart. As the field restarted with 13 laps to go, Truex was in third and got tight in the first turn, forcing himself into Logano and ending his chances at victory as multiple other cars were involved in the crash. Truex started on the pole and led a race-high 145 laps but had to settle for 31st place.
The race was an action-packed affair fitting for Darlington's throwback weekend.
All sorts of historic paint schemes were on display for the annual tribute to NASCAR's past, made even more special as the sanctioning body celebrates its 75th anniversary.
Byron's winning car was a throwback to Jeff Gordon's 1998 gold paint scheme used in honor of NASCAR's 50th anniversary. Other notables included Ross Chastain's throwback to Dale Jarrett's UPS car, Daniel Suárez's throwback to Ricky Rudd's Quaker State car, and Chase Elliott's throwback to the 2000s No. 9 driven by his father, Bill Elliott.
The NASCAR All-Star Race is the next stop on the circuit. The race will be NASCAR's return to North Wilkesboro Speedway, where the Cup Series has not raced since 1996.
