William Byron voiced his frustration after a massive 23-car crash during Saturday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at EchoPark Speedway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver, running in fourth place near the end of Stage 1, was caught up in the pileup triggered by contact between Hunter Nemechek and Denny Hamlin, which resulted in one of the largest crashes in recent Cup Series history. Byron directly pointed to questionable driving standards as a cause for the chaos.
Chain Reaction Crash Causes Devastation Across the Field
The initial contact between Nemechek and Hamlin caused a domino effect, impacting over half the field and forcing a red flag to clear the track. Byron, along with drivers like Carson Hocevar and Kyle Larson, found themselves involved early in the aftermath, losing positions and suffering damage. The pileup eliminated ten cars from the race, leaving many sidelined behind the wall.
Byron Compares Incident to Rough Truck Series Driving
After the wreck, Byron did not hold back, expressing disappointment in the aggressive and risky maneuvers during restarts, which he felt were more typical of the Truck Series rather than the Cup Series level of competition. He emphasized the unnecessary recklessness as drivers attempted to get up to speed.
So I dunno why we crashed the whole field trying to get up to speed. We look like a Truck Series or something.
—William Byron, NASCAR Driver
He described the scenario by highlighting the chaos involved in jockeying for position during the restart and lamented the fact that such incidents are becoming too common:
And then we crash on the restart. You can be aggressive, like once you get kind of fully up to speed. I mean, obviously there’s jockeying on restarts always, but just try not to crash, you know?
—William Byron, NASCAR Driver
Details on Byron’s Race and On-Track Challenges
Byron explained in further comments that he was running well in the top five before the crash unfolded and had been making moves to advance positions after the stage break pit stops. However, the congestion and blocks on the track contributed to the collision.
There wasn’t really a whole lot I could see,
Byron said, acknowledging the limited visibility and quick developments during the crash.
We were just running a great race in the top five. They all stacked up and at that point, I went right a little bit; the wreck was already happening and I just kind of got shoved into it.
—William Byron, NASCAR Driver
Byron finished the race in 37th place, visibly disappointed by the outcome on a drafting-style track where maintaining position is crucial.
I don’t really know what was going on. We were getting up to speed and everyone was throwing a lot of blocks or something, I don’t know.
—William Byron, NASCAR Driver
Impact of the Crash and Future Considerations for NASCAR Racing
The severity of the 23-car crash not only shook the competitors but also raised questions about driving tactics in the high-speed, closely packed format of the Cup Series. Byron’s open criticism reflects a broader frustration with the aggressive maneuvers that can lead to such large-scale wrecks, threatening safety and race integrity. The incident may prompt NASCAR officials and drivers to evaluate restart procedures and on-track conduct to reduce similar accidents going forward.
