Byron took the race lead during the first round of pit stops and never looked back, winning the race by 2.6 seconds. Hendrick Motorsports has now win five consecutive races at The Glen.
Michael McDowell led early after passing pole-sitter Denny Hamlin, but suffered a penalty for driving through too many stalls during the opening round of pit stops. He would ultimately finish last due to a mechanical failure in the closing laps.
Must like last weekend at the Indy RC, the race was surprisingly green with just one caution. Unfortunately, it was for Byron’s team-mate Chase Elliott who ran out of fuel and stopped on track. He will have to win at Daytona or face playoff elimination.
There were five different race leaders and just six lead changes. Mike Rockenfeller earned his career-best result while driving the No. 42 Legacy Motor Club Chevrolet, finishing 19th.
“You know, just a huge credit to the race team behind me. I want to thank Max Papis. This first road course win – we’ve worked years and years for this,” Byron said post-race. “Thanks to him. I know he’s watching back home.
“I think it shows that when we’re at our best, we can perform like this. We seem to go through that summer slump in July and August, and for some reason we just can’t quite put the races together. I think it’s the race tracks itself.
“We jst came this weekend with a good mindset, focusing on trying to get ready for the post-season, and we’ve had fast cars, we just haven’t executed races, but today was flawless, and just Rudy (Fugle, crew chief), everybody, all the spotters. Thanks to everybody. This is a cool win. Road courses have been tough, so it’s fun to get a win.”