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The NASCAR fanbase has castigated Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron for his final lap contact with Ross Chastain as they expressed their reluctance to fall for the #24 Chevrolet driver's reasoning.
Byron stepped foot into the current Cup Series season on a strong note and his three wins, four top-5s, and six top-10s from nine weekends are a testament to it. On the other hand, the Trackhouse Racing driver's entry has been rather feeble, with a solitary top-5 and four top-10s to his name.
The AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 marked the ninth Cup Series weekend and witnessed 38 high-octane cars in action, battling for the highly-coveted win on the Texas Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott emerged victorious, bagging his maiden win this season. Until the final lap, Ross Chastain was charging behind the race leader followed by William Byron in P3.
The Florida native eyed his maiden win of the season, but as the trio exited the turn, a miscalculated move by the #24 Chevy driver nudged the left rear of the #1 Chevrolet. Subsequently, Chastain spun out on Lap 276, finishing a dismal P32.
Ahead of the tenth Cup Series weekend, the GEICO 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway, William Byron reflected on his wreck with Chastain, saying (via Bob Pockrass on X):
"Nothing really changes for me...we just came together and in a spot there, he come down the track to cover my run and I was just making the corner exit...the momentum that I had was probably a little bit different than what he [Ross Chastain] thought."
William Byron's explanation of the incident in Texas quickly gained traction, but the fans seemingly didn't buy his words. One fan accused the driver of being intentional with the wreck, commenting:
"So he admits it was intentional and premeditated."
Another fan targeted William Byron and alleged him of making way for Chase Elliott's victory, writing:
"You took out the number 1 car to make sure the number 9 car won the race"
One fan took a brutal jibe at Chastain apparently for his 'Hail Melon' move at the Martinsville Speedway, commenting:
"Now Chastain knows how it feels."
One fan bashed Byron for having "no actual sense" while racing, adding:
"So he basically has no actual sense of race craft and just needs to drive through the guy in front of him on the last lap? Makes sense I guess."
A fan took a jibe at the old teams like HMS and Joe Gibbs Racing for unjustly exercising their influence on the sport, commenting:
"Doesn’t matter if it is a Gibbs or Hendricks car, they can do as they please. Look at the empty seats.NASCAR is in close competition with the WWE"
One fan slammed Byron for his "just racing" remark, tweeting:
"It’s always “just racing” when you are on the giving end of contact."
When William Byron's team owner slammed Ross Chastain for his unstoppable carnage wreckage against the HMS stable
Ross Chastain has been on the receiving end of criticism several times, especially because of his super-aggressive driving style that has led to severe wrecks on many occasions. The 2023 season saw Chastain wiping out Kyle Larson a staggering three times due to misaligned maneuvers.
A direct contact with Larson at Darlington, a wreck with Noah Gragson at Talladega that collected the #5 Chevy, and the Dover Motor Speedway wreck, wherein Chastain crashed into Brennan Poole who further wrecked into Kyle Larson's ride, prompted Rick Hendrick to vent his frustration.
The HMS owner slammed the 31-year-old's triple wreck with Kyle Larson, saying (via NBC Sports):
“I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars. I don’t care. I’ve told Chevrolet that. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. If you don’t do it, they’ll run all over you."
He doesn’t have to be that aggressive. I guess at this point in the race maybe you’re super aggressive, but you just don’t run people up in the fence," added Rick Hendrick
Poll : Is Byron's rationale justified?
Yes
No
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