Harvick backs NASCAR star to bounce back and win | Sports News

The NASCAR Cup Series Round of 8 is nicely underway, with Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin having taken the checkered flag for a historic sixtieth time in Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway to kick off the push for the Championship Four.

The race not solely proved memorable for Hamlin, who tied Kevin Harvick because the tenth winningest driver of all time with this newest victory, but additionally for Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron, whose race led to terrifying fashion after a late collision with Kaulig Racing’s Ty Dillon.

Despite Byron’s main setback, 2014 champion Harvick stays optimistic concerning the 27-year-old’s possibilities, choosing him to win the YellaWood 500 on his ‘Harvick’s Happy Hour’ podcast.

As for his co-hosts, Kaitlyn Vincie picked Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney to make it to victory lane at Talladega, as he, too, seems to claw his method into the highest 4 regardless of his present 31-point deficit.

Meanwhile, Mamba Smith opted as an alternative to go for Ryan Preece to decide up his first profession Cup Series win at a observe the place he’s by no means beforehand completed higher than third.

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Should Harvick show proper, it could mark a main turnaround in not simply fortune however kind for Byron, who, after profitable the season-opening Daytona 500 and ending within the prime 5 a additional six instances by way of Week 14, has since struggled to break into the highest 10. Through the next 19 races, he’s solely cracked the highest 10 six instances, together with his win on the Iowa Corn 350.

And so far as his observe file at Talladega goes, the 15-time race winner has but to attain victory lane on the notoriously unpredictable observe during his eight seasons within the Cup Series, beforehand ending a best of second in 2021 and 2023. 

A win for Byron wouldn’t solely help him wipe the slate clean after Vegas, nevertheless it may additionally enable him to resume what appeared to be a optimistic flip of kind in Nevada prior to the crash.

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Having gained Stage 1 and led 55 laps, Byron regarded set to decide up some beneficial Playoff factors as he sought to catch up with teammate Kyle Larson to retake the lead on lap 237. 

Unfortunately for the motive force of the No. 24 Chevrolet, whereas searching Larson down, what appears to have been a pricey miscommunication between his crew and that of Dillon within the No. 10 Chevrolet, who was making his method into the pits, noticed Byron smash into the rear left of his rival, ending each their races.

Speaking after the wreck, Byron admitted he “had no indication” that Dillon was pitting, occurring to add, “So, I obviously wouldn’t have driven into the back of him like that. 

“I mean, just as good as we were, and just as good as the race was going, just for random s— like that to happen, it just sucks. So, I don’t know. I can’t believe it.

“If I would have known or had any indication, I would have hedged higher and I just ran full speed into the back of him.”

Dillon, in the meantime, defined that the No. 10’s spotter, Joseph White, had tried to let Brandon Lines, the No. 24’s spotter, know that he was heading for pit highway. What’s more, Dillon additionally instructed reporters that he had waved whereas on the backstretch to attempt and let Byron know that he was planning on pitting.

He went on to add, “I hate it for them and hate that it took him out. He was lining up to have a really good day, but I don’t know who that is on or if I could do much different there.”