William Bryon started from pole position and delivered a dominant drive in NASCAR’s first road course race of the season. The Hendrick Motorsports driver led 42 of 68 laps and built the big lead he needed to hold off a hard-charging run from Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell over the final two laps.

Bell shaved nearly three seconds off Byron’s lead to create some late drama before Byron slammed the door over the final corners.

Byron led 23 laps of the first two stages but found himself quickly dropped to third at the start of the final stage as Ross Chastain, who won at COTA in 2022, jumped to the front.

Byron fought back to pass him with 25 laps to go and both cars pitted on the same lap. Chastain then got hung up in traffic on the re-entry and fell several cars behind.

That gave Byron the chance to open the gap he needed to keep Bell behind him at the end. Ty Gibbs, the 21-year-old grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs, finished third after getting passed by Bell with three laps to go.

The series moves to short-track racing next Sunday at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Virginia.