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Logano Bumps Past Byron for Win at Darlington; Riverton Native Allgaier Wins XFinity Race

After William Byron squeezed him against the wall on a final restart, Joey Logano knew what he’d do if he got the chance to regain the lead.

 

Logano bumped Byron from behind on the next-to-last lap to win at Darlington Raceway on Sunday. Byron hit the wall in turn three and Logano went on to his first win of the season and first at the track “Too Tough To Tame.”

 

Logano, who started from the pole, had one of the strongest cars all day and was in front coming out of the pits before a restart with 25 laps left. But Byron, who started low, forced Logano into the wall and out of the lead.

 

Byron was not happy with the maneuver, calling Logano an “idiot” and a ”moron” who has raced others questionably throughout his career.

 

Byron, who signed a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports, seemed as if he’d keep up his team’s dominant season over the final laps. Instead, Logano broke a 40-race winless drought.

 

Tyler Reddick was second followed by Justin Haley, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Daniel Suarez.

 

Byron fell to 13th. He said the restart was just close racing and Byron didn’t deserve a hard hit on the rear bumper so close to the end.

 

Logano led 108 of the 293 laps and reached victory lane for the first time since winning on the dirt at Bristol in 2021.

 

It was the first time the new Next Gen car took on NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway and the results were mixed. The racing was strong, although several of the top competitors didn’t last to the end.

 

Reigning NASCAR champion Kyle Larson was out with engine failure after 112 laps. Past champions Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were also out well before the finish.

 

Riverton native Justin Allgaier ended a 34-race winless streak when he passed AJ Allmendinger to start a two-lap sprint following a caution and cruised the final 2.7 miles to give team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. another victory in NASCAR’s second-tier feeder series. The XFinity Series takes a week off before returning at Texas Motor Speedway on May 21.

 

The top series moves to Kansas Speedway, where Kyle Busch is the event’s defending champion. Kyle Larson won the October race in Kansas.

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