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Late Restart Benefits William Byron Again

It was a strange bit of déjà vu at Phoenix Raceway, as William Byron won his second straight Cup race by beating out his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson in overtime on Sunday.

 

His No. 24 Chevrolet got a great start in overtime with two laps left, and just like he did a week earlier at Las Vegas, he overtook Larson for the win. He also had to hold off Ryan Blaney, who finished second in his Penske Ford, while Tyler Reddick was third in the No. 45 Toyota for 23XI Racing.

 

Byron’s victory also denied Kevin Harvick his 10th win at Phoenix. Harvick’s Stewart-Haas No. 4 Ford passed Larson for the lead with 44 laps remaining, taking advantage of the long run under green-flag conditions that favored his car all afternoon.

 

But a yellow flag with 10 laps remaining dashed Harvick’s hopes.

 

Several drivers changed just two tires on the ensuing pit stop, but Harvick took four, falling back to seventh place for the restart with three laps left. He finished fifth.

 

Larson finished fourth, capping a frustrating finish.

 

All four Hendrick cars were inside the top 10. Alex Bowman was ninth while Josh Berry — filling in for the injured Chase Elliott — was 10th.

 

The three-race West Coast swing is over. NASCAR moves to Atlanta Motor Speedway next weekend.

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