William Byron wins in Iowa with fuel strategy

William Byron turned extreme fuel saving into his second season victory during the Iowa Corn 350 in Newton. The #24 Hendrick Motorsports driver managed to stretch his tank for 144 laps on a track where the normal range is 100 laps, capitalizing on an unusual series of cautions to stay ahead of Chase Briscoe.

144 laps on fuel thanks to 12 cautions in 72 laps

The race featured 12 caution periods totaling 72 laps, creating ideal conditions for Byron's extreme fuel-saving strategy. Byron led the first 67 laps from the second starting position and returned to the front on lap 277 to complete the final 74 laps in the lead.

The effectiveness of the strategy became clear when Byron's Chevrolet ran out of fuel during celebratory burnouts, forcing him to cut the smoke show short.

Photo By Nascar Media

Briscoe closes in but can't complete the pass

Chase Briscoe, the pole winner, kept pace with Byron during the final 64 green-flag laps but couldn't get close enough to attempt a pass. The #19 Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished second after leading 81 total laps.

"There at the end, I was catching William," Briscoe explained. "I thought I was really in a good spot there, and I just got there and kind of stalled out. I experienced that when I was leading earlier. I caught the back of the pack, and same thing; as soon as I got there, I just kind of died."

Keselowski wins both opening stages but finishes third

Brad Keselowski captured the race's first two stages from the fifth starting position, leading 68 total laps during three different periods out front. The RFK Racing driver needs a win to qualify for the playoffs and saw his fuel advantage neutralized by multiple cautions in the final stage.

"Just the way the yellows fell," Keselowski said about his third-place finish. "We had so many yellows there in Stage 3 that it allowed the 24 (Byron) and the 19 (Briscoe) to get to where they could make it on fuel by pitting way outside the window, and we just couldn't get back past them."

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Byron moves to fifth as Elliott drops to sixth

The win allows Byron to advance from sixth to fifth in the playoff standings, while his teammate Chase Elliott drops one position from fifth to sixth after finishing 14th. Elliott pitted for fuel on lap 283, a decision that cost him positions in the playoff table.

Ryan Preece completed the top five and closed the gap to Chris Buescher from 42 to 23 points in the battle for what could be the final playoff spot. Bubba Wallace, the recent Indianapolis winner, recovered from two laps down and damage to his #23 Toyota to finish sixth.

Next race at Watkins Glen on Sunday

Byron led 141 of the 350 total laps, followed by Briscoe with 81 and Keselowski with 68. The race had 10 lead changes among six different drivers during its 3-hour, 17-minute, and 47-second duration.

The NASCAR Cup series continues next Sunday with the Go Bowling at the Glen at Watkins Glen International's road course, where drivers will look to secure their positions for the season playoffs.