William Byron Leads Chevrolet with Runner-Up Finish at Bowman Gray Stadium • Motorsport America

WILLIAM BYRON BATTLING CHASE BRISCOE FOR POSITION – NASCAR PHOTO IMAGE

 

·        William Byron earned his career-best Clash finish under the
Wednesday night lights of “The Madhouse” – driving his No. 24
Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to a runner-up finish in the Cook Out
Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. The 28-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina,
native led Chevrolet to a manufacturer-leading five top-10 results –
earned by four different Chevrolet organizations with Spire
Motorsports’ Daniel Suarez in fourth; Richard Childress Racing’s
Austin Dillon in seventh; Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain in ninth;
and Byron’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Alex Bowman, in 10th.

·        In his first start with Spire Motorsports, Daniel Suarez
brought home a strong top-five finish. Securing his spot in the main
event through qualifying, the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet came to
life during the second-half of the race – making a quick climb through
the top-10 to prove to be a contender throughout the closing laps. The
34-year-old Monterrey, Mexico, native went on to take the checkered flag
in the fourth position to mark his career-best Clash finish.

·        A manufacturer-leading 11 drivers representing four different
Chevrolet organizations earned a starting position for the 48th running
of the Clash. Picking up right where he left off, reigning NASCAR Cup
Series champion, Kyle Larson, drove his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports
Chevrolet to the pole position for the twice-delayed Cook Out Clash at
Bowman Gray Stadium. Electing the bottom lane to take the green flag,
Larson took command of the field with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate,
William Byron, in tow to pace the field in the opening laps. A quiet 40
laps around the North Carolina quarter-mile saw Larson already
approaching lap traffic when the first caution of the race flew for
debris.

·        The return to the track was short-lived as a wintery mix took
over “The Madhouse”, forcing the race back under red flag conditions
– ultimately making the second-half of the event deemed a wet weather
race. Enduring a string of cautions, the Chevrolet camp had a strong
presence in the front of the pack throughout the next 100-lap run with
the manufacturer seeing six drivers in the top-10 as the race reached 50
laps to go. With an abundance of cautions laps already logged, fuel
mileage became a growing concern throughout the garage with the pole
sitter, Larson, becoming the first driver to lose his position after a
stout climb back into the top-10. Shortly thereafter, the race was once
again red-flagged with 36 laps to go to allow teams the opportunity for
a fuel-only stop – setting up for an all-out race towards the
checkered flag.

Team Chevy Unofficial Top-10 Results

Pos.     Driver

2nd – William Byron

4th – Daniel Suarez

7th – Austin Dillon

9th – Ross Chastain

10th – Alex Bowman

The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season officially kicks off at Daytona
International Speedway with the 68th running of the DAYTONA 500 on
Sunday, February 15, at 2:30 P.M. ET. Live coverage can be found on FOX,
MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Post-Race Driver Quotes:

Ross Chastain, No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 9th

“It sure was a cold day and really cold night here at Bowman Gray
Stadium. It felt great to be in the Choice Privileges Chevrolet today
and it was my first race with my new crew chief, Brandon McSwain. I
experienced pretty much everything out there tonight – passing cars,
being bumped, spinning, a wet track for the last half. It was eventful,
that’s for sure. Brandon and the guys kept working on the car all
night and finally towards the end we worked our way forward to ninth. It
was wild out there tonight with everything we experienced, but I’m
looking forward to getting to Daytona next week for the first points
race of the season. I hope it’s a lot warmer there, that’s for
sure.”

Austin Dillon, No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 7th

“What a fight all night from this No. 3 Bass Pro Shops/Winchester
Chevrolet team. The rain tires saved our night. We struggled on the
slicks. So when the rain and sleet came. It put us back in the ballgame
and we found speed there at the end of the run. I got shipped a couple
times and probably should have been in the wall, but was able to save it
in turns three and four. Proud of the effort from everyone at Richard
Childress Racing and it’s a good start to our season.”

Daniel Suarez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 4th

“Very proud of this No. 7 Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation Chevrolet team. I
think that the car was very, very capable of running in the top-five. In
both the dry and wet conditions, I felt like we were pretty strong.
There was a lot of contact throughout the race and at one point, it
started to feel like it wasn’t driving as well anymore. But overall,
happy to come home with a top-five. I think this was a good start for
everyone on his No. 7 team.”

Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 19th

“The entire No. 8 zone Nicotine Pouches Chevrolet team fought hard
today. We lacked grip at the start of the race, but after making changes
at the halfway point we were battling our way to the front. We
unfortunately got caught up in on-track contact a few times tonight and
are leaving Bowman Gray Stadium with a 19th-place finish, but I’m
ready to turn my focus to the Daytona 500 and getting back to victory
lane.”

William Byron, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Finished: 2nd

“It was just a marathon race. I feel like NASCAR did a good job with
the rain conditions. I wish we would have had a practice session in the
rain, just to kind of understand the characteristics a little better. It
just seemed like guys were kind of using each other up. But then it
started to dry up there at the end and it was fun. Overall, it was a
solid finish and good start to the season for the No. 24 Valvoline
Chevrolet team.”

Connor Zilisch, No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 18th

“It was a very chaotic race. At the end of that first run, we drove up
to 12th. We had good speed in the dry conditions, but immediately when
we fired off in the wet, our No. 88 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet was
really fast. Once the cautions started coming out every other lap, it
started to become a bit of a mess. The restarts just became really
chaotic and that kind of cost us track position. We were running inside
the top-seven, top-eight; just got clipped in a wreck and that kind of
killed our night. We had glimmers of hope, just disappointed to come
home where we did considering the day and the speed that we had.”

Shane van Gisbergen, No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

Finished: 20th

“It was a good bit of fun. There were moments of brilliance and
moments that weren’t. It was cool to get to the front. We were just
trying to search for the grip. The wet weather conditions were very
different than what I’ve raced in Supercars, just with the way the
corners are and the way the rubber lays down. But then it started to
come back up again and dry up. It was pretty wild.

But all-in-all, happy with our run and it’s a good way to start the
season for this No. 97 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet team.”