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William Byron Reiterates His Innocence After Last Lap Wreck Leaves Ross Chastain Refusing to Comment

Published 04/15/2024, 1:12 PM EDT

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The Cup Series clash at Texas Motor Speedway witnessed a lot of disappointments on Sunday. From wrecks to getting massive cautions, the drivers had a hard time racing in this 1.5-mile oval track. One such incident unfurled at the final lap between HMS star William Byron and Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain. While exiting turn 2, Byron made contact with Chastain, sending the latter’s No. 1 car into the wall. The collision resulted in Chastain finishing a disappointing P32. While Byron opened up after the race, stating that it was not his intention, Chastain refrained from commenting.

William Byron doesn’t support wrecking anyone at all

William Byron, anticipating the questions he would face in the post-race interview, was well-prepared. When asked about making contact with Chastain on the final lap, Byron stated that it was just unfortunate. He stated how they have always raced so well and Sunday’s incident was purely unintentional.

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“I don’t want to do that to anyone, but I was just far enough inside that I was there and I had a run and, and it’s the last lap. We always race really well and so I don’t want to do that to him,” said Byron.

Notably, Ross Chastain raced side-by-side with race winner Chase Elliott, and was on the verge of overtaking him. It could have won him the first race of the season. However, an attempt to block William Byron had Chastain getting in contact with the HMS #24 car. RFK Racing’s Brad Keselowski, who was close by, capitalized on the situation, and ran for the P2 ahead of both Byron and Chastain.

Byron, too, remained clear of the wreck that followed by his contact, and positioned himself into an impressive third-place finish. Despite a good finish, the #24 driver was all gloomy when he stepped out of the car. He obviously did not feel good about having a fellow Chevrolet driver sent back to P32 and a DNF. Moreover, he was probably even anticipating getting it back from the Trackhouse Racing star in the next race at Talladega.

Ross Chastain getting a taste of his own medicine?

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Wrecks and Ross Chastain are somewhat synonyms when it comes to the Cup Series. One simply does not forget how he did something similar to Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott in the previous seasons. On one occasion, the Trackhouse Racing driver was even issued a stern warning by team-owner Rick Hendrick for his aggressive approach toward Kyle Larson, that saw the latter get wrecked three times in four races.

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However, this time, the tables seemed to have turned as Chastain wrecked owing to William Byron. While many might expect that ‘The Melon Man’ wouldn’t leave any opportunity to criticize his fellow race, that was far from the truth. In fact, when asked about the wreck that ended his race-winning chance, The Trackhouse #1 driver politely refused to make any comments on the topic. Does that mean the racer is too angry to comment and might look for revenge? Or was it just him accepting his fate for having wrecked other races in the past?

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Having said that, according to many, there was hardly any fault of William Byron in this. Chastain seemed to have come in his path in an attempt to block and crashed himself. From what it looked like, there didn’t seem to be any full-fledged contact between the drivers.

Well, revenge or not, fans will be waiting with bated breath to see if the duo lock horns in the upcoming races!

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Written by:

Mamata Mukherjee

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Mamata Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Combining her love for writing and motorsports she has created some interesting and in-depth stories on drivers like Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Joining ES with 3 years of experience in the field of writing, Mamata feels right at home in her role as a NASCAR Journalist.
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Edited by:

Ariva Debnath