William Byron Makes It Two in a Row at the Phoenix Raceway NASCAR Race

The previous week, a timely caution flew in Las Vegas while Byron's teammate, Kyle Larson, was leading and on his way to winning the season opener. The caution bunched up the field and sent the leaders down the pit road. Martin Truex Jr. stayed out while Byron beat Larson off pit road with fresher tires. Then he overtook Truex Jr. and won the race. This week, Kevin Harvick was leading the race with over a five-second lead over Larson with 43 laps remaining. However, a late race caution was triggered by Harrison Burton spinning on Lap 301. This negated Harvick's advantage and gave Byron another chance to win.

When Kevin Harvick went for a four-tire stop, six other drivers opted for a two-tire strategy, including Larson, Byron, Blaney, Chastain, Busch, and Hamlin. This put them ahead of Harvick after the restart. Larson had a good start, but a collision in Turn 2 caused Allmendinger to spin and collected Gragson and Gibbs, resulting in overtime. In the final restart, Byron overtook Larson on the high line in Turns 1-2 and won his sixth career victory, becoming the first driver in his Cup career to win back-to-back races.

At the same time, Byron's previous win in Las Vegas was not just luck; he led 176 of the 271 laps and won both stages. In Phoenix, he led 64 of the 317 laps and won the first stage, while finishing second in the second stage. Although his last two wins came from late-race cautions, Byron was a deserving winner in both races. However, it remains to be seen whether Byron can maintain his winning streak. He has not won in bunches before and has struggled with consistency in the past. For example, after his win at the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400, he only had two top 5 finishes in the next ten races, four of which he finished outside the top 20.

Last year, Byron won two races in Atlanta and Martinsville, respectively, but these were his only victories of the season. He had just one top-5 finish and went the next 18 races with only one top-10 result. Although he has started the 2023 season strong, it remains to be seen whether he can maintain his consistency moving forward or if he is peaking too soon. Byron's win in Phoenix could be a good sign for him as it is the Championship 4 race again, but history shows that the driver who wins the spring race in Phoenix rarely wins the series championship.

If it weren't for a late caution flag last week or a mistake he made going high in Turns 1-2 this week, Kyle Larson could be heading to Atlanta next week with two consecutive victories instead of William Byron. Larson led 63 laps in the Las Vegas race and an impressive 201 of 317 laps at Phoenix, but fell just short both times. Nevertheless, he should take comfort in the fact that he is once again a championship contender. In the Phoenix race, Larson won the second stage and held the lead until Kevin Harvick passed him with 43 laps to go. Despite his car running much better on the low lane, Larson chose to run high, allowing Harvick to catch up and pass him. After a caution flag with 11 laps to go, Larson took only two tires during the pit stop, and six other drivers followed suit. He led the race until the end, but was passed by Byron and Blaney, finishing fourth.

Phoenix International Raceway used to be one of Kyle Larson's weakest tracks, but it has recently become one of his strongest. In his last seven starts at Phoenix, Larson has secured four top-5 finishes. Despite finishing 34th and 9th last year, he placed seventh and first in 2021. Last year's spring race finish doesn't reflect the strength of his car since he was seventh and fifth in the first two stages. Although Larson has achieved eight top-10 finishes in his last nine Phoenix attempts, he has only won once in his 18 Cup starts there. He is also winless in the five Xfinity Series and one Truck Series starts he has had at Phoenix.

Byron's wins in the last two races weren't the only highlight for Hendrick Motorsports. The team made a lot of noise in Las Vegas, from Chase Elliott's injury to HMS going 1-2-3 at the end of the weekend. They led all but 21 laps and went 1-2-3 in all stages, showing that they're going to be as good as, if not better than, in the past few years. In Phoenix, they continued to dominate. They went 1-3 in practice and qualifying, led 265 of 317 laps, and had all four cars finish in the top 10.

They went 1-2 in both stages and have done so for the last two weeks, leading 506 of the previous 579 laps run and taking home both wins. Alex Bowman has had a top-10 finish in all four races run this season, while Kyle Larson has two straight top-4 finishes. William Byron has two consecutive wins, and Josh Berry grabbed his first top-10 finish. Even though Elliott was runner-up in Fontana a week before his injury, the team's strength shows that they're the ones to beat.

Kevin Harvick came to Phoenix for the weekend with just two chances left to capture his 10th Phoenix win. Although he qualified 15th, that hasn't always been a disadvantage for him here. In fact, he finished sixth last year from a 16th starting position, and his first Phoenix win came from the 15th starting spot, so can he reiterate his previous success?

Harvick has won from the 19th (Fall 2012) start spot, 13th (Spring 2014), 18th (Spring 2016), and 10th (Spring 2018). Unfortunately, a fluke late-race caution kept him out of victory lane in Sunday's United Rentals Work United 500. He passed Kyle Larson for the lead with 43 laps remaining and built a lead of over five seconds. Then, the caution came. Rodney Childers called for a four-tire stop for Harvick's No. 4 Ford, while six other drivers went with two, including the two who had previously dominated the event. Harvick was unable to make up enough ground to regain the lead and finished a disappointing fifth in the end.

The upcoming race will be at the Atlanta Motor Speedway the following weekend. Maybe William Byron can make three in a row. Who knows?