William Byron Mar 12, 2023; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron (24) celebrates his victory of the United Rentals Work United 500 at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

If you sat through all of Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Phoenix, your patience was rewarded. William Byron dominated the entire first stage and won in overtime after falling back in stages two and three.

Byron and Kyle Larson continued their domination from last week by leading 253 of 317 laps. The only person who could compete with the two Hendrick Motorsports Chevys was Kevin Harvick. Harvick had long-run speed, and he put that to good use as he passed Larson with 44 laps to go.

Harvick pulled away, but a late caution jumbled everything. Harvick took four tires and went from first to seventh place. Meanwhile, Byron and Larson joined four others, who took two tires, to keep track position for the final few laps.

While Larson, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick all fought for second, Byron took advantage of a shove from Reddick to get out ahead and take the win.

While Byron got his second win of the season, a few other drivers deserved praise. While Blaney and Reddick utilized pit strategy to finish second and third, respectively, they deserved a bit of good luck after a rough start of the season.

In addition, Josh Berry got his first top-10 in his second race filling in for Chase Elliott.

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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