William Byron wins Phoenix in a wild finish

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.

WAKE UP, EVERYBODY! IT'S A GREEN FLAG LEAD CHANGE! Kevin Harvick has the long-run speed and is now in front. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/ywQgo9rqoN

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 12, 2023

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.

William Byron wins at Phoenix! Controlled the first half, fell back, and pulled out the late win. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/GEd4bPsKCb

— The Comeback (@thecomeback) March 12, 2023

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.