{"id":42018,"date":"2023-03-25T14:44:41","date_gmt":"2023-03-25T19:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=42018"},"modified":"2023-03-25T14:44:41","modified_gmt":"2023-03-25T19:44:41","slug":"byron-continues-road-course-dominance-with-echopark-automotive-grand-prix-pole","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/25\/byron-continues-road-course-dominance-with-echopark-automotive-grand-prix-pole\/","title":{"rendered":"Byron continues road course dominance with EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix pole"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Haag<\/em><\/p>\n

AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 When NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron saw Tyler Reddick post a scorching time of 130.305 in the opening qualifying on Saturday, Byron figured he would have to claw his way into the top three, at best. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, drives during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on March 25, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Logan Riely\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Byron (130.760) wound up besting Reddick (130.898) in the final round of qualifying to secure his first pole position of the year, as he will start out in front of the field for Sunday\u2019s EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas road course.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 25-year-old topped Reddick by a mere .138 seconds on the 20-turn 3.41-mile road course, thanks to a sizzling lap at 93.882 mph. Byron, who drives the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, now becomes the first driver in NASCAR history to win pole positions at four different road course venues. The tracks include the Charlotte ROVAL (2019), Road America (2021), Indianapolis Road Course (2021) and now COTA (2022).<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, this is the Charlotte, N.C., native\u2019s ninth career pole position.<\/span><\/p>\n

With all the road course success in terms of qualifying, the next step is getting that coveted win. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI haven\u2019t had the success in the races that I want to have,\u201d Byron said. \u201cSo, just putting it together for an entire three to four hours, not making mistakes, not making the critical decisions that it takes to be successful (will be key). Qualifying (has) always been pretty good for me. I\u2019m typically able to kind of get up on the wheel for that lap and make the most of it. I think (now) it\u2019s just (about) doing that for three hours and managing the tires, managing the brakes and the kind of ebb and flow that it takes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

William Byron became the first driver to capture NASCAR Cup Series poles at four different road courses with a dominant performance in EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix qualifying at Circuit of The Americas on Saturday, March 25, 2023. Photo Credit: NASCAR at COTA\/Harold Hinson Photography<\/p><\/div>\n

Ironically, Byron qualified for the XFinity Series\u2019 Pit Boss Grills 250, on Friday and was disqualified after officials deemed he exceeded track limits. Bryon can just chalk it up as a test run for the Cup Series qualifying that came 24 hours later.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI definitely knew I was really close last night,\u201d Byron said. \u201c(The) track police got me there, but that was the right call \u2026 . (It) was good to make that mistake then and be able to clean it up for today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As someone who\u2019s had success qualifying at road courses, Byron said \u201ca little bit\u2019s a lot\u201d in terms of how he approaches a lap. The 2018 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year said he took the \u201cS\u201d curves a little differently on his final run and that it proved the difference in edging Riddick for the pole spot. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bryon is looking to continue his hot start to the 2023 season, as he already has two wins on the year. He said \u201cit\u2019s just nice to see it all click\u201d but he knows that \u201cit\u2019s a long season” ahead.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of The Americas on March 25, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe just gotta keep it up for however many weeks are left,\u201d Byron said. \u201cAnd, yeah, we\u2019ve got a lot of things to still do and accomplish. So, it\u2019s a grind, so just gotta strap in and get ready for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reddick will start on the outside pole while Austin Cindric qualified third. Jordan Taylor, an IMSA sports car star, will make his NCS debut in the fourth spot. Taylor is filling in for the injured Chase Elliot. In other news, two Formula One champions will race on Sunday, in the form of Kimi Raikkonen (22nd) and Jenson Button (24th). <\/span><\/p>\n

Seven-time NCS champion Jimmie Johnson will also be making his first COTA start from the 31st position. The green flag will wave at 2:30 p.m. CT on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nhttp:\/\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/ByronNCS032523.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

NASCAR Cup Series Qualifying Final Round Results – EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix<\/b><\/p>\n

Circuit of The Americas<\/b><\/p>\n

Austin, Texas<\/b><\/p>\n

Saturday, March 25, 2023<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet, 93.882 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota, 93.783 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford, 93.459 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. (9) Jordan Taylor, Chevrolet, 93.174 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet, 93.067 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 92.911 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. (16) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 92.840 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. (43) Erik Jones, Chevrolet, 92.838 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet, 92.678 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. (42) Noah Gragson #, Chevrolet, 92.188 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  13. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  14. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  15. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  16. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  17. (54) Ty Gibbs #, Toyota, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  18. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  19. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  20. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  21. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  22. (91) Kimi Raikkonen, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  23. (31) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  24. (15) Jenson Button, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  25. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  26. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  27. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  28. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  29. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  30. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  31. (84) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  32. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  33. (78) Josh Bilicki(i), Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  34. (77) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  35. (50) Conor Daly, Chevrolet, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  36. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  37. (51) Cody Ware, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  38. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/span><\/li>\n
  39. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 0.000 mph.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Michael Haag AUSTIN, Texas \u2014 When NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron saw Tyler Reddick post a scorching time of 130.305 in the opening qualifying on Saturday, Byron figured he would have to claw his way into the top three, at best.  Byron (130.760) wound up besting Reddick (130.898) in the final round of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":677,"featured_media":42017,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[38,11],"tags":[39,16,212],"class_list":["post-42018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-circuit-of-the-americas","category-nascar","tag-circuit-of-the-americas","tag-nascar","tag-william-byron"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/WilliamB.jpg?fit=640%2C280","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-aVI","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/677"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42018"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42023,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42018\/revisions\/42023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}