HendrickCars.com driver gets behind wheel of KBM truck for first time since 2016
Date: April 8, 2023
Event: Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt (Race 6 of 23)
Series: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway (half-mile, dirt oval)
Format: Three Stages; 40/50/60
Start/Finish: 14th/3rd (Running, completed 150 of 150 laps)
Winner: Joey Logano of ThorSport Racing (Ford)
NASCAR Cup Series regular William Byron returned to a KBM truck for the first time since he won seven races for the organization in 2016. Byron maneuvered his way from his 14th starting position into the top five 10 laps into the event but didn’t have enough speed in his HendrickCars.com Silverado to work his way past reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano.
Byron lined up beside Logano on several restarts late in the race, but never was able to make his way into the lead. The 25-year-old driver would finish third behind Logano and his ThorSport Racing teammate Ty Majeski.
Kyle Busch will be behind the wheel of the No. 51 Zariz Transport Silverado when the Truck Series resumes action Friday April 18 at Martinsville Speedway. Byron will be back behind the wheel May 12 at Darlington Raceway.
William Byron, driver of the No. 51 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet for KBM:
Talk about your race.
“I wish we had longer runs, it was kind of disappointing having so many cautions. I think I still learned a lot with the restarts and the launches and what I wanted to do with my truck balance wise. I probably asked for the wrong things on that lap 40 caution because I was pretty fast before that. I wasn’t as fast as him (Logano), but I was able to make ground up. I think I just tightened the truck up too much — it was kind of sluggish and I finished where I finished.”
What was your KBM reunion like?
“It was really fun. It’s funny when I got in the truck it was the same smells and same feelings inside the truck — that was the cool part. I felt all those feelings I used to feel, so that was kind of fun.”
Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt Recap:
- Joey Logano won Saturday’s Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt at Bristol Motor Speedway. It was the second victory of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career. Ty Majeski finished second, while Byron, Matt Crafton and Grant Enfinger rounded out the top five.
- There were 11 cautions for 66 laps and four lead changes among three drivers.
Craftsman Truck Series Driver Point Standings:
The No. 51 team leaves the sixth race of the season fourth in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owner point standings, 59 tallies behind the No. 98 team.
