INDIANAPOLIS -- William Byron's first trip to Indianapolis Motor Speedway ended with an unforgettable finish.
After taking the lead with 15 laps left, the teenage rookie used some savvy moves and a little luck Saturday to hold off the hard-charging Paul Menard for his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win in less than a month. The margin of 0.108 seconds was the narrowest in race history, and he did it by successfully blocking the 2011 Brickyard 400 winner for the final two laps while dealing with a troublesome tire for the final 20.
"I can't believe that tire held," Byron shouted after the postrace celebration. "But it is awesome, man."
At 19 years, 7 months, 23 days, Byron became the youngest winner of a major race on Indy's historic 2.5-mile oval. Brazil's Matheus Leist set the previous mark in May when he won the Indy Lights race at 19 years, 8 months, 19 days.
And in three short weeks, Byron has visited victory lane at two tracks -- Daytona and Indy -- that often torment more experienced drivers.
Getting there Saturday sure wasn't easy.
Byron and the series' other drivers used restrictor plates, new air ducts and a different splitter in hopes of making the race more competitive than in past years. In part, it worked.
Eight drivers traded the lead 16 times, both race records. And before Menard pressed the issue, Byron had to hold off Joey Logano, who finished third more than three seconds back.
"I made a pretty aggressive dive into (turn) one on the last lap to see if I could get him loose but he hung on," Menard said. "Maybe I could have gotten his bumper but it would have killed my momentum too. I definitely tried to get him loose and couldn't."
But there was plenty of single-file racing, too.
Series officials will now debate whether a similar package would make for a more entertaining Cup race next September.
Sports on 07/23/2017