William Byron is the first driver out of the Daytona 500 following a wreck late in Stage 1.
Byron, who won his qualifying race last week, wrecked with seven laps left in the stage after he received a push from pole-sitter Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Byron slid through the backstretch grass before hitting the inside wall nose-first.
Byron was running in the top five with all three of his Hendrick Motorsports teammates when the incident occurred.
“He was kind moving when he hit me first,” Byron told Fox. “So he pushed me left with him. Then he hit me off center in the left rear and just turned me around. … It’s unfortunate. I feel like there’s really no reason, it’s Lap 45 or whatever it was, to be that aggressive moving across my bumper.”
Byron doesn’t leave Daytona empty-handed as he has 10 points from his qualifying race win.
William Byron slides across the grass and into the wall. pic.twitter.com/ZISlUDLdru
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 17, 2020