Trucks: William Byron Stays Strong, Wins at Pocono
By Alex Herbst
NASCAR fans are witnessing the birth of the sport’s next great superstar perhaps, as William Byron won for the 5th time this year on Saturday.
Entering the 2016 season for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, many knew it would be a battle between the seasoned veterans and the upstart young guns to get into the first ever Chase for the Championship. No one expected, however, that a rookie would lead the series in points and wins after twelve races. And that’s what William Byron has done.
On Saturday, Byron broke a record in the Trucks by winning his fifth race of the season, this time on the tricky triangle at Pocono Raceway. It is the most wins in the series by a rookie since Kurt Busch won four races in 2000. While no Cup drivers raced in the companion event this weekend, Byron put on a performance that may remind many of his team owner Kyle Busch, leading 44 of 60 laps on the day.
Byron drove away and hid from his competition throughout most of the race, in spite of a record nine cautions on the day and threatening skies putting an extra sense of urgency in all the drivers. On the final restart, Byron would hold off Cameron Hayley and Brett Moffitt to take the checkered flag, who would come home second and third.
Despite a poor result in the previous race at Eldora, William Byron enters a brief summer break for the Camping World Truck Series with the top spot in the Trucks Chase with just four races to go. As just eight drivers will qualify for the run to the championship, Cameron Hayley benefitted from his strong day, jumping into the final grid spot. Meanwhile, Tyler Reddick had a rough day on track, including bringing out two cautions, and dropping him to 10th in the standings.
Here are the full results from the Pocono Mountains 150:
- William Byron, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- Cameron Hayley, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Brett Moffitt, Toyota, Red Horse Racing
- Timothy Peters, Toyota, Red Horse Racing
- Cole Custer, Chevrolet, JR Motorsports
- Rico Abreu, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Ben Kennedy, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Johnny Sauter, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- John Hunter Nemechek, Chevrolet, NEMCO Motorsports
- Christopher Bell, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- Ben Rhodes, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Matt Crafton, Toyota, ThorSport Racing
- Cody Coughlin, Toyota, Kyle Busch Motorsports
- Jordan Anderson, Chevrolet, Bolen Motorsports
- Spencer Gallagher, Chevrolet, GMS Racing
- Travis Kvapil, Chevrolet, MAKE Motorsports
- Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, Martins Family Racing
- Reed Sorenson, Chevrolet, Premium Motorsports
- Kyle Martel, Chevrolet, Martel Racing
- Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, FDNY Racing
- Todd Peck, Chevrolet, SS Green Light Racing
- Daniel Hemric, Ford, Brad Keselowski Racing
- Norm Benning, Chevrolet, MB Motorsports
- Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, Brandon Brown Racing
- Austin Wayne Self, Toyota, AM Racing
- Tyler Reddick, Ford, Brad Keselowski Racing
- Carlos Contreras, Chevrolet, Contreras Motorsports
- Jennifer Jo Cobb, Chevrolet, MAKE Motorsports
- John Wes Townley, Chevrolet, Athenian Motorsports
- Sean Corr, Chevrolet, Norm Benning Racing
- Austin Hill, Ford, Young’s Motorsports
- Caleb Roark, Chevrolet, JJC Racing
Related Story: What to Watch For at Pocono Raceway
Be sure to tune in for the next race for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, as they present a Wednesday night special from the bullring – Bristol Motor Speedway. Catch the UNOH 200 at Bristol on Wednesday, August 17 at 8:00 pm eastern live on FS1.