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NASCAR: William Byron rues ‘dumb, so dumb’ retaliation attempt against Kyle Busch

By Asher Fair

BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 16: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 16, 2019 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 16: William Byron, driver of the #24 Liberty University Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 16, 2019 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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William Byron failed epically when trying to get revenge on Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International earlier this month.

After Kyle Busch spun out trying to pass William Byron in the early stages of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Watkins Glen International back on Sunday, August 4, he was clearly ticked off.

While this incident clearly wasn’t Byron’s fault, it didn’t matter to Busch as he sought revenge against the 21-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native.

Busch caught back up to the #24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and using his #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, he sent Byron off the track in the chicane, resulting in grass getting onto the grill of the #24 Chevrolet.

As a result of Busch’s antics, Byron’s crew chief, Chad Knaus, was ticked off, and he had every right to be.

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“If I see the 18 come back around here without you knocking the [expletive] out of him, we’re gonna have a problem,” stated Knaus.

Byron had every right to be ticked off as well. But in his attempt to knock the [expletive] out of Busch, he failed epically.

Under caution, Byron accelerated as he neared the #18 Toyota. But Busch brake checked him at the last second, and that precautionary measure coupled with the fact that Byron was coming at him straight from behind at a decent pace resulted in a sizable chunk of damage being done to the #24 Chevrolet while practically none was done to the #18 Toyota.

Busch remained in contention throughout the rest of the race, although a separate run-in with Darrell Wallace Jr. resulted in him only finishing in 11th place. Byron ended up finishing in 21st after starting on the front row in second aside of teammate and eventual race winner Chase Elliott.

On the latest episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Byron opened up about his decision to try to retaliate against Busch, only to have it backfire in terms of both the level of damage sustained by his own car and the level of embarrassment with which he was faced afterward.

Byron really only had one four-letter word for it.

Dumb.

“That was dumb. That was so dumb,” he stated.

And there really isn’t much else to say about it.

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William Byron is still seeking what would be the first victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career. Will he secure that victory before the 2019 season ends? His best finish of the season and of his career is his second place finish in this past July’s rain-shortened race at Daytona International Speedway.

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