Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron may have been quite disappointed after dominating the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, only to come up short after Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain passed him in the closing laps, but there were several positive takeaways for the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet.
Byron's 283 laps led (out of 400) around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) Concord, North Carolina oval weren't worth nothing. He won the first three stages, netting him an additional three playoff points, and he scored 65 out of a possible 71 points, by far the most among all 40 drivers in the field.
As a result, he took over the lead of the point standings again, just one race after relinquishing it to teammate Kyle Larson.
William Byron back on top of NASCAR Cup Series point standings
Larson crashed out and finished the Coca-Cola 600 in 37th place, and he now trails Byron by 29 points after entering the race 35 points ahead. Larson came into the Coca-Cola 600 having just competed in the Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and his race also ended in a crash.
He still became just the fifth driver ever to run both races in the same day after attempting to do so last year but not being able to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 due to the weather.
What is particularly notable about the lead of the regular season point standings is that it also includes a playoff point bonus ahead of the playoffs. The regular season champion is awarded 15 extra playoff points, and the runner-up is awarded 10. So being in first place, rather than second, is effectively a 10-point swing over the driver in second.
Prior to Larson passing Byron for the points lead following the most recent points race at Kansas Speedway three weekends ago, Byron had held the lead since the season's third race at Circuit of the Americas in early March.
Will Byron stay on top after the Cracker Barrel 400? Amazon Prime Video is set to provide live coverage from Nashville Superspeedway beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 1.