William Byron saw yet another win slip away due to an unexpected issue late. This time, it was fuel mileage that disrupted his run at Michigan International Speedway.
Byron led 98 laps on Sunday at Michigan, the most in the field. He scored a race-high 19 stage points and added another playoff point to his total by winning stage 2. He was in the lead with under 10 miles to go at the 2-mile track.
The situation changed drastically for Byron with four laps to go as he lost the lead to Denny Hamlin. He then ran out of fuel coming to the white flag. This sent him down pit road while the rest of the drivers in the field completed the final lap.
DENNY HAMLIN WINS AT MICHIGAN! pic.twitter.com/Sb6CAPrSas
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 8, 2025
Byron went from first to 28th in a matter of four laps. Although he maintained his lead in the Cup Series standings with a 29-point day.
"We didn't have enough (fuel)," Byron told Prime Video's Kim Coon on pit road after the race. "We were gonna run out with a lap-and-a-half, or we did run out with a lap-and-a-half.
"It was just trying to manage both. It was trying to keep the lead and manage the gap and save fuel down the straights and on exit and everything. Ultimately, I guess, maybe not as good (fuel) mileage as the guys that were further back to start that run."
This is not the first time that Byron has led the most laps but watched a victory slip through his grasp. This recently happened in the Coca-Cola 600.
He led 283 laps and won the first three stages, but he lost the lead to Ross Chastain with six laps remaining. Chastain won his first race of the season while Byron settled for second.
Another example was the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Byron started from the pole, won the opening two stages, and led 243 laps. However, he lost the lead to Tyler Reddick during the final green flag pit stop.
Byron worked his way back into contention as the laps clicked down, but a late crash involving Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson set up another pit stop and an overtime restart. He exited pit road third.
This did not give him enough time to pass Reddick and then chase Hamlin, who ultimately scored the win.
A less prominent example is the spring race at Phoenix. Byron won the pole, led 83 laps, and won the opening stage. But he was caught on the bad end of a late caution.
He and Chase Elliott headed down pit road with 50 laps to go, but another driver brought out the caution after hitting the wall. This meant that the two Hendrick Motorsports drivers had to take the wave around to get back on the lead lap.
They restarted at the rear of the field and worked through the pack, but they ran out of time to challenge for the lead. Byron ultimately settled for sixth place while Christopher Bell won.