DARLINGTON, S.C. -- A perfect performance was within reach for William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team. Yet, they just weren't meant to cap off a historic day.
Byron had to settle for second place at Darlington Raceway while Denny Hamlin won his second consecutive race.
"That would have been pretty damn impressive," Byron said after Sunday's race. "It sucks, but nobody is at fault. Those guys could be aggressive on the other side of us and it was turning into a big strategy play.
"We just couldn't keep control."
Byron led the field to the green flag after winning the pole. He then spent 243 laps at the front of the pack while sweeping the opening stages.
Midway through the final stage, it appeared that Byron would become the first driver since Jeff Burton at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2000 to lead every single lap of a Cup Series race and win.
And then green flag pit stops happened.
Unlike the first two stages, the final stage featured almost nonstop green flag racing. Byron made his stop on Lap 244, which created the first lead change of the day. He then lost three spots as Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell all leapfrogged him with earlier stops.
This forced Byron to chase other drivers in dirty air for the first time at the historic South Carolina track.
"We just needed control of the race there under green, and we lost that with the pit sequence," Byron said. "The No. 45 (Tyler Reddick) went really short. We lost a few spots under the green flag sequence, and that was the difference."
The perfect race was out of reach, but Byron still had multiple opportunities to get his second win of the season. The first required him to pass Reddick, Logano, and Bell in the closing laps and take back the lead.
The Hendrick driver was unable to accomplish this while battling in traffic, but teammate Kyle Larson spinning with four to go gave him new life. Byron just needed a strong pit stop to put him up front for the overtime restart.
That @JoeGibbsRacing team stepped up on the final stop.
Fueler - Kenneth Purcell
Jackman - Joel Alexandre Bouagnon
Front Tire Changer - Austin Maloney
Rear Tire Changer - Deven Youker
Tire Carrier - Dylan Dowell pic.twitter.com/M49UnUqxSJ— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 7, 2025
The No. 24 crew delivered a clean stop, but it was just slightly slower than that of the No. 11 team. Instead of lining up as the control car, Byron was on the second row for the final restart.
Once the green flag waved, he cleared Reddick for second place and began to chase down Hamlin. He just ran out of time over the final two laps.
This finish created mixed emotions for Byron. He left Darlington with 56 points and two playoff points. He maintained his lead in the Cup Series standings.
He just missed out on the perfect performance.
"It sucks and I'm sure it will sting tonight, but there are still a lot of positives," Byron said. "It just stings in the moment for sure.''