William Byron Lands on Brad Keselowski After Being Launched into Armco Barriers
Throughout its time on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, Watkins Glen International has been the catalyst of several insane-looking accidents, from cars flipping upside down to drivers being launched over the top of the track's Armco barriers in a logjam.
Well, you can add the most recent incident in Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen to that list, after William Byron found himself coming to rest in the driver's side window of Brad Keselowski's No. 6 Ford Mustang Dark Horse, after a hard crash exiting the esses.
OH MY GOODNESS!
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 15, 2024
WILLIAM BYRON AND BRAD KESELOWSKI CRASH! #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Uf3mAHGyCn
Byron was running just outside the top-15 at the time of the incident, racing with Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano to be the furthest forward driver on sticker Goodyear tires. That all came to a screaming halt when Logano got into the left-rear corner of Keselowski, sending him up the track.
It was the initial contact between Keselowski and Byron that sent the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro toward the sky as it slammed into the three-tier barrier while airborne. The two drivers were coupled together, as the right-front tire of the Hendrick Motorsports driver landed right in the window of the No. 6.
Somehow, Keselowski and Byron were able to work it out without the aid of the safety crews, as Byron appeared to accelerate out of the window of the No. 6, being set back on the ground and driving his car back to the pits -- despite not having the steering necessary to turn right.
The more miraculous thing? The Hendrick Motorsports crew was able to get the playoff-eligible Byron back on the racetrack before the Damaged Vehicle Policy (DVP) clock expired. Teams are given seven minutes to fix damage to get cars back to minimum speed, something the team was able to do rather quickly, considering the extensive damage to the No. 24.
Byron returned to the racetrack only two laps behind the leaders, sitting 34th-place, and battling Juan Pablo Montoya, and Erik Jones -- as well as any drivers involved in future accidents -- to get himself back on the lead-lap and capitalize on some late-race chaos.
The Charlotte, North Carolina-native entered Watkins Glen 33 points above the cutline.
