Who… should you be talking about after the race?
Can you pick a title favorite after just six races? It may be a little early yet, but if you did, it might have to be William Byron. Byron took his second win of 2024, his second in the last three road course contests and his 12th career victory in Sunday’s (March 24) EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas.
Byron won the pole for the race and led 42 of the 68 laps in a dominant performance, holding off a charging Christopher Bell by .692 seconds.
Byron didn’t have the fastest car at the end, but he had track position, and most importantly, he didn’t make a single mistake for Bell to pounce on.
And don’t forget Joey Logano. For a two-time champion, Logano probably isn’t happy with an 11th-place result, but this one is his best finish in the last three years at COTA and his second-best of 2024. With four finishes of 22nd or worse in six races, Logano needs any bright spots he can find, and Sunday was one. He started 35th on Sunday, his worst qualifying effort of the year (he has two poles and four top-five starts) but was able to turn that into a respectable if not spectacular finish.
That’s something to build on. Right now, that’s what Logano needs. It’s not time to hit the panic button yet — Logano usually finds consistency during the regular season, and it’s that consistency that gets him into the playoffs and through the rounds. He needs to pick it up, but there’s still time if the turnaround comes soon.
What… is the big question leaving this race in the rearview?
We’ve seen some really good racing so far in 2024. TV ratings are up. Everything’s coming up roses so far.
But can NASCAR sustain the momentum?
At the end of the day, it isn’t a Netflix series that will keep the curious around, it’s the racing. And what NASCAR does in the next couple of months to sustain the excitement is going to be important.
The Next Gen car has been solid on the intermediate tracks, and there are four of those in the seven events leading into the All-Star Race in May. Talladega Superspeedway falls in that stretch, too, and that will be exciting, even…
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