With 31 laps to go in Sunday’s (Oct. 12) NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, William Byron hit Ty Dillon in a vicious crash that destroyed both Chevrolets.
The stories of Dillon and Byron in regard to communication before the incident did not corroborate.
“I never saw him wave,” Byron told USA Network. “I didn’t see any indication that he was pitting. It was probably 12 to 15 laps after we had pitted, so I thought the cycle was over. Nobody said anything to my spotter for what I know. I had zero idea. Everyone’s been wrapping the paint around the bottom of the corner, and that’s what I was doing to have a good lap. He starts slowing, [and] I had no idea what was going on. I’m just devastated. I had no indication.”
But Dillon differed and claimed he did wave.
“My spotter told me that he let the No. 24 spotter know that we were coming to pit road,” Dillon said. “Maybe I didn’t wave him off enough, but I feel like at this level, you trust your spotter to do that. I don’t know what we do different there.”
Byron was running in second place at the time and was en route to a great points day to kick off the Round of 8. Dillon, meanwhile, was just trying to nurse an ill-handling Kaulig Racing machine home.
The crash relegated Byron to a 36th-place finish and saw him drop 15 points below the cut line going into the second race of the Round of 8.
A member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA), Samuel also covers NASCAR for Yardbarker, Field Level Media, and Heavy Sports. He will attend the University of Arkansas in the fall of 2025.