Byron dominated Sunday’s race after setting the fastest time in practice on Saturday and earning pole position.
He led on five occasions for 42 of the 68 laps, scoring his second win of 2024 by 0.692 seconds over Christopher Bell.
Byron had lost the lead at the start of the final stage to Ross Chastain by overshooting Turn 1, but chased him down to reclaim it at Turn 1 with 25 laps to go. He held on to the finish as Stage 1 winner Bell charged on fresher tyres, courtesy of a later pitstop.
Byron and Hendrick Motorsports team-mate Kyle Larson have combined to win three of the season’s first six races.
"We've had a little bit of a rough stretch the last few weeks, but put a lot of prep work in this week.
"It's just a lot of fun to win races, and it's really difficult. We're going to enjoy this one."
Ty Gibbs ended up third by muscling his way past Alex Bowman at Turn 2 with eight laps remaining. Bowman had to settle for fourth, as Tyler Reddick rounded out the top five.
Completing the top 10 were A.J. Allmendinger, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Kyle Busch - who lost track positions in the final Stage to a spin at Turn 1 instigated by Bell - and Martin Truex Jr.
A first stage victory of 2024 went to Bell's team-mate Denny Hamlin, who took 14th spot, while Larson ended up 18th after being turned around in Stage 2 by Bell.
The Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was in that phase of the race dropping back through the field on older tyres, having elected not to pit before the break, and tagged Larson into a spin at Turn 11. He briefly stalled, before continuing.
Three-time Supercars champion Shane van Gisbergen was hampered by a pit road speeding penalty and ended up 21st. Sportscar racing ace Kamui Kobayashi was involved in several on-track incidents and finished 30th in a third 23XI Racing entry.
NASCAR Cup COTA race results
| CLA | DRIVER | # | MANUFACTURER | LAPS | TIME | INTERVAL | PITS | POINTS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | W. ByronHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 24 | Chevrolet | 68 |
2:43'14.675 |
5 | |||
| 2 | C. BellJOE GIBBS RACING | 20 | Toyota | 68 |
+0.692 2:43'15.367 |
0.692 | 5 | ||
| 3 |
T. GibbsJOE GIBBS RACING
|
54 | Toyota | 68 |
+2.778 2:43'17.453 |
2.086 | 6 | ||
| 4 | A. BowmanHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 48 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+12.675 2:43'27.350 |
9.897 | 6 | ||
| 5 | T. Reddick23XI RACING | 45 | Toyota | 68 |
+13.162 2:43'27.837 |
0.487 | 6 | ||
| 6 | A. AllmendingerKAULIG RACING | 13 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+18.979 2:43'33.654 |
5.817 | 6 | ||
| 7 | R. ChastainTRACKHOUSE RACING | 1 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+20.988 2:43'35.663 |
2.009 | 6 | ||
| 8 | C. BuescherRFK RACING | 17 | Ford | 68 |
+24.316 2:43'38.991 |
3.328 | 6 | ||
| 9 | K. BuschRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 8 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+25.329 2:43'40.004 |
1.013 | 6 | ||
| 10 | M. Truex JrJOE GIBBS RACING | 19 | Toyota | 68 |
+31.628 2:43'46.303 |
6.299 | 7 | ||
| 11 | J. LoganoTEAM PENSKE | 22 | Ford | 68 |
+32.491 2:43'47.166 |
0.863 | 6 | ||
| 12 | R. BlaneyTEAM PENSKE | 12 | Ford | 68 |
+34.150 2:43'48.825 |
1.659 | 6 | ||
| 13 | C. BriscoeSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 14 | Ford | 68 |
+38.645 2:43'53.320 |
4.495 | 6 | ||
| 14 | D. HamlinJOE GIBBS RACING | 11 | Toyota | 68 |
+42.504 2:43'57.179 |
3.859 | 6 | ||
| 15 | B. Wallace23XI RACING | 23 | Toyota | 68 |
+42.860 2:43'57.535 |
0.356 | 7 | ||
| 16 | C. ElliottHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 9 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+43.211 2:43'57.886 |
0.351 | 7 | ||
| 17 | J. HaleyRICK WARE RACING | 51 | Ford | 68 |
+44.121 2:43'58.796 |
0.910 | 6 | ||
| 18 | K. LarsonHENDRICK MOTORSPORTS | 5 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+44.885 2:43'59.560 |
0.764 | 6 | ||
| 19 | A. CindricTEAM PENSKE | 2 | Ford | 68 |
+45.195 2:43'59.870 |
0.310 | 6 | ||
| 20 |
Z. SmithSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
71 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+46.113 2:44'00.788 |
0.918 | 6 | ||
| 21 | S. van GisbergenKAULIG RACING | 16 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+47.374 2:44'02.049 |
1.261 | 7 | ||
| 22 | J. NemechekLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 42 | Toyota | 68 |
+56.678 2:44'11.353 |
9.304 | 7 | ||
| 23 |
C. HocevarSPIRE MOTORSPORTS
|
77 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+58.723 2:44'13.398 |
2.045 | 6 | ||
| 24 | R. PreeceSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 41 | Ford | 68 |
+58.744 2:44'13.419 |
0.021 | 5 | ||
| 25 | C. LajoieSPIRE MOTORSPORTS | 7 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+59.109 2:44'13.784 |
0.365 | 7 | ||
| 26 | A. DillonRICHARD CHILDRESS RACING | 3 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+1'00.090 2:44'14.765 |
0.981 | 4 | ||
| 27 | T. GillilandFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 38 | Ford | 68 |
+1'00.975 2:44'15.650 |
0.885 | 6 | ||
| 28 | K. GralaRICK WARE RACING | 15 | Ford | 68 |
+1'01.529 2:44'16.204 |
0.554 | 6 | ||
| 29 | R. Stenhouse JrJTG DAUGHERTY RACING | 47 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+1'10.102 2:44'24.777 |
8.573 | 7 | ||
| 30 | K. Kobayashi23XI RACING | 50 | Toyota | 68 |
+1'14.371 2:44'29.046 |
4.269 | 7 | ||
| 31 | H. BurtonWOOD BROTHERS RACING | 21 | Ford | 68 |
+1'19.947 2:44'34.622 |
5.576 | 7 | ||
| 32 | D. SuarezTRACKHOUSE RACING | 99 | Chevrolet | 68 |
+1'21.779 2:44'36.454 |
1.832 | 8 | ||
| 33 | E. JonesLEGACY MOTOR CLUB | 43 | Toyota | 68 |
+1'44.257 2:44'58.932 |
22.478 | 8 | ||
| 34 | B. KeselowskiRFK RACING | 6 | Ford | 68 |
+2'00.399 2:45'15.074 |
16.142 | 6 | ||
| 35 | N. GragsonSTEWART-HAAS RACING | 10 | Ford | 67 |
+1 Lap 2:43'36.700 |
1 Lap | 7 | ||
| 36 | J. BerrySTEWART-HAAS RACING | 4 | Ford | 67 |
+1 Lap 2:44'31.741 |
55.041 | 6 | ||
| 37 | T. HillMBM | 66 | Ford | 66 |
+2 Laps 2:43'52.013 |
1 Lap | 6 | ||
| 38 | D. HemricKAULIG RACING | 31 | Chevrolet | 66 |
+2 Laps 2:44'39.010 |
46.997 | 7 | ||
| 39 | M. McDowellFRONT ROW MOTORSPORTS | 34 | Ford | 51 |
+17 Laps 2:27'07.270 |
15 Laps | 7 |
