Before Sunday’s race in Kansas, Joey Lagana sent a not-so-subtle warning to William Byron when asked if he considered them Darlington hostility was all square.
“If he wants to keep walking back and forth, I will keep swinging,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a good game for him in the long run … he can keep going. But I can promise you that I will keep going and get bigger every time.”
See? Thin!
A quick update: Byron was leading in Darlington with two to the end when Lagana brought him to the stands (well, it wasn’t that hard, but it was more than just a run) and ran away with the win.
Byron called him Fr. moron after the race. Logan said he had just returned the favor earlier when Byron pressed him against the wall at a late restart.
They played well on Sunday in Kansas, but does that mean the hostility is resolved?
Well …
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“If we find ourselves in this situation again, if we will participate in races 1-2 with him, now I know how he will participate in races, and I fight with people as I know that they will participate in races,” – Byron told The News-Journal.
“But honestly, the focus now is we. We need to find out a lot with this car. If it was another season and it was a lot more specific about who will be fast each week, maybe we would focus more about that battle between him and me. But now so much is happening, so many different players every week, that it’s hard to focus on one guy. “
Now that one was really thin … and smart.
Byron needs to know, like anyone, that prolonged hostility can be made on the track, especially if the stakes are rising.
William Byron was tired of procrastinating Lagan’s drama
Last season, he sat in the front row in front of teammate Chase Elliott a three-week battle with Kevin Harwick – the one who nearly brought them both out of the playoffs.
It all started with Elliott keeping Harwick in Bristol and possibly costing him a win, and ended with Harwick defeating Elliott in Charlotte Roval.
Ironically, it was later Harwick, not Chase, who found himself off the playoffs, leading to Eliot’s famous “Merry Off-Season and Merry Christmas” line.
Thin again!
“It’s fair,” Byron said when asked if he came up with Elliott’s hostility last season. “Probably you can win 16 cars every week, and focusing on one guy really takes your attention away from what’s important.
“You have this (Logan) in your head, but at the same time, you’re racing with so many other guys that you can’t get too carried away with one situation.”
NASCAR is on television this weekend
So what’s next?
Well, reaching a peak in the schedule, a couple of road courses are expected over the next six weeks. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this type of racing usually brings some payback.
Or, of course, Byron could just move on and focus on a grueling summer period that includes just one weekend from now until the regular season finale on Aug. 27 in Dayton.
But above all: the All-Star Race on Sunday in Texas (20:00, FS1), on account of $ 1 million.
“Well, it would definitely open up a lot of opportunities and things I could do with it,” Byron said. “I would have used part of this to invest in the race of late models in which I participated this year, and would have tried to support this program, but yes, I’m sure I would have also captured part of it.”
The All-Star Weekend in Texas begins Friday with the Camping World Trucks Series race at 8:30 p.m. on FS1. The Xfinity race starts at 13:30 on Saturday (FS1), followed by the 7 qualifying Cup (also FS1).
The All-Star Open starts at 5:30 pm on Sunday (FS1) and will consist of three stages.
