Written By: Catherine Coleman
After an intense race, including a hard fought battle between Championship 4 teammates William Byron and Elliott Sadler, Byron, a rookie and one of NASCAR’s rising stars, drove with the skill of a veteran, crowning himself champion of the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series.
The 19 year old from Charlotte, North Carolina, who led the series this year in wins, finished third in the Ford EcoBost 300. Byron raced past the remaining Championship 4 contenders Elliott Sadler (8th), Justin Allgaier (12th) and Daniel Hemric (34th). With the championship, he became the second youngest champion in NASCAR XFINITY Series history; behind record holder Chase Elliott, who won the series title at 18 years old. A racing prodigy, Byron received the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
“I don’t know that I took a breath the last 20 laps,” said Byron. “That was incredible. I just have to thank this team. This is awesome. Elliott Sadler raced me clean and we just raced hard for it. I just can’t believe this.”
Though Byron brought home the championship hardware, it was Cole Custer who finished first, and was the highest finishing rookie with a 150.0 perfect driver rating, the first perfect rating in the XFINITY Series this year. This race serves as the 19-year-old’s first victory in 38 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts.
“We knew we were going to be really good this weekend, but our Haas Automation Mustang was unreal,” said Custer. “We really wanted to have a good showing at Ford Championship Weekend. Even though we weren’t in it we wanted to win.”
Tickets to Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale, are available and can be purchased by visiting homesteadmiamispeedway.com or by calling (866) 409-RACE.
After an intense race, including a hard fought battle between Championship 4 teammates William Byron and Elliott Sadler, Byron, a rookie and one of NASCAR’s rising stars, drove with the skill of a veteran, crowning himself champion of the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series.
The 19 year old from Charlotte, North Carolina, who led the series this year in wins, finished third in the Ford EcoBost 300. Byron raced past the remaining Championship 4 contenders Elliott Sadler (8th), Justin Allgaier (12th) and Daniel Hemric (34th). With the championship, he became the second youngest champion in NASCAR XFINITY Series history; behind record holder Chase Elliott, who won the series title at 18 years old. A racing prodigy, Byron received the 2017 NASCAR XFINITY Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.
“I don’t know that I took a breath the last 20 laps,” said Byron. “That was incredible. I just have to thank this team. This is awesome. Elliott Sadler raced me clean and we just raced hard for it. I just can’t believe this.”
Though Byron brought home the championship hardware, it was Cole Custer who finished first, and was the highest finishing rookie with a 150.0 perfect driver rating, the first perfect rating in the XFINITY Series this year. This race serves as the 19-year-old’s first victory in 38 NASCAR XFINITY Series starts.
“We knew we were going to be really good this weekend, but our Haas Automation Mustang was unreal,” said Custer. “We really wanted to have a good showing at Ford Championship Weekend. Even though we weren’t in it we wanted to win.”
Tickets to Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 championship finale, are available and can be purchased by visiting homesteadmiamispeedway.com or by calling (866) 409-RACE.
