William Byron has had a busy September, and racing is not the only thing on his mind.
Byron, 18, began his freshman year at Liberty University, one of his sponsors, earlier this month. But school hasn’t stalled his pursuit of a championship in the Camping World Truck Series Chase. Instead, he gave the other drivers an lesson in how to master the Magic Mile at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday.
Byron took the checkered flag in the UNOH 175, the sixth win of his rookie year, adding yet another piece to the trophy chest for team owner Kyle Bush.
Byron led a trio of Toyota drivers across the finish line with KBM teammate Christopher Bell following in second and Matt Crafton in third.
“Everybody on this Liberty University Tundra is doing a great job all season and to get a win now, when it counts in the Chase, feels so good,” Byron said. “I was so down on myself last week making that mistake, so to come back and get this win is really, really good for our team.”
Byron hit the wall early in Chicago last weekend, forcing him into the garage and out of the race. He turned it around in Loudon by winning the pole and holding the top position for all but 14 laps.
Bell, driving the No. 4 Toyota and determined to catch his teammate, was nipping at the heels of Byron’s No. 9 Tundra approaching the final lap.
“I was afraid the 4 was going to catch us there at the end,” said Byron, who will race for Hendrick Motorsports in the Xfinity Series next season. “We started to get tight, but that’s what happens sometimes when you get out front. It was really good – just a great race for us.”
Bell could smell victory as he came up a few links behind Byron, but his push was too late. The 21-year-old couldn’t be too disappointed with a second-place finish, but he believed the opportunity was there to take first.
“Even if we just go out to rental go-kart tracks, we’re still racing to win and nobody likes to finish second,” Bell said.
Strong races for Bell in Chicago and New Hampshire gave him confidence and momentum as the Chase continues in Las Vegas later this week.
“I think the KBM trucks are really good and William and I proved that again today,” Bell said, who finished fourth at Chicagoland last weekend. “To get a top-five (in Chicago) was outstanding for us and to build on that with a second-place run here today … I think that will give us some momentum going into Vegas and the rest of the races here and just it’d be nice to capitalize on some wins.”
Saturday’s race was the inaugural Chase competition in the Camping World Truck Series, and Byron’s win guarantees his place in the round of six starting at Martinsville on Oct. 29. Two more races – at Las Vegas and Talladega – will decide the rest of the field.
Daniel Hemric was the last Chase driver to finish after a small fire in his truck led him back to the pit. He finished 28th and is last in points among Chase drivers.
Timothy Reddick, driving the No. 29 Cooper Standard Ford, was the lone non-Chase driver to crack the top-five, finishing fourth.
When races are scheduled at Loudon on the Whelen Modified Tour, Justin Bonsignore doesn’t circle the day on his calendar.
Bonsignore has a history of disappointment at the Magic Mile, but he shook it off Saturday and took first place in the FW Webb 100 for his 11th career win.
“This is huge,” said Bonsignore, who led the pack for 77 of 100 laps. “We’ve struggled here notoriously for five or six years – I haven’t led a lap since 2011. Always been frustrated coming here, sometimes you don’t even look forward to coming.”
Ron Silk followed Bonsignore in second, Doug Coby in third, Matt Swanson in fourth and Sprint Cup driver Ryan Newman finished fifth.
Rowan Pennink was one of Bonsignore’s closest challengers and led for five laps, but engine problems cut his day short at the most inopportune time – on the 98th lap. A caution flag extended the race to 106 laps. Bonsignore jumped out ahead of Silk and Coby on the restart and took his lead to the finish line.
“I was gonna be aggressive,” Bonsignore said. “I knew I needed to get in the front. We’re in a position right now where we have to win and we have to have max points with the remaining league races left.”
The tour concludes with two races in Connecticut: The Napa Fall Final 150 at Stafford Motor Speedway and the Sunoco World Series 150 at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Eddie MacDonald climbed the ladder from 31st to first in 50 laps to win the American-Canadian Tour’s eighth annual Bond Act Invitational at NHMS.
MacDonald, also the 2015 champion at Loudon, took advantage of two restarts on the 45th lap and jumped ahead. Another caution on the next lap cut his lead back, but shot out again on the restart to get ahead of Jimmy Hebert, who led the pack for 35 laps, and take first.
“I was worried about Jimmy. He was fast all day,” MacDonald said. “We struggled coming up through the field a little bit toward the end there. I wasn’t making as much ground as I had hoped. … Luckily for cautions, that’s the way that we even had a chance to be able to contend for the win. Other than that, Jimmy was going to run away with it.”
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3339, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)