NEWTON, Iowa — William Byron fought off fuel worries in the closing laps to win the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Iowa Speedway.
Byron went the last 144 laps of the 350-lap race without a stop en route to his second victory of the season — he won the Daytona 500 in February — and 15th overall. He also took the season points lead from Hendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.
Byron lost gambles on fuel twice this season, at Michigan and Indianapolis , but held on with the help of a caution-filled final stage to win by 1.192 seconds over pole-sitter Chase Briscoe.
“We needed one to go our way,” said Byron, who led 141 laps.
Brad Keselowski, who came into the race needing a win to get into the playoffs, was third. Keselowski, who hasn’t won since the May race at Darlington la