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Motorsport

William Byron: "I'm just an idiot" for wrecking out of Chicago Cup practice

William Byron Chicago Shane van Gisbergen NASCAR NASCAR Cup NASCAR Cup Series SVG (Organization) Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports

In NASCAR Cup Series practice at Chicago, things were looking promising for William Byron. He was faster than Shane van Gisbergen, setting the pace in the first practice group. He lapped the street circuit in 1:31.008s, over three tenths quicker than SVG.

However, after completing eight laps, the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet returned to the track for the closing moments of the session. That ended up being a mistake, as Byron lost it on entry into Turn 10. The car slid out and hit the wall, breaking the left-rear toe-link and damaging the side of the car. He crab-walked the car back to the pits, but the damage was done.

The No. 24 gets into the wall!@WilliamByron was at the top of the speed charts at the time of this incident. pic.twitter.com/hoNMOju9J4
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) July 5, 2025

Byron will have to start from the rear of the field as a result of the costly mistake. He will join Denny Hamlin on the back row, who lost an engine at the very beginning of the practice session.

"I'm an idiot," Byron told TNT Sports. "I just took a lot through there and (had) a lot of speed. I was just getting my tires cleaned back off from leaving pit road."

He continued: "I had just pitted, so my tires were probably just coming up to temp again. I took it easy the first half of the lap and I was starting to push, being close to the alternate start/finish (line) and just lost traction."

As for the battle ahead of him, Byron was confident in his ability to get the No. 24 back through the field, but admitted: "Just sucks starting from the back ... just don't like crashing."

Byron ended up second overall in practice. Unfortunately, his Hendrick Motorsports teammates also found the wall, just not as severely. Chase Elliott pancaked the wall at Turn 4 and Alex Bowman was forced to replace a bent toe-link. Like Byron, Elliott won't make a qualifying attempt either. In the end, repairs meant that all four Hendrick drivers -- including Kyle Larson -- will start from the rear of the field.

Photos from Chicago - Practice & Qualifying

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Austin Cindric, Team Penske Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Noah Gragson, Front Row Motorsports Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

John Hunter Nemechek, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Corey Heim, Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ryan Blaney, Team Penske Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

General view

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Michael McDowell, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chase Briscoe, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Shane van Gisbergen, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet, Ross Chastain, Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Austin Dillon, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Zane Smith, Front Row Motorsports Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Alex Bowman, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota, Riley Herbst, 23XI Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Tyler Reddick, 23XI Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Bubba Wallace, 23XI Racing Toyota, Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Katherine Legge, Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Brad Keselowski, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Cole Custer, Haas Factory Team Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ryan Preece, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chris Buescher, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ty Dillon, Kaulig Racing Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Carson Hocevar, Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Corey Heim, Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Katherine Legge, Chevrolet

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Cody Ware, Rick Ware Racing Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Ty Gibbs, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

John Hunter Nemechek, LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Toyota

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

Garrett Smithley, Power Source Ford

2025 - Chicago - Saturday

NASCAR Cup

52

In this article

Nick DeGroot

NASCAR Cup

William Byron

Hendrick Motorsports

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