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There are plenty of ways things can take a turn for the worse during a NASCAR race, but William Bryon may have fallen victim to one of the strangest setbacks in recent memory after a beer can got stuck in a key component of his car.
On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series headed to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400, a showdown where 37 drivers were hoping to earn the checkered flag after completing the 267 laps around the 1.5-mile circuit.
That included William Byron, who walked away with the victory at the Daytona 500 in February and was hoping to bounce back a bit after coming in 17th at the Ambetter Health 400 in Atlanta.
It looked like Byron was in prime position to do exactly that and firm up his spot near the top of the standings after he came in with the fourth-best time during the qualifying session. Unfortunately, things took a strange turn toward the beginning of the race.
There were unusually high winds in Las Vegas when the Pennzoil 400 kicked off, and one of the many large gusts that made its way across the infield on Sunday managed to whip up a large garbage bag that eventually made its way onto the racetrack before getting stuck in the grill of Byron’s car after he collided with it.
The driver recapped the situation he subsequently found himself in after the race, telling Bob Pockgrass of Fox Sports that he was forced to make a premature pit stop on his 47th lap to have the bag removed after seeing his engine temperature spike by 100 degrees in the span of 10 seconds.
Byron was able to recover and ultimately finished in 10th place. However, his crew chiefs made a very unexpected discovery after the race when they found out Byron had managed to complete it with a can of Coors Light lodged in his air filter.
On @SiriusXMNASCAR, crew chief Rudy Fugle says the enormous trash bag that ruined the 24-car’s day had a beer can in it
“There was a Silver Bullet in our air filter” @TeamHendrick @WilliamByron
— Alan Cavanna (@AlanCavanna) March 4, 2024
That’s a new one.