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William Byron wins Xfinity Series race in overtime as Jeb Burton, Brennan Poole wreck at Charlotte

Originally posted on 5 GOATs | By Jonathan Howard | Last updated May 24, 2025 9:48 PM ET

Early on, it was William Byron, and then a speeding penalty on pit road sent him to the rear. It didn’t matter as he wins in overtime. This NASCAR race went from straightforward to chaotic and unpredictable very quickly in the last 40 laps.

When William Byron got the penalty, it was Justin Allgaier’s race to lose. Then, Allgaier didn’t pit late in the race when he should have. So, it put drivers like Connor Zilisch into a strong position to win.

Restart after restart to finish this race, Byron kept moving forward. In overtime, it was Byron who got out into clean air first and drove away from Zilisch to win.

Jeb Burton and Brennan Poole got into a violent wreck on the last lap. The caution came out right before Byron crossed the start-finish line. Burton’s car ended up on fire after rolling onto pit road.

.@WilliamByron comes through in overtime to capture the @BetMGM 300 at Charlotte!!! pic.twitter.com/R9nyu9Q0dc
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 24, 2025

William Byron was very happy with the win. This is a race that he has wanted to win for a while. Of course, getting a Coke 600 trophy is the main goal this weekend. Byron also gets his first NASCAR national series win since the Daytona 500

As for Justin Allgaier, he goes home in heartbreak. 103 laps led and one mental mistake to not pit late cost him the win. If he were on equal tires with Byron, I’m not sure that he loses this race. He was just that good up front today in clean air.

Of course, 18-year-old Connor Zilisch has to be wondering what the heck he could have done to win this race. It is different racing against these veterans of the sport and especially against someone as talented and accomplished as Byron.

William Byron grabs first win of the weekend

Now that William Byron has one win, he is looking for that second victory. Charlotte Motor Speedway means a lot to him and to the Hendrick Motorsports family. The pressure will be on everyone on Sunday, but Byron, who hasn’t won since the Daytona 500, might have a little more pressure on his shoulders.

71 laps led and Byron swept the stages. It was a dominant win in many ways, but one that Byron had to earn. I think if this race goes green from Lap 184 to the finish, Zilisch likely wins after Allgaier’s mental mistake to stay out instead of pitting. Still, things didn’t work out that way, and Zilisch finishes P2.

Tomorrow, Zilisch will also race in the Coke 600. He will be the youngest driver to ever make a start in NASCAR’s longest race. The Trackhouse Racing development driver has his work cut out for him, but he showed today that he is ready for it. Even coming off of his back injury, Zilisch was in top form.

This article first appeared on 5 GOATs and was syndicated with permission.

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