William Byron had a bizarre issue early in the Pennzoil 400 that hindered his performance, according to his crew chief Rudy Fugle.
On lap 47, high winds blew a large trash bag onto the front of Byron’s car, which became lodged in his air filter.
“The thing was like a 55-gallon trash bag, you know, for those big trash cans you see at the infield of the racetracks,” Fugle said.
Fugle believes the bag contained a beer can that caused the filter to clog.
“Even worse than that, or even funnier than that, I’m pretty positive it had a beer can in it because that beer can got stuck in our air filter. So after the race, there was a Silver Bullet in our air filter somehow,” he said.
As a result, Byron’s engine overheated and he had to pit, taking him out of contention for the win.
Byron said his temperatures skyrocketed in seconds due to the blockage under the car.
“It was huge. It seemed to get stuck somewhere underneath,” Byron said. “I just know my temps went from 250 (degrees) to 350 in like 10 seconds. I never had that happen.”
While Byron finished 10th, the incident cost him a chance at his second victory of the season.
Teammate Kyle Larson went on to win the race for Hendrick Motorsports.
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