William Byron Refuses to Call Out Noah Gragson Despite Triggering Drivers’ Wrath Post Five Flags’ Big One

Indeed, the community got a hellraiser of a race on Sunday, but a bit too over the edge, as nobody expected a multi-car pileup on the front stretch after Cup Series rookie Noah Gragson ticked off the avalanche in the closing laps of the 56th Snowball Derby at Pensacola. The 300-lap Late Model extravaganza was beyond anybody’s guess as the late wreck took out big names, including HMS sensation William Byron.

The former Legacy Motor Club driver who was looking to make a comeback took the field back when he missed a gear, initiating a massive pileup and collecting more than 10 cars in the final 20 laps. Byron, Gragson’s LGM teammate Erik Jones, and William Sawalich were among the unfortunate ones who had to go out because of Gragson’s critical error. While the rest of the field was busy pushing the blame on Gragson’s side, the calm and cool Byron did not take matters into his own hands to call his fellow driver’s mistake but was pretty disappointed at the unfortunate fallout of the iconic race.

Despite Gragson’s claim, William Byron doesn’t play the blame game on the rookie

The #24 HMS driver was known for 2 things in 2023. His multiple race wins in the Cup Series (6, to be precise) had the entire community talking about the driver. His breakout year quickly got off his hands as Ryan Blaney snatched the title from the HMS duo of Larson-Byron in the title decider in Phoenix.

While the disappointment was pretty evident in Sunday’s Late-Model Bonanza, no one foresaw late restarts that gave way to a horrendous wreck in the final laps. The incident occurred just behind race leaders when the 2022 Xfinity Series runner-up missed the gear, only to stack up a pileup of over 10 cars.

The late wreck also collected the NASCAR contingent, including Byron and Jones. Soon after, many drivers came out, calling out Gragson for his miscalculation, while Byron remained uncritical, refusing to blame the 25-year-old. In the post-race exclusive, he said, “I didn’t see much; just I think the #30 missed the shift, and I thought, man, I’m going to restart here, and as soon as they kind of bottled up, he got turned up in front of me, and I rammed his over the top, so it’s it’s pretty wild but wish we had a great day, we had a great car, we were just free and trying to work on it but was going to run around probably 6th or 7th there and just got to be okay with that.” 

WATCH THIS STORY: William Byron’s pit crew members pinpoint the significance of synchronization within the team 

The field reacts to the “big one,” slamming Gragson for his critical error

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With just 20 laps remaining in the picture, the community witnessed a crash in the front stretch like no other, resembling a wild interstate speedway pileup. Missing a gear in the middle of the pack, Gragson’s #30 Rette Jones Racing car was bumped off to the side by pole sitter Derek Thorn.

The frantic pace meant just one thing: a deadlock, as the #30 car collected many others that culminated in a deadlock like no other. Following the accident, the field slammed Gragson for messing up their day. Race contender Jake Finch said, “I guess it really looked like, just looks like Noah messed up, and, just looks like Noah messed up and we all had to pay for his mistake. It sucks because that probably was my best race we ran in a while. I mean, we were really doing a good job.” 

READ MORE: “I Take Full Blame”: Noah Gragson Messes Major Comeback Shattering Whole Field & William Byron’s Snowball Dream