2022 NASCAR WSoA Night #9 at New Smyrna Speedway

William Byron Dominates Super Late Model Finale At New Smyrna

William Byron Dominates Super Late Model Finale At New Smyrna

William Byron wins another Super Late Model race at New Smyrna Speedway on eve of Daytona 500.

Feb 20, 2022 by Rob Blount
William Byron Dominates Super Late Model Finale At New Smyrna

On the eve of the Daytona 500, William Byron decided to have some fun. Even though he was only supposed to do it twice, Byron decided to run a third Super Late Model race during New Smyrna’s World Series of Asphalt. He’d already won one of the races he’d entered, and on Saturday he won his second. Byron dominated the Orange Blossom 100 to close out the week for the Supers.

“This feels awesome,” said Byron. “(The Donnie Wilson Racing) guys do such a great job with the details and how much they know about Super Late Model racing. It was really fun to get to work with them on some of the things we struggled with on Monday and work on them and get a little bit better.”

Byron started Saturday’s race from the fourth position and on the 24th lap he wrestled the lead away from early pace-setter Ryan Preece. After that it was smooth sailing for Byron, who won the caution-free affair by 4.7 seconds over Preece, Sammy Smith, Daniel Dye and Jesse Love.

Byron said that these three races this week is just the beginning of his return to Super Late Model racing as he has a few more events planned for later in the year. However, even though this week caused his confidence to rise, he said he’s still looking forward to racing door-to-door with the best Super Late Model racing has to offer.

“It feels awesome (to beat them),” Byron said. “I still haven’t battled wheel-to-wheel with those guys yet this year. Our car was great tonight and would kind of cruise, but it’s going to be fun this year. I’m sure I’m going to face some tough challenges with some of these races I’m doing. I’m excited to travel around and see what we can do.”

Now, Byron turns his attention to Sunday’s Daytona 500 a few miles north where he rolls off from the 23rd position.

“I’m excited for it,” he said. “You never know what to expect, but I’ve got a good guy on the box and I’m excited for the race. I feel like our car is really fast, so I’ve just got to go do it.”