Taylor Gray may have won the Kansas O’Reilly race, but the bigger story was Carson Kvapil’s crazy flip in the second lap itself. A slight bump from his JR Motorsports teammate William Byron sent him crashing into the outside wall and then flipping over multiple times, ending his race before it even started. In the aftermath of it, Byron has stepped up to take full responsibility for the mishap.

Byron told Frontstretch, “I haven’t seen it yet but I was running the bottom. Thought we were two-wide and so I was having to come up the race track off of [Turn] 2 and I got tight late. Was leaving enough room for two-wide then the third car came in there later than I expected and didn’t leave enough room.” Byron thought they were running two-wide, but it was actually three, as Carson Kvapil was sandwiched between Justin Allgaier (outside) and Byron (inside).

But Byron didn’t know about Allgaier’s presence, which is why he took a softer left turn compared to both Allgaier and Kvapil that made him hit the #1. He added, “Hate that for the #1 guys and everyone at JR Motorsports. Didn’t want to do that, obviously, that early.

I was just trying to feel it out and kind of get an understanding of what my balance was and didn’t leave enough room. Haven’t seen it so I don’t know what it looked like, but that’s what it felt like.” Another look at Carson Kvapil’s crash and flip during the NASCAR race at Kansas. Kvapil got out under his own power. pic.twitter.com/g0RglbJEUq — Motorsport (@Motorsport) April 18, 2026 In essence, the driver insisted that he was largely unsighted.

He knew that he was battling with another car, but underestimated how many cars were alongside him. So all it took was one wrong move, and poor Carson Kvapil was sent on an unexpected wild ride. Of course, he later went and apologized to their teams and probably Kvapil himself.

At that time, he was just trying to get a feel for his car in the early stages of the race. NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Series Playoff Media Day Aug 27, 2025 Charlotte, NC, USA William Byron answers questions from the media during NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Media Day at Charlotte Convention Center. Charlotte Charlotte Convention Center NC USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJimxDedmonx 20250827_jla_db2_016 Kvapil’s exit ended his bid for the $100,000 bonus and also put him two spots below the rankings to 7th place.

Interestingly, Byron is also at the same spot in the Cup Series. Let’s take a look at his season so far. How has the #24 driver performed this season?

Let’s be honest, 2026 is looking like it is going to be the Tyler Reddick and Toyota show. Ford and Chevrolet have been on the back foot, with Chevy being a bit worse. However, Hendrick Motorsports has been trying its best to fly the flag for the OEM.

Other than Elliott’s win at Martinsville, the other HMS drivers haven’t been remarkable this season, including Byron. Currently, Byron is tied on points with Bubba Wallace, who at one point was in the Top 3, but has since tumbled backwards. Both Wallace and Byron are in 7th place, 182 points behind the leader, Reddick.

The #24 driver is also 30 points adrift of teammate Chase Elliott, who sits one spot ahead of him. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson is just ahead of them, 5th in the championship standings. While all this has been going on, Alex Bowman is a mile behind them in 36th place, due to his exceptional circumstances.

William Byron started off the season with average mid-pack finishes in the first three races. It was only after COTA that he secured four consecutive top-10 finishes, but a 30th-place finish at Bristol again took that momentum away. At Kansas, he again fought back with a 7th place result, but the spark of his 2025 season isn’t visible yet.

If Byron is serious about earning that maiden Cup title, he is going to have to step up his game and be more consistent and go for wins. With a new format that rewards consistency and race wins more, he has to go beyond the top-10s and target the victory lane more.