On the final lap of Saturday’s XFINITY Series race at Michigan International Speedway, veteran driver Denny Hamlin took up-and-coming NASCAR star William Byron to school to earn the victory in the Irish Hills 250.
On the decisive final, thrilling lap, Hamlin became the teacher and Byron the unwilling pupil.
“He did a great job,” Hamlin said of Byron. “I knew he had a great car. On that last long green-flag run that we had, he was about to pass me. He’s obviously one of NASCAR’s next future superstars.
“I wanted to race him clean. I wasn’t going to turn him or anything like that.