William Byron Ready to Vacate Summer Slump and Fight for Title Again in Phoenix
It hasn’t been a great summer for William Byron, with only four top 10s in the second half of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season. However, that’s not deterring the 26-year-old driver from thinking he can return to Phoenix with a shot at winning the championship.
Last season, after notching a series-high six victories, Byron was able to advance all the way through to the Championship 4. The driver of the famous No. 24 started on the pole at Phoenix, before backsliding to fourth, behind title rivals Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson.
“Yeah, we just didn’t quite have enough last year,” Byron said, reflecting on last year. “I think we’ve pretty much tailored our season around trying to get better in some of those areas. I feel like we’re capable. The summer was very inconsistent, but when we did have speed, we were right up front. I think we just have to get back to that and I know these 10 weeks will take a totally different mindset than in the summer anyways, so it’s not really worth comparing it.”
The warm-weather timing of such inconsistencies for Byron has been… consistent, over the last couple of seasons. In the second half of the 2022 regular season, the Hendrick Motorsports driver only scored a single top 10, while in that same period in 2023, only five top 10s.
Since being paired with crew chief Rudy Fugle, Byron has been an absolute pro at collecting early-season victories and locking himself into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, with eight of his 13 wins in NASCAR’s premier division coming in the first eight weeks of the season.
Yet, every time that the summer slump rears its ugly head, Byron is able to regroup and get the ship pointed back in the right direction for the post-season. In his last two Playoff appearances, totaling 20 races, Byron has seven top-fives, 14 top 10s, and no finish worse than 16th.
“I just think we’ve been trying to… we’ve been waiting for this for a while,” said Byron. “As soon as you win early in the season, your goals shift to what can we do to get bonus points and what can we do to get ready for the Fall. That’s really what it’s been about. Now we get to put that to the test and take it one race at a time.”
With only three victories on the season, and none in the last 18 weeks, Byron doesn’t seem to be viewed as much of a championship favorite, at least currently. While the title of underdog probably isn’t appropriate, considering the damage he’s done in recent years, it’s no doubt a different vibe.
“I think there’s a concrete difference with the bonus points. I think when you don’t have bonus points as much as you want to say it doesn’t matter, it does because each round resets,” said Byron. “Anytime you have a bad day when you have points on your side, you have an advantage. There is a definite advantage to having bonus points.”
“I don’t look at it as favorite or not, I look at where I am on the bonus structure. Last year, we were tied for the first seed and this year we’re fourth. I think we’re still in a nice spot, but it would be nice to get a few more bonus points over the next three races.”
For Byron, like the majority of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff field, it’ll be about getting through the tricky opening round with the minefields of Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and Bristol, but after that, it’s about buckling down and bringing your A-game to the racetrack, every single week, in hopes it’s good enough to win a championship.
JOSEPH SRIGLEY