William Byron has emerged as the hottest driver in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, proving his mettle with two consecutive top-five finishes, both of which positioned him as the highest-finishing playoff driver. These impressive results have secured Byron and his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team a spot in the Round of 8, making them the only team guaranteed entry going into the elimination race at the Charlotte road course. Byron’s current position atop the points standings is a testament to his consistency, but as he knows all too well, what matters most is being the last man standing at Phoenix Raceway.
Reflecting on last season, Byron led the Cup Series in numerous statistical categories heading into Phoenix, only to fall short of the championship. The 2017 Xfinity Series champion finished third behind Ryan Blaney of Team Penske and his teammate Kyle Larson. It was a painful reminder that regular-season dominance doesn’t guarantee postseason glory.
Despite past disappointments, Byron’s current position has to feel rewarding. Defending his team’s performance, Byron remarked, “It doesn’t bother me that people say or notice, but it bothers me (because) we’re not that much different from any other team. If you look statistically, we have 10 top fives and 16 top 10s, and that’s right in line with the other five or six guys that we’re racing.”
Byron’s numbers indeed support his defense. With three wins this season, he trails only his teammate Kyle Larson and boasts the second-highest number of top-10 finishes (16), just behind Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell. The data shows that, despite critics claiming his season hasn’t been as stellar as last year, Byron’s consistency remains comparable to his top competitors.
“It bothers me that we get treated a little differently because everyone this year has been, for the most part, pretty inconsistent,” Byron said. “But for us, we’re trying to continue to put weeks together and plug away and try to put back-to-back weeks together.”
Byron highlighted the challenge of maintaining consistency when transitioning between different track types, such as mile-and-a-half circuits and speedways, where drivers have less control over the outcome. His strategy is clear: focus on building momentum and stringing consistent performances together, especially as the season reaches its most critical point.
Byron acknowledged that some of the inconsistency during the summer was due to a mix of factors, including fast cars failing to deliver or slower cars that were simply outmatched. Despite these challenges, he ended the regular season fifth in the championship standings and was reseeded fourth with 22 playoff points.
While the perception that Byron isn’t strong in the summer months has bothered him, he doesn’t see it as being dismissed as a championship contender. “I feel like there’s a certain narrative out there of, ‘Hey, they’re not good in the summertime,’ and I don’t know if that’s completely true,” Byron explained. “I think we have certain races that are great in the summertime and I think we had certain weeks that we weren’t that great. But you can look across the whole garage and that’s pretty consistent.”
Byron’s recent results prove he’s more than capable of competing for the Cup Series title. He’s been the standout performer in the playoffs, demonstrating his team’s strength when it matters most. As the season progresses, Byron’s focus and determination suggest that he remains a formidable contender for the championship—a driver who, despite the noise and narratives, is intent on writing his own story.
