Byron and "battle-tested" 24 team ready for another NASCAR title run

William Byron is no stranger to deep NASCAR Cup Series postseason runs, as his Hendrick Motorsports team has been in the title race for the last two seasons.

This year’s edition, however, begins a little differently for the group. Byron enters as the regular-season champion and tied with his teammate, Kyle Larson, for the most playoff points. But Byron also believes his team is more battle-tested this year, and the group will carry those scars into the championship fight.

“We’ve been through a lot of adversity this year,” Byron said. “I feel like in the past, we’ve had races that we weren’t in contention, maybe, and we won, and then this year, we’ve dominated some races and didn’t win those. That’s what I mean by battle-tested. We came back from those. We carried that same speed, but we overcame it and got wins down the road.

“We went through a lot of adversity in July. That was a really rough month result-wise, and then to come in in August and have such a good month was really good to see.”

Byron led the point standings for 21 of the 26 regular-season races. The year started with his second straight win in the Daytona 500, and then a run of consistency through the first few months (nine top-10 finishes in the first 16 races) separated the No. 24 team from the pack. Even as the competition continued to win races.

However, at the end of June and into July, the results began to diverge from the performances. Byron finished 27th or worse in three straight races at Pocono, Atlanta, and Chicago. Then came a brief reprieve with a top-10 result at Sonoma Raceway before he finished outside the top 15 in the final two races of the month.

The results dropped Byron to second in the standings behind teammate Chase Elliott. But that lead was short-lived for Elliott because Byron won at Iowa Speedway to start August, reclaiming the top spot, and never looked back. He clinched the regular season title with a week to spare.

“It proves nothing else matters besides winning the championship in this 10-race stretch,” Byron said on how his outlook and approach after the last two years of being in the Championship 4. “Winning races would be awesome throughout the rounds, but when you get to the final race, it’s all about winning that race. So, there is not much consolation. Yeah, pointing your way through is great and gives you a chance to get to Phoenix, but it doesn’t really mean much.” 

Darlington Raceway and the Southern 500 open the postseason (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET). In the spring, Byron was working toward leading every lap at the track until a green flag pit cycle after lap 240. Byron, who led 243 of 297 laps, ultimately finished second to Denny Hamlin. 

There is a sense of redemption on Byron’s mind. But more so, the opportunity to win right off the bat and clinch a spot in the second round of the postseason.

“In our position, we’ve had the conversation of trying to stack some more points and stack some more race wins,” Byron said. “We’ve been in this position before, and we feel we understand the cadence of the first round, and it’d be really nice to go out there and win one of these to take the pressure off and have some forward momentum as well. They’re good tracks for us. I think Darlington is the best for us in the first round. The other two can be hit or miss for us. But who knows, we could be really fast at those. We’ll see.”