He’s still winless, but Byron’s confidence is rising along with his form

William Byron being winless this deep into the NASCAR Cup Series would be odd to some.

Byron is not included among those people.

“Not really based on the reality we’ve been living,” the driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet from Hendrick Motorsports said Saturday at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway. “The way the season has felt, a few weeks ago I wasn’t sure when I was going to compete for a win, and then last week, and at Pocono, it’s like, ‘Man, we’re pretty close actually to winning a race.’”

It was a third-place finish for Byron at Pocono Raceway June 14 after averaging an eighth running position all afternoon. Byron finished fourth last weekend at Chicagoland Speedway after sweeping the stages and leading a race-high 94 laps. It was the most laps he’d led in a race this season, and more than the previous 18 combined.

Byron’s most recent Cup Series victory came in late October, when he won from the pole at Martinsville Speedway after leading 304 of 500 laps. Over the last three seasons, Byron had won nine races with three straight Championship 4 appearances.

“I look at the present time and just think about where we’ve come from and where we are now, and it’s exciting,” Byron said. “Rudy [Fugle, crew chief] said after the race [at Chicagoland] it’s exciting to have some good cars and be in contention to win again. That’s honestly all I’m worried about – being back in the mix.

“I’m looking forward to the next few weeks, honestly. I feel like every time I get in the car now, I’m a little more optimistic than I was a couple of months ago.”

Chevrolet updated its body this season, which has brought a tougher learning curve than perhaps expected. The drivers have found themselves trying to regain the feel and balance they want, and that makes the most speed.

Byron felt like his team got off to a decent start but has had a rough spring. But his average finish hasn’t been that different between the first 10 races of the season (14.8) and the last nine (15.2).

But the numbers only say so much. It doesn’t account for the feel and confidence that Byron now has back, which have been the focus.

“Yeah, that’s all I care about,” he said. “I think this sport is very fleeting. You can be on top of the world, and it comes and goes. You crave that feeling; the feeling of being able to contend for wins is all I really crave.”

But having his car back is one thing. There is still work to be done to take it across the finish line.

“The Toyotas have been the standard this year, but I think we’re starting to get there,” said Byron. “It makes me optimistic every time I get in the race car that we’re going to have something to battle with.”