Fans Deride NASCAR Format After William Byron’s Dominant 2023 Put Into Perspective

Nov 3, 2023; Avondale, Arizona, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron during practice for the NASCAR Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

NASCAR’s points and playoff system will forever be a riddle unsolved. In 2023, William Byron had his best season yet for Hendrick Motorsports, raking in 6 wins and several top-10 finishes. Just when it looked like he would end up with a championship, all the great work that he did through 35 races came unraveled in the finale when he couldn’t best Ryan Blaney. Adding fuel to an already burning fire, NASCAR’s revelation of his key stats has now cast a big question on the efficiency of the system.

Byron wasn’t the favorite for many going into the year. But coming out of it he’d made sure that he was. The stats from NASCAR say that he led an overall of 1016 laps this season. That is just around 100 shy of Kyle Larson who led the grid in the category with 1217 laps. His 15 top-5s and 21 top-10s are also at the forefront of the grid. More notably, he holds the highest average finish across all 36 races with 11.0.

Though Byron’s meteoric rise through NASCAR’s ladder to land a seat at Hendrick Motorsports has always echoed the skill that he has, his run in 2023 elevated his status as a star driver greatly. Finishing third in the final driver standings, the only thing that was missing from his long list of achievements was the title.

For Byron though the title isn’t the main incentive for doing what he does. Expressing that he wanted to win 10 races in 2024, he said at the Champions Week, “We just want to be the fastest next year. We were really good this year, we were always in the mix and always one of the guys, but just want to be faster next year.”

Fans call NASCAR format out in support of William Byron

Despite the lack of commemoration not affecting Byron’s need to win, fans once again spotted a flaw with NASCAR’s format and called it out for the promotion’s top brass to see.

Byron’s numbers held his back for as long as the Phoenix race. He qualified for pole for the Championship 4 and led 205 of the 312-lap race. How he wasn’t champion when the checkered flag waved is the question that fans have for NASCAR. The #24 team has no doubt blossomed into a striking force. Going in 2024, they will hopefully turn the numbers into a champion’s crown.

Post Edited By: Ankit Sharma
William Byron

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Gowtham Ramalingam

Gowtham is a NASCAR journalist at The SportsRush. Though his affinity for racing stems from Formula 1, he found himself drawn to NASCAR's unparalleled excitement over the years. As a result he has shared his insights and observations by authoring over 3000 articles on the sport. An avid fiction writer, you can find him lost in imaginary worlds when he is not immersed in racing. He hopes to continue savoring the thrill of every lap and race together with his readers for as long as he can.

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