William Byron finds himself at the bottom of the Round of 8 standings after a brutal turn of events at Las Vegas. Starting fifth in Sunday’s semifinal opener, the No. 24 driver appeared to have the race in the palm of his hand, until it all came crashing down, something Byron will need to bounce back from, according to Kyle Petty.
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Byron won Stage 1, finished third in Stage 2, and led 55 laps before leapfrogging teammate Kyle Larson late in the final stage, taking control after pitting one lap earlier than his teammate.
But things came apart at the seams when Byron wiggled through Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 232, surrendering the lead to Larson. Just five laps later, Ty Dillon was called to pit road, more than 25 laps after the cycle had begun. Unaware of Dillon’s move, Byron ran straight into the back of Dillon’s No. 10 car, ending his day in heartbreaking fashion.
In the blink of an eye, Byron’s dominant run unraveled into a 36th-place finish and a meager 19-point haul. The setback dropped him below the cutline by 15 points heading into Talladega and Martinsville. Still, NASCAR veteran Petty believes Byron still has both hands on the rope and can pull himself back into the Championship 4 for a third consecutive season.
“Late in the race, we see William Byron get in an accident as the #10 car of Ty Dillon comes to Pit Road. What does that do to his championship hopes? Does it kill him? I don’t believe so. I don’t believe so because… We’re going to Talladega! And Talladega is up in the air, man. We saw William score major points yesterday in the stages. But we also saw him lose in that final stage. Doesn’t make a difference,” Petty said.
“He’s only down 15… Talladega and a big win go hand in hand… I think that William Byron can recover from this because we’ve seen the Hendrick cars have speed… William Byron innocent victim in this. But as I look at it. I’m telling you, he will recover. I have Byron going all the way to Phoenix. And my final four: Bell, Byron, Blaney,” Petty continued.
The 65-year-old didn’t mince words when assigning blame, pointing the finger squarely at Dillon’s camp. He argued that Dillon’s spotter should have communicated more clearly with Byron’s team, and that Dillon himself should have signaled out the window before slowing abruptly to dive into pit road.
For now, the #24 driver’s championship hopes may hang by a thread, but with two races left and the unpredictability of Talladega ahead, he still has time to turn the tide and keep his title dreams alive.
