With 3 victories in the first 9 races of the ongoing season, 26-year-old William Byron looks set to pose a strong contention for the championship again. As he displays such potential and consistency, would it be more sensible for Rick Hendrick to build Hendrick Motorsports around him rather than Kyle Larson, who is regarded by many as one of the best race car drivers in the world? NASCAR icon Kyle Petty believes so.
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Talking on a YouTube show recently Petty expressed the difference he saw in drivers like Byron and Larson. He said that the latter was a raw performer who could win races without even having a technical understanding of the car while Byron has a deep understanding of the physics behind the game in addition to his ability to win. Petty contended that this particular attribute makes Byron a better person to build a race team around.
“If I’m gonna build a team I’m gonna build it with a William Byron, okay?”, he said. “I’m gonna go win races with Kyle Larson, but Kyle Larson’s not a builder. He’s a guy that’s just gonna come in and win a bunch of races. When he leaves, if my car is not good and I don’t have a guy with the talent that Kyle Larson has, I’m not going to run.
“Willam Baron is going to leave the company at a better place,” he concluded his defending statement. It is not new for Petty to throw his money behind Byron. He had expressed in earlier interviews that the driver would soon emerge as the top dog in Hendrick Motorsports bypassing Larson and Chase Elliott. The son of Richard Petty has also grown a popular affinity of late to compare Byron with the caliber of his predecessor, Jeff Gordon.
Young Willie B runs into trouble at the Texas Motor Speedway
Byron’s latest showing of skill and speed was at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. He had a really good race until the final lap when he wrecked into Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain and brought out a race-ending caution. He was able to salvage a 3rd-place finish while Chastain was left reeling in 32nd place. Both drivers were attempting to take the lead from race-winner Chase Elliott when they made contact.
“I hate that that happened, but it’s the last lap and I had the run so I am going to just take the run. I didn’t expect it, but I don’t want to do that to a fellow Chevy guy, and we always race really well,” Byron said after the race. He managed to score two stage points and stands 5th in the points table. Kyle Larson finished in 21st place despite starting the race in pole position.
