William Byron heads into the final race of the Cup Series Round of 8 at Martinsville with one goal on his mind: victory. Anything short would put his chances of racing for the title at Phoenix in terrible danger. While he has taken a giant stride towards that goal by clinching pole position for Sunday’s race, he is trying not to count his chickens before they’ve hatched.
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Remaining highly cautious about what’s won and lost yet, Byron told the press, “Like I’ve said before, it’s nice, but it doesn’t count for anything yet. But yeah, it’s good. We’ve prepared well coming here and feel pretty good about my race car. I think there are a few guys out there that are really good, as well. It’s going good so far.”
Going to the track on Saturday, the Hendrick Motorsports driver did not have the belief that qualifying well would do him any good since it wasn’t stage points that he was after. But that view changed quickly.
He added, “When we first saw Next Gen come around, it was like, ‘Oh man, if you qualify out of the top-10, it was like doomsday.’ So, I think that’s changed a little bit with this tire and the fall off, but you always want track position.”
The pit stall that pole position has given him is a nice addition to his arsenal as well. This way, he gets to control the race a little bit and push things in his favor. The No. 24 driver is currently fifth in the playoff table, 36 points below the cutoff line for the Championship 4.
Byron’s chances of advancing to the Championship 4
When Byron won the regular season championship, it armed him with a ton of playoff points for the postseason. But two hard hits, at Las Vegas and Talladega, levelled that out. A crash at Vegas dropped him below the cutoff line, and a spin at Dega further pushed him down.
In the last seven races at Martinsville, he has won twice. But those victories are his only top-5 finishes on the track. He will have the easiest route to the checkered flag on Sunday. Should he manage to make it in, it will be his third straight year in the Championship 4. But worryingly, his two top-10 finishes are the lowest in the playoff field.
It remains to be seen if the No. 24 team can alter its course and finally find the right method to win the championship.
