William Byron stands tall in the 2024 season with three wins to his name after nine races. He finished the latest Cup Series bout at Texas in 3rd place and stands fifth in the points table. While any other driver would be pretty relaxed in Byron’s position, he does not have that comfort. The reason behind that is the return of Chase Elliott to the top order of the sport.
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Elliott won Sunday’s race in Texas to break a 42-race winless streak that was casting a black mark on him. After futile attempts at trying to grab the lead, Byron settled for a place behind him. Already facing stiff competition from Kyle Larson to be the top dog at Hendrick Motorsports, Elliott’s return to the victory lane puts further pressure on Byron.
However, the resurgence of Elliott does not appear to have shaken Byron as of yet. He told Fox Sports after the race that he was happy for his teammate and was aware of the work that the #9 Hendrick Motorsports team had put in to break their drought. He said, “It’s awesome. All of us are pushing each other to be better. I know how hard they worked and they’re a very capable team.”
Talking with William Byron after a wild day and finish at Texas Motor Speedway. #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/XS2xijsYv5
— Jamie Little (@JamieLittleTV) April 15, 2024
“It’s nice to see them have results and Chase works hard, he is a good teammate. Always pulling for those guys.” Continuing, he said that he was happy with the way one of the four HMS drivers kept finding a way to win in almost every track that they went to. Rick Hendrick’s team has displayed exemplary dominance and won 5 of the 9 races this season.
A less impactful weekend at the Texas Motor Speedway for Willie B
Byron has managed to be the talk of the town in most of the races he has competed in so far this year. He has finished inside the top 10 in six races and won thrice. Though he finished third on Sunday, he won only 2 stage points and remains in the same spot on the points table that he was in going to Texas. The only time Byron popped up through the 276 laps was in the final lap when he made contact with Ross Chastain and caused him to spin out.
With Kyle Larson winning the pole and Chase Elliott winning the race, Byron had to settle for not being the face of his team this weekend. While he might not be deterred by the happenings of one week, he would not quite enjoy it becoming a habit being the up-and-coming superstar that he is.
