William Byron made it to the Championship 4 third year in a row in 2025, but could only manage to finish P4 this season. He had to settle for fourth despite posting back-to-back P3 finishes in the last two seasons. While his win column remained identical to last year, with three wins, Byron’s overall production slipped.
Advertisement
Last year, he bagged 13 top-five finishes; this season, the total dipped to 11. Then back in 2023, he delivered a five-win breakout and recorded 14 top-five runs, a mark that positioned him among the most consistent performers of that season.
His final results at Phoenix told a similar story. He wrapped up the 2023 and 2024 championship races with P4 and P3 finishes, but this time, the script tattered with four laps remaining.
A blown tire dropped him to P33 and erased any chance of closing his season on a high note, a frustrating turn considering he had punched his ticket to the title race by winning the penultimate event at Martinsville.
Still, Byron viewed the year through a different lens and called it the strongest of his career. He explained that the success stretched beyond the final stat sheet. “Winning the regular season championship, winning the (Daytona) 500, three races a year, is something to really be proud of. So, yeah, I feel like it was our best year yet, honestly.”
He also acknowledged the hurdles that hit his team down the stretch. “But there was a lot of adversity and things that happened kind of all the way to the end. It seems like a lot changed for us in the results with about three laps to go this year. We’ve got to learn from that.”
“A lot of it was out of our control, but we’ve got to move past it. But overall, yeah, it was our best year with results. You see that with the regular season championship and different things,” he added.
Byron’s performance metrics, which kept him at the front of the field all season, also supported his assessment. He led the point standings for 21 of the first 26 races and topped the series in several key categories: laps led, miles led, stage wins, stage points, and laps completed inside the top 15. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver also tied for the best average starting position across the entire grid.
The long view remains clear for the HMS driver. He intends to return next season and mirror the steadiness that defined his year, only with one crucial upgrade of sealing the deal at Phoenix Raceway instead of watching the chance slip away in the closing laps.
