William Byron‘s journey throughout 2023 was bittersweet and here’s how. The 25-year-old driver qualified for the first time in Championship 4 and was also the youngest among his competitors. In his very first Championship 4 appearance, the talented HMS star earned the pole at Phoenix, led 95 laps, and placed 4th. Moreover, he was the one to record team owner Rick Hendrick’s 300th win at the Cup level.
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However, when it came to short tracks, the number 24 team lost its momentum. “Martinsville… We struggled there,” admitted Byron. “Richmond; not a super important track, not in the playoffs but we need to be better there and just get our short track program better so that when we do get to Phoenix we have something to compete with.”
“We had a good car, obviously, at Phoenix, but just kinda knowing how to get speed out of it the entire race… we struggled to keep our pace up throughout the race,” he stated bluntly.
William Byron says he has a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. Here’s why and the tracks he’s looking at where he wants to improve in 2024. pic.twitter.com/pGDRPvehfm
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) January 29, 2024
Despite winning at Martinsville last year, he struggled at the shortest track on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit this year. Even his performance at Richmond, was marred by a 60-point penalty due to illegal modifications of the car and a greenhouse violation, according to Section 14.5.6.B of the NASCAR rulebook. Byron’s ninth-place finish at Bristol during the playoffs was his only top-10 performance in short tracks last season.
William Byron is optimistic about The Coliseum to kick start his 2024 journey
Despite his short-track miseries, the Chevy star looks forward to starting 2024 afresh. And he chose The Clash at The Coliseum as his starting point. This year, the format of the race has been reformed, which in turn, could make the heat races more intense now. But that should not bother the Charlotte native, especially when he won last year’s 4th qualifying heat race.
“I think we’ve had pretty decent success at the Clash in the past,” Byron told the press. “We’ve always made the race and always come in the top 5 or 10. Last year we won the heat race; that was good. Just trying to build on what we’ve done in the past. This is a good place to start hopefully.”
Indeed, Byron’s performance has been quite consistent at The Clash. Looking back at 2022, he succeeded in recording a P6 finish in the race, and the following year; he registered a top-10 performance. No wonder he is excited to run in the annual non-championship pre-season Cup Series exhibition race.
