Dale Earnhardt Jr. says William Byron is Hendrick's top driver now

William Byron came four laps shy of a win in Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan, as a fuel mileage gamble didn't pay off and forced the No. 24 down pit road in the closing laps. 

While a heartbreaking loss, Michigan was the third race in a row where Byron was in contention throughout the race. It's the second of those three races where he's led the most laps. 

Meanwhile, Kyle Larson hasn't looked like himself over the same three-race stretch at Charlotte, Nashville and Michigan. While he finished eighth at Nashville and fifth at Michigan, he hasn't had the speed he typically has that has helped him win three races so far this season. 

While Byron's Daytona 500 victory is the lone win for the No. 24 team this season, Prime Video analyst and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. says that Byron's recent run shows that he has taken Larson's place on the mantle as the top driver at Hendrick Motorsports. 

"Over the last couple weeks, I think he's eclipsed Larson as the best driver at Hendrick Motorsports," Earnhardt Jr. said during Prime Video's post-race telecast at Michigan. "Nobody's really been able to say that for a long time. Larson is so good. He stumbled and has been kind of neutralized over the last couple of weeks. But Byron needs to take advantage of that and go get his wins. He has a shot to separate himself from the pack and put himself into championship contender form."

Over the last three races, Byron has led 382 laps to Larson's 34. He's earned 142 points to Larson's 66, and currently leads Larson by 41 points in the regular season standings. 

The wins aren't there yet for Byron and the No. 24 team, but right now, they're outpacing Larson and the No. 5 team on a weekly basis.