Michigan could be breakout race of 2026 for William Byron

A trip to the Irish Hills of Brooklyn, Michigan, and the Michigan International Speedway could be exactly what William Byron and the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team need to spruce up their 2026 season. 

Byron entered 2026 after three consecutive seasons of finishing top-four in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. He won 12 races from 2023-25 and led a combined 2,703 laps in those three years. 

But with a new Chevrolet body and the manufacturer struggling across the board, Byron is in the midst of his worst Cup Series season since 2020. He's cobbled together seven top 10s but only two top fives, and the No. 24 has been out front for a paltry 34 laps this season through 14 races. 

Byron's average finish is only 16.5, the first time it's been higher than 16th since his aforementioned 2020 campaign. And while he's not the only Hendrick or Chevy driver to not be meeting his standards this season, his regression has still been surprising, given how good he's been in the Next-Gen era. 

Sunday's race at Michigan, however, has the opportunity to be a breakout race for the No. 24 group. 

Can William Byron win at Michigan?

MIS has been an up-and-down venue for Byron overall. He has only three top 10s in 11 starts at the two-mile oval, and while he finished second at the track in 2021, he had five finishes outside the top 10 in his six prior starts. 

Similarly, his four Next-Gen races at Michigan have been all over the place on the results sheet: a quiet 12th in 2022, 35th in 2023 after a crash, another runner-up in 2024 and a 28th-place effort last year. 

But the last two Michigan races have proved that Byron should be one of the favorites this weekend as the Cup Series readies for the FireKeepers Casino 400 (3 p.m. ET Sunday, Prime Video). 

Byron finished second to Tyler Reddick in 2024 after leading 20 laps, but he had the fastest car in the 2025 race at Michigan. After starting fourth, Byron spent a race-high 98 circuits out front. He was embroiled in a thrilling late-race battle for the lead with Denny Hamlin with as few as two laps to go until he ran out of fuel, handing the victory to Hamlin. 

While Byron's first win of 2026 would go a long way towards solidifying his Chase berth, simply showing speed and running inside the top five would be a welcome sight for a No. 24 team that isn't used to being average.