William Byron looks to rekindle early-season speed in quest for first championship

If you asked the garage area who the NASCAR Cup Series championship favorite was in early April, the majority of responses would give the distinction to William Byron. 

The Charlotte, North Carolina, native won three of the Cup Series’ first eight races, including the season-opening Daytona 500. 

Wins at Circuit of the Americas and Martinsville followed, and no matter what track the Cup Series went to, the No. 24 was always near the front of the field. 

However, Byron’s hot start gave way to a cool summer, in which he was rarely competing for wins. 

In fact, Byron’s most recent triumph remains the April 7 race at Martinsville, where he led the charge on the 40th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports’ first win as an organization. 

As Byron looks to clinch the organization’s 15th Cup Series championship, he and crew chief Rudy Fugle are looking to regain the speed that they had in the spring. 

Byron has only one top-10 finish over the last five races, but with a summer of experimentation over for the No. 24 team, it wouldn’t be a shock if Byron was back in Victory Lane in the first round of the postseason. 

Byron has two wins at Atlanta’s new configuration and is the most recent winner at Watkins Glen — the site of the first two races in the round of 16. 

Byron will also be the most recent winner at Martinsville when the Cup Series rolls into town for the penultimate race of the season. 

Despite scoring more points than any driver in 2023, Byron came up short of a championship at Phoenix. If he wants to get to the Final Four for the second straight year, it’s time for the No. 24 team to turn up the wick with everything on the line.