William Byron has been competing at the top level of NASCAR since 2018. He’s won rookie of the year honors in each of the three top series in NASCAR in consecutive seasons (trucks-2016, xFinity-2017, Cup-2018). To date, he has four wins in the Cup Series and is shaping up to be a future superstar. Right now, he’s performing so well, I believe he could be considered the best driver at Hendrick Motorsports this season, and a firm contender for the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series title.
Byron started his career in NASCAR driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (a Joe Gibbs Racing affiliate team). He lit up the truck series circuit in 2016 with seven wins, eleven top 5’s, and 16 top 10’s, all within 23 races. However, due to the playoff format, his poor round of 8 cost him a chance at the title. The next season, he switched from KBM to JR Motorsports (a Hendrick affiliate team) for his first xFinity campaign. In that season, he won four races, scored 12 top 5 finishes as well as 22 top tens in 33 races, as well as taking home the overall championship.
Late in 2017, Hendrick Motorsports announced Kasey Kahne would not be returning to the #5 Chevy in 2018. Two days later, it was revealed that Byron would take over the ride. A few weeks after that, it was announced that Byron would drive a rebranded #24 as Chase Elliott moved to the new #9 to pay homage to his father Bill, who drove the #9 for a majority of his career. Despite the lofty expectations, he didn’t quickly achieve the immediate successes he gained in the Truck and xFinity Series. He mustered just four top 10 finishes and a 23rd place finish in the final point standings. 2019 was a major step up however as Byron scored five top 5’s, and an additional 13 top 10’s. He finished the season 11th in the standings.
His third season was where he finally broke through. The 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400 was being held as the final race of the regular season, and the moved Daytona date did not disappoint. With a tight battle between three drivers (Byron, his teammate Jimmie Johnson, and Matt DiBenedetto) for two spots, everyone knew the intensity would be ramped up. After a late pileup that took Johnson out of the race, Byron and DiBenedetto would just need a decent finish to advance. On the last lap, Byron took the lead from Martin Truex, Jr. and scored his first career victory, putting him in the playoffs for the second time. DiBenedetto advanced with him, and Johnson’s swan song season championship hopes came to a disappointing end.
In addition to the win, Byron also posted four more top 5’s, 14 top 10’s, and ultimately came 14th in the final standings after a first-round elimination. 2021 was shaping up to be his best season yet, and for the most part, it didn’t disappoint. An early win at Homestead secured him in the playoffs. Paired with career bests in top 5’s and top 10’s (12 and 20, respectively), Byron looked to have finally found his groove in the NASCAR Cup Series. He made it to the second round of the playoffs for the second time, and ultimately finished 10th.
The 2022 season has brought forth many unknowns with the Gen-7 car. Right from the start, it was clear that this season would be one of the wildest in recent memory. With three first-time winners in six races, the playoff chaos had been ensued early. Though not a first-time winner, Byron scored an early win at the newly-reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, and three weeks later scored his second win of the season in dominating fashion at Martinsville. So far this year, he’s nabbed four top 5 finishes (which are also his only top 10’s so far as well). Aside from average finish and top 10’s (both stats led by Chase Elliott), Byron is statistically the best driver at Hendrick right now. He leads the team in wins and top 5’s and currently sits third in the points behind Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney.
With a large portion of the season still to go, there is still time for the other Hendrick drivers to find success. But if Byron is to continue with this momentum, he may very well be the top dog at Hendrick this season. He’s on pace to set career highs in top 5’s, top 10’s, average finish, and final points position. He’s already set career highs in wins and laps led, and will likely continue to grow those numbers.
Without a doubt, Byron has had an explosive start to the 2022 season. He’s proven he’s capable of multi-win seasons and carrying momentum from race to race. So far, Byron has proven that he is easily the best driver at Hendrick thus far. What are your thoughts on William Byron’s performance so far this year? Let me know on Twitter and share this article!
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