William Byron rolls into NASCAR playoffs as a favorite. Here's how he's handling it

William Byron rolls into NASCAR playoffs as a favorite. Here’s how he’s handling it

After 26 regular season Cup Series races, the 10-race playoff portion of the season of 2024 is finally here beginning at Atlanta Motor Speedway come Sunday.

William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, is considered a favorite to win the Cup Series championship. Even though he and his Rudy Fugle-led Hendrick Motorsports team have had a summer slump to deal with, they’ve put those not-so-desirable finishes behind them and are concentrating on what the next 10 races will hold.

There are a variety of track configurations they must master and every point counts. To ensure everything goes into their championship game plan, victories are key to making sure it’s Byron who hoists the title trophy high come the final race of the season at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 10.

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“We’ve been waiting for this for a while,” Byron said. “As soon as you win early in the season, your goals shift to what we can do to get bonus points and what we can do to get ready for the fall. That’s really what it has been about. Now we get to put that to the test and take it one race at a time.”

Byron is in championship mode, focusing on every remaining race on the schedule. The Charlotte native has been here before and knows what to expect as far as pressure, the fickle personalities of race tracks and the ovals and road courses that suit him well. Still, he must take every move for position one pass at a time, as what may be lurking ahead could change the entire completion of his season.

“I love it. I think it puts value into what you do,” Byron said. “It’s what you work for as a team. When you’re at Hendrick Motorsports, the goal setting out for the season is to try and win big races and try to win the championship. For us, this is the time of year to do that, so there’s more meaning to it. For driving like the team we are, that’s the goal.”

There is the regular season and the playoffs, two totally different parts of any given season. During the two-week August, Byron and his crew recharged and came back with the goal of making the championship a reality.

“I feel like I’ve built a lot of stamina this year, just in different ways and trying to be ready for this time of year,” So, yeah, I’m as ready to go as I’ve ever been. I don’t really need anything to motivate me for that. It’s just trying to put everything you can into the next 10 weeks because that’s what you work so hard for, especially in the off-season. You think about how you can get back to the championship race, and that starts in January and then you just work from there. For us, we had wins early in the season, we had to kind of take a breath, and now it’s how do we work to get to Phoenix.”

Even though Byron is constantly working out, training, eating well and resting, his crew is constantly working on cars, training themselves and preparing for those amazing nine-second pit stops seen every week on pit road. It’s still a huge grind on those back home at their mammoth Hendrick Motorsports campus in Concord, and those that are constantly on the road.

“I think they’re professionals. I think they’re some of the most talented people in the garage,” Byron said.

Byron was in the Final Four drivers in 2023, coming up Just short to reigning Cup Series champion, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney. It’s a statistic the Hendrick driver wants to change in 2024.

“Yeah, we just didn’t quite have enough last year. I think we’ve pretty much tailored our season around trying to get better in some of those areas. I feel like we’re capable. The summer was very inconsistent, but when we did have speed, we were right up front. I think we just have to get back to that and I know these 10 weeks will take a totally different mindset than in the summer anyways, so it’s not really worth comparing it.”

All four Hendrick Motorsports drivers — Alex Bowman, Byron, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson — are in the playoffs this season and each of them is set to help one another. The advantage comes down to solid communication among them as brackets move from 16 drivers to 12 to eight and finally to four.

“I think the Round of 16 is tough, the Round of 12 is tough” Byron said. “I think the Round of 8 is kind of more legitimate tracks but it’s going to take everything. You’re going to have to try and win one of those. I think it kind of depends, but I think depending upon what tracks you’re good at, I think the Round of 16 is probably the toughest.

“It’s just good notes. Obviously, everyone is out for themselves. It’s how the format is and the way the racing is. But you have to share notes and learn from each other to have the best possible result for all of you. I feel like we do that really well. Nothing really changes in the playoffs, but it’s nice to have everyone pulling the rope in the same direction.”

Linda Hendrick, wife of team owner Rick Hendrick, has requested that all four drivers make up the final four at Phoenix on Nov. 10. It’s a tall order to fulfill, but it isn’t impossible.

“I love it,” Byron said. “I think we all want it really bad, so I don’t think there’s any needed added motivation, but I love how passionate Mrs. Hendrick is and Mr. H as well, and I’m excited for the playoffs.”