William Byron prepares for NASCAR Cup Series practice at Kansas Speedway on Saturday, September 28, 2024. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — “Damn it, I wanted that one really bad.” If you watched William Byron’s post-race interview following the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway, you could probably feel the raw emotion in these words as he said them with a stoic, yet clearly disappointed expression on his face.
As Ross Chastain smashed his watermelon and celebrated a well-deserved victory in the background, Byron stood on pit road, explaining his thoughts on the No. 24 team’s runner-up finish to the press.
“I feel like he [Chastain] got the restart he needed to and I was in the second row just trying to clear those guys and once I got clear of them, my balance was OK,” Byron said to NBC Sports reporter Kim Coon. “So, just sucks, but proud of the effort. Brought an awesome car. Proud of all my guys. They’ve been working their tails off and we’ve gotten a lot of BS over the summer from the outside. I know how good this team is and what we’re capable of.”
William Byron had a solid practice session at Kansas Speedway, running the eighth fastest lap of the day. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
Byron qualified a solid sixth for the Sunday afternoon race and pulled off the win in Stage 1, nabbing 10 coveted stage points. His consistency continued throughout the race, resulting in a fourth place finish in Stage 2 as his teammate, Alex Bowman, took the stage win.
The No. 24 was obviously very fast, but a lack of clean air at the end of the race gave Chastain the upper hand. Byron fought until the bitter end, making huge moves on the inside line to gain ground on the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Camaro. However, it was not enough as Chastain held his ground on the outside and cleared Byron for the win.
Despite the sting of a second place finish in the playoffs, Byron felt that the team made a statement to the rest of the field.
“It’s just what we can do. We know how important these tracks are and we’re excited to keep building and just keep putting weeks together like this. We got off a little bit at times during the race but we were able to get it back. Just proud of that. We have work to do, but proud of the effort today.”
The No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports pit crew went to work at Kansas Speedway, pulling off successful stops all afternoon. (Photo: Cole Penning | The Podium Finish)
Byron’s day culminated in 52 points earned, the most out of any driver in the field. After his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, lost a tire and ended up with a lackluster 26th place finish, the playoff standings lead was handed over to Byron. With two races left in the Round of 12, including Talladega, an “anyone’s game” track, and the twists and turns at the Roval, Byron holds a six point lead over second place runner Ryan Blaney.
