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William Byron took to his social media account to highlight the support he received during the recently concluded Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray. Byron shared on Instagram that he received "strong" support at Bowman Gray Stadium as NASCAR returned to the venue after over five decades.
NASCAR returned to the Bowman Gray Stadium to host a race for the first time in 54 years, and it returned with a bang. The season-opener of the 2025 Cup Series season concluded on Sunday, February 2, with the event gathering huge footfall in and around Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Byron was one of the competitors who participated in the Cook Out Clash on Sunday and attracted huge support ahead of his race. The #24 driver took to the Meta-owned platform to highlight his support on his Instagram story:
Trending
"24 support is strong"
Here's the screenshot of William Byron's Instagram story:
Byron qualified in 11th place for the race on Saturday, February 1, behind Trackhouse Racing's Shane van Gisbergen, and ahead of RFK Racing's Ryan Preece. However, Byron's race on Sunday turned out to be underwhelming as he finished in a distant 18th place.
The #24 driver ended his race behind his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and ahead of his other teammate Alex Bowman. Chase Elliott, the #9 driver from Hendrick Motorsports, won the race.
Elliot started the season with a show as he fended off Team Penske's Ryan Blaney and Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin to win the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race. NASCAR will host its next race, the 2025 Daytona 500 on February 16.
William Byron called for a change in NASCAR playoffs ahead of new season
Hendrick Motorsports star William Byron touched upon the NASCAR playoffs, claiming that a change was needed in the season-ending Championship 4 race. Byron, in his recent interview with AP News, said that the predictability of the final race in Phoenix demands a change.
“I think it deserves a look for sure and probably a change down the road,” Byron said. “I just don’t know what that change is. I feel like we’ve just gotten into such a routine of going to the same racetrack for the final race, and having similar tracks that lead up to it has gotten a little bit predictable."
"But you could say probably the same thing in other sports, with the (Kansas City) Chiefs hosting the AFC championship every year. It’s just kind of the nature of sports, probably; it gets a little bit repetitive. But it’d be nice to see the final race to move around," Byron, who missed out on the championship last year, added.
Team Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney put everyone behind in the last three years to win back-to-back championships for Roger Penske's team at Phoenix Raceway. Logano won in 2022, followed by Blaney in 2023 before Logano rounded off 2024 again with a win.
