"Short-tracks belong under the lights" - William Byron previews upcoming NASCAR Cup race at Richmond after dominant COTA victory

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron heads into this weekend's NASCAR Cup Series race on the back of a dominant performance at Circuit of The Americas last Sunday.

The #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver managed to blitz the field last weekend at the first road course race of the season, logging the most wins of any driver in the Next Gen Cup car.

With the upcoming Toyota Owners 400 today, the sim racer-turned-actual racing driver seems to be pretty relaxed heading into the seventh round of the 2024 Cup Series season.

Elaborating on the race's start time of 7:00 pm ET, the young 24-year-old spoke about the spectacle of stock car racing under the glow of the lights in the night. He told thepodiumfinish.net:

"The race is going to start at 7 p.m., so you’re going to be in some daylight for the beginning stage, and then it’ll kind of transition. So it’s just going to be about trying to keep up with the track. But I’m excited it’s a night race. I think short-tracks belong under the lights. It’s exciting to see the rotors glow. If there’s contact and things, it’s a little more exciting."

After finishing the 400-lap-long event outside the top 20 last year, it remains to be seen how well William Byron performs this season.

William Byron's shares his thoughts on NASCAR's new aero package

After trying the new short-track aerodynamics package by the governing body last weekend at COTA, drivers are slated to use the same aero profile for their cars this weekend at Richmond Raceway. Classified as a short track, the package aims to help drivers pass each other by reducing dirty air off the back of the cars.

Speaking on the package's effect on a racecar, William Byron elaborated on how much setup and aero packages affect his performance during the race and told thepodiumfinish.net:

"We don’t really focus on the package that much, in terms of how it changes our preparation. I think we maybe overestimated the difference there at first, so honestly we’re just trying to do the same things and just adapt to whatever the handling issues are."

The 2024 Toyota Owners 400 goes live today (March 31) at 7:00 pm ET.