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Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron has had the 2022 playoff odds turn against himself ever since he received a penalty for spinning Denny Hamlin during a caution at Texas Motor Speedway. The 24-year-old driver was firmly set above the cutoff line before his run-in with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. He, however, has fallen below that after being stripped of 25 drivers as well as team standings points.
Last Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Round of 12 race at Talladega Superspeedway saw the #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver struggle to make an impact in the 188-lap long race. Every race in the current 'point-racing' format means stage wins and points can be as much of a differentiating factor between advancing to the next round and being eliminated, as a victory is. William Byron was on course to regain the lost points in the first stage of the Yellwood 500, sitting in second place behind Hamlin. He, however, fell outside the top 10 as the stage drew to a close.
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The Charlotte, North Carolina native elaborated on how he felt during the opening stages of the race and said:
“I was working well with (Hamlin), I tried to work to the bottom and he stayed at the top and the top seemed to have momentum. I just made a wrong decision there that kind of got me in a bad position further. I was still leading the inside lane, but the inside lane wouldn’t go forward. That was just kind of weird. That was kind of the moral of our day, was just not being able to advance forward.”
The second stage of the 500-mile-long event was another chance for William Byron to bag some much-needed points for the #24 crew at Hendrick Motorsports. A P13 finish, however, meant he and Christopher Bell were the only playoff contenders to not score points in the second stage. Ultimately finishing in P12, William Byron sits 11 points below the cut-off line for the Round of 8 and will be looking to go all guns blazing into the next round at Charlotte Roval.
William Byron elaborates on his expectations going into 2022 NASCAR Bank of America Roval 400
Going into next weekend's final Round of 12 race, William Byron is under immense pressure. The 24-year-old needs to perform well on the road course to advance to the upcoming Round of 8 in the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
Byron spoke about what he expects out of the upcoming race last Sunday after Yellawood 500 and said:
“We’ll see. Road Courses this year have been a little up and down but I certainly feel like it’s a pretty good track for me and we had a good run going last year so we just gotta keep it up.”
Watch the complete interview below:
The Bank of America Roval 400 will go live this coming Sunday from the Charlotte Roval Road Course, which decides the 8 drivers who will move onto the next round in the playoffs.
