William Byron continues his strong start to 2025 by clinching pole position at the Phoenix Cup Series race

NASCAR: Cup Practice and Qualifying - Source: Imagn
William Byron during qualifying for the 2025 Shrines Children’s 500 - Source: Imagn

Following a strong start to the 2025 season, William Byron carried the momentum and secured the pole position at Phoenix Raceway. He clocked a 26.93-second lap time to beat defending track winner Joey Logano by 0.098 seconds.

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William Byron, driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro, kicked off the year with a back-to-back Daytona 500 win. While the Hendrick Motorsports driver crashed out of the front at Atlanta Motor Speedway, he bounced back at the Circuit of the Americas with a second-place finish.

NASCAR took to X (formerly Twitter) to share the top 10 starting grid for the Phoenix spring race led by Byron.

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As the post stated, all three Spire Motorsports drivers join William Byron in the top 10 starting grid. Spire Motorsports is a Chevrolet-affiliated team with a technical alliance with Hendrick Motorsports.

Chase Elliott is the only other HMS driver to break into the top 10 in sixth place. Kyle Larson will start in the 17th position, while Alex Bowman, who earned the pole position in the Xfinity Series race at Phoenix Raceway, will line up in 32nd.

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Byron leads the standings after overtaking the top step from Ryan Blaney at the end of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. He has one win and two top-5s despite leading the field for 17 laps, a far cry from Joey Logano, who has the most laps led this season with 126.


"I thought the tire was great": William Byron on NASCAR's option tire for Phoenix spring race

After securing the pole position, William Byron shared his thoughts on NASCAR's option tire at Phoenix Raceway. The 27-year-old thought the tires were "great", though he admitted the team needs to work on the yellow.

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For the unversed, NASCAR is deploying two tire options for the Phoenix spring race. The red tire offers more grip but wears faster, while the yellow tire provides more durability but less grip.

Speaking about the tire option, Byron said:

"Honestly, I thought the tire was great. You know, I think it fell off some with heat and just kind of starting to slide around. But I felt like the tire felt good as soon as we bolted it on." [via Speedway Digest]
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He added:

"We have a little bit of work to do on the yellow, but I don't see any problems with the red. I think that it's going to put on and promote a good race and probably a lot of variation between the tires."
William Byron chatting with Christopher Bell during the qualifying session at Phoenix - Source: Imagn
William Byron chatting with Christopher Bell during the qualifying session at Phoenix - Source: Imagn

The Shriners Children's 500 at Phoenix Raceway is slated for March 9 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

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Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar
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