William Byron on the secret to Rick Hendrick-led HMS' success at Watkins Glen

William Byron explained why Hendrick Motorsports puts on good results at Watkins Glen year after year. He acknowledged that the successful runs on the track were a team effort along with a “great” Chevrolet engine built by HMS itself.

Byron is one of four Hendrick Motorsports drivers who pilots the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro. He has been with the Concord-based outfit for seven seasons, securing 13 Cup wins with them including last year’s Go Bowling at The Glen.

The 26-year-old driver talked to reporters about how Hendrick Motorsports, owned by Rick Hendrick, won five times in a row at Watkins Glen.

“I think we’ve had pretty good road course stuff for like a little less than a decade and I feel like it just builds on itself even though there was a car chance. We actually did struggle with this car on the road courses initially, like quite a bit," Byron said.

The North Carolina native continued by saying:

"And then once we figured out kind of what it needed, it seemed like we have smart drivers, smart crew chiefs, like we all [kind of] contribute and we get a package that we like and then we go from there."

William Byron also commended the V8 power unit under the HMS cars, saying:

“So I think that’s what it took with this car and then yeah, Watkins Glen is just a faster place so there’s probably a little bit […] it takes a little bit of everything, engine […] is probably really important so we always have great engines. So I feel like we’re just able to make the straightaways good and, you know, get through braking zones and everything.”

The first of the five consecutive wins in upstate New York was spearheaded by Chase Elliot in 2018. It was followed by Elliott again the year after before Kyle Larson won in the 2021 and 2022 editions. As mentioned earlier, William Byron was victorious on the road course in 2023.

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William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports had tough luck at this year’s Watkins Glen

William Byron was unable to win this season's race at Watkins Glen following an incident with Brad Keselowski at lap 84. Keselowski lost control due to a contact with Joey Logano and eventually pushed Byron to the wall.

The latest winner on the road course is Chris Buescher in the No. 17 Ford. He was fighting Shane van Gisbergen when the 35-year-old made a little mistake before losing the lead to Buescher on the final lap.

When the flag fell at Watkins Glen, the top 5 finishers were completed by Chris Buescher, Shane van Gisbergen, Carson Hocevar, Ross Chastain, and Zane Smith, respectively.

None of the Hendrick Motorsports drivers finished in the top 10. Kyle Larson led the way for the team by finishing in 12th while Alex Bowman finished in 18th, followed by Chase Elliott in 19th. William Byron had the toughest luck among all HMS drivers in 34th.

Both Byron and teammate Larson are on a bubble watch in P10 (+25) and P9 (+26).

The next and final race of the Round of 16 will be at Bristol Motor Speedway where four playoff drivers will be eliminated from the playoff grid.