William Byron thinks getting the balance right at Pocono Raceway 'may be an issue still this weekend'

Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron has his seat firmly reserved for the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. With two wins already to his name in the 2022 season at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speedway earlier this year, the 24 year-old driver has had good momentum throughout the year.

The Charlotte, North Carolina native also has four top-five and five top-ten finishes to his name in 2022, as the circus makes its way to Pocono Raceway this weekend for the M&M's Fan Appreciation 400. He is familiar with 'The Tricky Triangle' as he won on the Long Pond, Pennsylvania track in the Camping World Truck Series in 2016.

The #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 driver looked back on him and his crew chief, Rudy Fugle's past success at the 2.5-mile-long track, and said:

“I’m excited to get to Pocono (Raceway) this weekend. It’s a track that both myself and Rudy (Fugle, crew chief) have had success at in every level of our careers. We were close to getting the win there twice last year and we won there together in Trucks. I think there’s a little bit more of an unknown for Sunday’s race this time though.’’

Owing to Pocono Raceway's relatively flat nature compared to some of the other tracks NASCAR visits, Byron was also concerned about the #24 crew's performance on the track. He explained how he has struggled with the Next Gen car this year on flat tracks, and elaborated:

“Even though Pocono has three different corners, they are all primarily flat and flat tracks have been an area we have struggled at this year with the Next Gen car. I think last weekend at New Hampshire (Motor Speedway) we showed some improvement on those style of tracks, but ride quality was still off throughout a run. It has been hard to get the balance right for all three corners (at Pocono), and I feel like that may be an issue still this weekend.’’

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William Byron to run RAPTOR paint scheme at Pocono Raceway this weekend

The #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 of William Byron will be seen sporting a different livery during this weekend's M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is slated to change things up with his car sporting RAPTOR Bedliner Coatings as the primary sponsor this week.

Watch William Byron take on 400 miles of the M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono Raceway on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. ET.