Kevin Harvick Declares William Byron and Chase Briscoe “Underperformed” in playoffs R-12

The final right drivers have clinched their spot for the Round of 8 following the Charlotte race at the Roval. Among many others, defending champion Joey Logano has also gained his ticket for R-8. Now, as the grid prepares for the upcoming races, ex-NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick has weighed in on William Byron and Chase Briscoe‘s mediocre performances.

The Roval race was run under some difficult circumstances, especially after some drivers did not push fully in order to help their teammates maintain their playoff positions. Moreover, Denny Hamlin overtook Ross Chastain on track and ruined his chances to move to R-8, helping Joey Logano secure the final seat. Now, even though Chase Briscoe and William Byron have made it into the Round of 8, Kevin Harvick still criticized their performances in the R-12.

Kevin Harvick asserted that the #24 crew of William Byron definitely underperformed in the R-12 races. Harvick insisted that the speed had been off, especially at the WWTR in Illinois for Byron and Co. Now, the performance of the 27-year-old flip-flopped as compared to before, according to the former NASCAR star. Moreover, he asserted that the #9 squad of Chase Elliott seemed to be possessing more speed than the #24 squad.

I think the 24 [William Byron] definitely underperformed, I think that, you know, their speed has been off. We went to St. Louis, and like, oh, well, you know. Maybe they found something. But now it’s kind of flip-flopped. Now the 9 seems to be the one that has more speed than the 24.

Kevin Harvick said on the Happy Hour podcast.

Kevin Harvick predicted that William Byron and Co. might or might not come up to the Vegas race with a positive performance. The 49-year-old recalled that Byron’s squad was awful at Kansas and failed to perform well. As compared to him, Chase Briscoe was also poor in terms of performance. Harvick pointed out that Briscoe’s pace was a little more off than people expected him to be, which was quite shocking.

I mean, they [William Byron] might show up at Vegas, they might not. I don’t know. Because they were awful, they were awful at Kansas. So, I think Byron, I think that [Chase] Briscoe was probably a little more, a little more off than what I thought they were going to be.

Kevin Harvick added.

Kevin Harvick recalls William Byron’s ‘big flop’ at Kansas

William Byron’s performance throughout the 2025 season has been impressive. However, come the playoffs, Byron seemed to lose some speed and find difficulties in making it through the rounds. For now, the #24 driver has managed to make it into the Round of 8, with the upcoming races seeming to be difficult for him to excel in. Kevin Harvick recalled the 27-year-old’s problematic outing at the recent race.

Kevin Harvick insisted that William Byron suffered from a big miss at Kansas after failing to fight for the race win. Although Byron managed to qualify decently in P11 and ultimately finish in P9, his speed was nothing impressive.

Harvick explained that the #24 crew’s speed was absent in Kansas, and he could’ve suffered from worse conditions. The ex-NASCAR star labeled the 27-year-old’s results at Kansas as a ‘big flop’ as he would have to do better in the coming finale races.

They had the big miss at Kansas. They ground one out and were able to put themselves in a decent position to get a decent finish, but they had no speed at Kansas. It was a big flop at Kansas.

Kevin Harvick noted.

Despite the recent declining results, William Byron is still in the top four of the eight drivers. Byron needs to keep up with the consistency he showcased in the regular season and strengthen his championship chances. As for Chase Briscoe, he is currently seventh and must come up with better results to ensure that he makes it into the Championship 4, which seems like a big task.

Read More: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Admits Joey Logano’s Playoff Defense Is Making Him Hate the Format More

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