“Winning the 600 would already mean so much given the history of this race,” William Byron is elated ahead of his Coca-Cola 600 run
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William Byron
William Byron who sports the No.24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports competing as a full-time Cup Series contender and the No.7 Chevrolet Silverado for Spire Motorsports as a part-time competitor in the Xfinity Series and he is super excited to race this year’s Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
His season so far has been pretty impressive with two victories coming at the Folds of Honor Quiktrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway this season with an addition of two top 10s and seven top 20s and a guaranteed spot in the playoffs and a 4th place finish in last year’s Coca-Cola 600.
On account of the NASCAR Memorial Day Weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Byron will be paying his tributes to U.S. Army Sergeant Ronald Grider on his No.24 Camaro and he currently stands 4th in the standings with 415 points, just w points behind JGR’s two-time Cup Series Champion Kyle Busch.
“I grew up watching races here as a fan,” says William Byron as he recollects his fondness for the track back in the day
William Byron is all set to go all-out at this year’s Coca-Cola 600 as he says that it has always been an honor for him to race at this track and goes back in time where he used to eagerly watch this race on TV and added that he would love to do well this year given the fact that the team’s birthplace is the city Charlotte.
“Racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway is always special for me. I grew up watching races here as a fan, It’s a hometown race for Mr. (Rick) Hendrick and Hendrick Motorsports as well. You always want to run well when the shop is literally across the street,” said William Byron.
He added by saying that emerging as a victor would mean the world to him given its significance in the sport’s history and the only challenge this year would be the Next-Gen car and just hopes for a good end at the track given his stats at the track and other 1.5mile tracks.
“Winning the 600 would already mean so much given the history of this race, but it would carry even more meaning for myself. We ran well in last year’s 600, the biggest difference will be with the Next-Gen car. I think we have some good notes on mile-and-a-half tracks so far this year, it gives us time to adjust throughout the race if we need to,” concluded William Byron.
“It’s a long race though and you want to make sure you keep up,” says William Byron’s crew chief Rudy Fugle
William Byron’s crew chief seems pretty optimistic given his results at the other 1.5mile tracks and he thinks the positive takeaway with the way he ran at Kansas, a finish in the top 5 with their car being quick.
“Even though we have raced at two mile-and-a-half tracks in a row now, I think we can take the most away from the race at Kansas, we had a fast car that weekend and I think with how the race played out, we could have had a shot to be there in the end, or at least finish top five,” said Rudy Fugle, Byron’s crew chief.
He further added that he thinks that it is vital to not lose control as the resin added on tracks might affect the grasp of the vehicle and concluded by saying that in consideration of the duration of the race, the track will tend to behave differently and hence staying in the top is crucial.
“About the only thing we can apply from last weekend’s race at Texas is that they applied the resin in the upper lanes. That will affect the handling of the car throughout a run, especially going from day to night like we will during the 600 and you want to make sure you keep up with how the track changes so you don’t fall behind early on,” concluded Rudy Fugle.
With William Byron already confident of a spot in the playoffs, will he give a run for the veterans this year at the Championship?
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