William Byron “Resets Goals and Expectations” After Disappointing R-16

William Byron made it clear that he was ready to bounce back with a complete reset after a disappointing start to NASCAR Playoffs.

William Byron “Resets Goals and Expectations” After Disappointing R-16

William Byron (Via IMAGO)

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William Byron emerged as the favorite for the 2025 Cup title after winning the regular season. The HMS driver did not manage to bring the momentum into the Playoffs, with a string of disappointing runs. Now, ahead of the New Hampshire weekend, Byron has asserted that he and his crew are going for a full reset.

Hendrick Motorsports is one of the top teams in NASCAR. It was thus a surprise to see William Byron struggle in the Round of 16 this time around. In the first Playoff race at Darlington, Byron failed to even lead a single lap, and finished in P11. The 27-year-old could barely make his way to the next round.

There is no time to waste for the Chevrolet star. William Byron has qualified in P5 for Sunday’s race at New Hampshire. This could give him a good start, but the track is known to be a Joe Gibbs Racing stronghold. Nevertheless, Byron has shown some solid pace as he pulled off the fastest lap in practice.

The 27-year-old reckoned that now he aims to get as many bonus points as possible in the race, before getting an opportunity to take the win. William Byron accepted that he was far behind in the Round of 16. Now, HMS and Byron are doing a complete reset of goals and expectations. The Chevy driver insisted that he was happy to survive through the first round, as he managed to avoid any carnage on-track.

The thought for us was, ‘OK, we have a lot of bonus points, maybe we can go out there and get some more,’ and try to capitalize on a race win or something like that. We weren’t close to that in the first round, so we had to kind of reset our goals and expectations. We did kind of survive and advance; we did that flawlessly. We were out of the drama, the wrecks and things that happened.

William Byron said as quoted by Racer.com.

William Byron ready for ‘Marathon’ of NASCAR Playoffs

The NASCAR Playoffs are one of the most controversial formats in motorsport. Despite topping the regular season standings, Byron has everything to lose. Though, the Playoffs also give the 27-year-old to bounce back in the Round of 12 after the disappointing first three Playoff races.

William Byron
William Byron at Iowa Speedway (via Imagn Images)

The Chevrolet star asserted that HMS was going to push itself to the limit in this round of the Playoffs. William Byron pointed out that the championship is more of a marathon with this format. This gives Byron ample room to keep advancing in the next rounds, and then finally seizing the opportunity.

We’ve put a lot of work into these [next] three races, and we’re putting our best foot forward. There is still a lot of season left, though. It’s kind of a marathon within itself. There are so many steps to this deal, so the way this format is, you just have to keep advancing and hopefully you’re at your best when it counts.

William Byron added.

Certainly, William Byron is one of the stars in the Playoffs this year. While usually, the 27-year-old gets overshadowed by his teammates, 2025 might be his season. The No. 24 driver sits in second place in the Playoff standings, and is the lead Chevrolet. Thus, fans would be hoping to see Byron take HMS’ first Playoff win this season on Sunday. However, the Chevy star must avoid any trouble to make his way to Victory Lane.

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