As we approach the 2023 season’s next playoff race at the Talladega Superspeedway, the buzz around the previous one in Texas hasn’t quite died down yet. With analysts and reporters still having a look at the Rick Hendrick ace William Byron’s win, the only question that can be heard is: Is Byron the favorite for the championship? The 25-year-old Charlotte native has got the most wins this year of all the drivers on the grid this season. And yet, there is a hesitation from many to acknowledge his potential to win the Cup Series trophy.

Recently, the hosts of the “Rubbin’ Is Racing” podcast got together at the Barstool Sports studio to discuss the upcoming weekend in Talladega as well as William Byron’s chances of lifting the Cup.

The hesitation in accepting William Byron to be the best driver on the grid

William Byron has accumulated a total of 6 wins this season. His victory lane visit in Texas also meant that he brought home to Rick Hendrick more wins than the legend Dale Earnhardt Jr did in his time at Hendrick Motorsports. Slowly and steadily, the young driver is overcoming records that were set by drivers before him. In Texas, he had barely led a considerable amount of laps and yet, ended up being the winner. Making use of the problems of the drivers around him, he made a last-minute plunge to take the lead with just 6 laps to go in the race and made sure to keep it till the end. Despite all the heroics that he has put on the track this year, “Quicks,” a spokesperson for Barstool Sports does not consider him to be the best yet.

As one of the hosts, Large Barstool brought up the topic of Byron’s dominance. He talked about how he was very reluctant to acknowledge Byron to be the favorite for the trophy this year. He said, “Because I don’t think he is [the best driver]. But like, it’s hard for me to say no. It doesn’t feel like… he’s crazy dominant. He’s not. But he is at the same time. And I think we kind of talked about it before like the way he spaced out his wins. Doesn’t make it feel like he’s as ahead on wins as he is. But yeah I don’t think I could throw out another name and say that they’re a better driver than him this season.”

Surprisingly, it is not just him that holds this opinion on Byron, but also Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior had voiced out before the playoffs that despite what the stats say, Byron wasn’t the championship favorite for him.

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The reason for the loud voices of doubt against Rick Hendrick and Byron’s #24 team

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Back in July, Dale Jr was one of those who were reluctant to accept Byron to be the favorite. He had favored Martin Truex Jr instead and said, “I’m not ready to say William is the favorite. William is certainly in a great position to get to the final four, he is. […] I just ain’t sure he’s there yet.” Quite a few weeks passed since this opinion and the youngster is still marching ahead with vigour. Dale Jr’s choice, however, has just been abysmal in the playoffs.

One of the key reasons for the doubt on Byron could be the clear-cut dominance of speed or strategy he doesn’t display when compared to other winners. The #24 team often relies on the mistakes of others. Denny Hamlin had a good view of this speaking on his podcast earlier this week. He said, “That has been that team’s M.O. this year where they won 6 races,. (…) They definitely capitalize. That is the epitome of capitalizing on other’s mistakes. Being there… If you are there enough, you are gonna win races. Whatever that definition is, William Byron’s name and face is right there right now.”

Considering the voice of doubt growing around him, Byron has a job to do in the upcoming races. Byron’s win at Texas meant that he gets a seat at the round of 8. Even if the coming races at Talladega and the Roval don’t mean as much, it will be opportunities for him to send out a strong message of his racing prowess. Regardless of strategy or means, only the number of wins in the stat books will matter at the end of the day. And Byron seems to be excelling in that!

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