“I think just finally some things went our way. I think honestly, we’ve been doing a really good job on strategy, execution.” William Byron said this ecstatically after his cumulative efforts fetched him a regular-season title. From being one of the only two drivers to collect more than 200 stage points so far to having a remarkable average finishing position of 13.68, Byron achieved a lot. However, Rick Hendrick’s champ got a rude shock on Friday during qualifying.

Heading into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 with a title crown, William Byron had no reason to worry. The Hendrick Motorsports star owns three prior victories in Daytona, including two back-to-back Daytona 500s. But sadly, the superspeedway is not so welcoming for him this time.

An unexpected misfortune for William Byron

Just two weeks ago, William Byron overcame a 22-race winless drought. However, his ecstasy in Iowa is wildly rivaling his misery in Daytona at present. What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend for the 2025 Daytona 500 winner and regular-season champion turned awry. Byron was due to start the event eighth after lightning forced the cancellation of Friday’s qualifying session for Saturday Night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. His No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet initially passed pre-race inspection. But then, NASCAR Officials spotted Rick Hendrick’s team making an unapproved adjustment to the splitter of the car.

According to a statement from NASCAR, the HMS team was required to reinstall the struts. However, when the car was sent back through the Underbody Scanning Station (USS), the No. 24 vehicle failed measurements as a result of the adjustments. This landed a big penalty for William Byron’s Daytona attempt, also potentially clouding his playoff hopes. Rudy Fugle, the No. 24 crew chief, was ejected from the event, and the No. 24 team will lose its pit-stall selection for the race. Additionally, Byron will start from the rear, also serving a stop-and-go penalty on pit road after taking the green flag.

William Byron was not alone in landing a penalty. BJ McLeod’s No. 78 Live Fast Motorsports Chevrolet was also penalized after failing pre-race inspection twice. As a result, car chief Lee Leslie was ejected from the event, and the team also lost its pit-stall selection.

Despite the setback, William Byron might just bounce back with more energy. We saw how well his team works under pressure at Richmond Raceway, where they overcame big hurdles to finish 12th. Byron said after that race: “Best 12th-place finish we’ve ever had…got some damage there with the big crash, and it hurt us a little bit. Honestly, there were runs where we were pretty good. We drove up to sixth and on that second-to-last run, we were third. I thought we were in a good spot, but the tire was just not good for us, and [the tire] fell off really hard. But anyway, proud of this team, really proud of the effort all year.”

Hence, William Byron’s landscape looks pretty solid despite the penalty. However, a veteran in the Cup Series garage threw some doubts over his season.

Tracing the wrinkles in performance

Well, William Byron may be reigning on top of the championship standings. Yet he has not been on top of the conversation this year. That was because of the multiple defeats or close calls he had. For instance, Byron blistered the Coca-Cola 600 field by leading 283 of the 400 laps, only to finish second behind a resurgent Ross Chastain. Two weeks later, his No. 24 Chevy sputtered with a dry gas tank just before the white-flag lap in Michigan. This misfortune was the first of eight races that Byron endured without a top-five finish, a stretch that included his first three DNFs of the year. During the Brickyard 400, he fizzled out from 3rd to 16th due to an ill-timed fuel problem.

This cluster of misfortunes made Kevin Harvick, 2014 Cup Series champion, squint at William Byron’s regular-season championship. The veteran commented recently, “When I look at it, William Byron has won two races. When I think of his season as a whole, it’s been pretty up and down.” But then again, Harvick acknowledged the faults of the Next-Gen car, which is incredibly hard to pass with. Harvick continued, “But I think they performed pretty well. I think Next Gen Racing, in general, is more inconsistent than what we’ve been used to in the past. I think you’re going to have more DNFs, you’re going to have more off weeks, and how do you minimize those off weeks?”

Presently, William Byron is looking to minimize his off week in Daytona. Let us see if the champion ends the regular season on a good note or not.