William Byron Credits His Recent Success to Next Gen Car With Bold Confession

William Byron is really coming into his own as a NASCAR Cup Series title threat this season. A lot of bets are placed on him, including reporter Bob Pockrass, who said, “He’s my pick to win the title”. But to whom does Byron give credit?

Byron initially started with the 6th Gen car during his early Cup series days from 2018. Showing a steady rise, he didn’t get much time with the car as the Next Gen took over by 2022. In light of his rising performance, Kevin Harvick recently asked him about his evolution as a driver and whether the Next Gen had a role to play in it. And despite the controversial opinions of many veterans and drivers on the Next Gen problems, Byron stands firm with his unpopular one.

William Byron is happy with the Next Gen unlike many

Speaking to Harvick on the Happy Hour podcast, Byron confessed his love for the Next Gen and how it has helped him so far. He said, “I feel that this Gen 7 car has kind of given me a chance to have a clean slate and really learn about the race car. I feel like I understand this race car way more than I did the last generation.”

Byron’s comments come in the light of the fact that both the Next Gen car and he came to rise together around similar phases. COVID-19 pushed the release of it; otherwise, their debut would have been even closer. He added, “It’s probably just the way my career is driven and how much testing I did with this car. I was one of the first to test this Next Gen car, then I was one of the first at Hendrick to test it. So I feel like I got a really good idea of what sort of direction was with setup.”

This definitely makes it clear that he had a good advantage over some veterans who had to adapt to the car changes over the years, unlike him, who had a cameo with the 6th Gen but mostly achieved the major successes in his Cup career with the Next Gen so far. The fact that he was “the first” to test it certainly helps him lock that muscle memory with the car in a better way than others. This connection between his hands-on testing and rising together with the Next Gen era has become a key factor contributing to his racing prowess. But has he mastered it?

Byron further mentioned, “It’s evolved a lot over the last year, especially on the road courses and short tracks. I’m still not fully understanding everything about it, but I feel like I have a general sense of, when I see things on Monday I’m like that makes sense. That’s why we went this direction. I don’t know, that’s probably why there’s been some more success. I feel like I really understand this car, more than I did the last one.”

His remarks reflect how his growing familiarity with the Next Gen car has translated into stronger performances, but the process is still ongoing and not over. The car itself has gone through a lot of changes, like several key adjustments aimed at improving handling and competitiveness, especially on road courses and short tracks, as he mentioned. NASCAR particularly introduced tangible aerodynamic updates ahead of the 2024 season in light of this. However, as he says, it eventually makes sense after some practice and admits that he’s still learning.

And while he is, his ability to connect race-day experiences with post-race analysis shows a deeper technical grasp than he had with the Gen-6 car. This improved understanding has given him the confidence to adjust quickly and capitalize on the car’s strengths, which explains the uptick in his success compared to earlier in his Cup career with the 6th Gen.

The weight of expectations and the Darlington revenge

Though Byron shut down many talks over his ‘slump’ narrative after Daytona by winning Iowa too in August, he still feels pressure looming for the playoffs. The expectation now is not just to win races but to convert that momentum into a deep championship run.

Carrying the weight of expectations around him, he said, “I just think about all the people that have put… a lot of effort into my career to get me to where I am, and yeah, I think it’s validation for all those people as well. I would love to win a championship. I would love it for my family. I would love it for all the people who helped me along the way.” Since joining Hendrick Motorsports, Byron has been on a steady rise and never looked back. A rise like this is always affected by expectations and pressure to always perform well.

And the upcoming Darlington race might be the chance for him to finish what he couldn’t in April this year. Byron was the most dominating driver that day, as he led 243 laps and won the first two stages. However, Denny Hamlin broke his dream in the final green launch he received after the last caution. If Byron can channel the same dominance with a stronger finish this time, Darlington could be the perfect stage for redemption and a timely boost heading into the playoffs.