The 2024 Daytona 500 winner and HMS ace William Byron who won the pole in COTA last year repeated the same this time. Besting the field with the fastest time around the longest track of the schedule, Byron earned his fifth road course pole.

Unlike last year, this time, the track has undergone some re-pavement works. Reflecting on this aspect the pole winner shared his thoughts about how things might affect the race and how he can utilize these grey areas to clinch the second win of the season.

William Byron gets real about his upcoming race at “repaved” COTA

For the unversed, a new track surface might not be a variable but hardcore fans know for a fact that it certainly will factor in. And when asked, “Can you kind of describe the differences between running the qualifying laps this year with the new pavement compared to last year?” Byron got straight to the point, mentioning how different things are now. 

He said, “The areas that they repaved have quite a bit more grip. As we got the tire rubber, kind of rubbered in and got the racetrack to where it was you know peak grip level so I feel like it took probably the first five  to eight laps for everyone to make for the track to keep getting faster and probably for us to understand where the grip level is on the racetrack to push so, feel like we got to a spot where understood the racetrack more.”

Adding to his take, the 26-year-old also cited his biggest concern, saying, “I think my biggest thing is or my biggest concern is just turn 8 you know how the dirt is there, its definitely difficult there to get through that corner there.” 

Furthermore, he delivered his verdict analyzing, “But feel like the added grip in some areas was nice and a little bit smoother but I don’t think it’ll really change the race any, I think the braking zones and the passing zones will be the same and should be a pretty exciting race.” With that, the 26-year-old also did not hesitate from shedding light on the less liked aspects of the reconditioned track. 

Byron offers the “solution” and mentions his “dislikes” about the new repaved COTA

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Byron has perfected the craft of qualifying in the Cup Series at COTA, picking up his second straight pole. The HMS driver was able to maneuver through the 20-turn road course better than anybody else in the field, posting a time of 129.636 seconds in the final round of qualifying, coming across the line with a top speed of 94.696mph to top the charts.

In addition to his blitzkrieg in Saturday’s final qualifying, the Daytona 500 triumphant was quickest in the opening round, setting a new track record for the NASCAR Cup Series at Circuit of The Americas, clocking in at 129.114 seconds (95.079mph). However, Byron feels like a couple of changes could make it more appealing and less treacherous.

He said, “I would like to see a curb, maybe where the grass starts there, just maybe right there on that edge. That would probably be the best solution. I think we should do something. I don’t like track limits. I don’t know. It’s really tough to police through there. Very difficult to see that area. So I think, you know, kind of having something that can just not allow us to go there, you know, and risking damage.”

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