“Unbelievable…I mean, these guys have just been building something special all year long.” Jeff Gordon, Hendrick Motorsports vice-chairman and four-time Cup Series champion, said these words last week. They referred to the No. 24 HMS team with William Byron behind the wheel. Byron won in Martinsville, a place where Gordon clinched 9 victories with the same car number. Yet the latest No. 24 win held a heavy story in the background.

William Byron punched his ticket to the Championship 4 through this victory. Now, the No. 24 Chevy team is looking forward to locking horns with three formidable rivals. Byron may not be intimidated, given the various lessons he has learned along the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series title path.

William Byron sheds light on the efforts

Jeff Gordon’s successor started the 2025 season with a bang. William Byron won the Daytona 500 for the second time in a row. After that, however, wins eluded him, and Byron had to rely on consistency and points. The real trouble began, however, with the start of the Round of 8. In Las Vegas, Byron was running second when a miscommunication led Byron to slam into Dillon’s rear. Then, in Talladega, Byron was running comfortably in the top 10 when he spun in a quarter-mile short of the finish line. “If anything, it just felt like a year we hadn’t reached our potential,” William Byron confessed.

Nevertheless, the No. 24 team is not one to quit. That is why Byron stormed back to form just in time, covering up a detrimental 36-point deficit by winning in Martinsville. And he slipped out the secret for this success: “I think it’s honestly just communication and working closer together. We are nailing balance, we’re nailing the thing that we need to hit on. Yeah, I feel like all sorts of pieces are starting to come together where we feel like we’re operating at our best, and yeah, that part’s exciting.”

Moments in years past have also defined William Byron‘s improvement today. His 2022 Martinsville win marked a comeback after a health scare for his mother. Then, during the 2023 championship race in Phoenix, Byron lost his 95-lap dominance due to the track temperature. Those ups and downs have molded him: “I feel like I’ve learned how to ride that better than years past…I think you know it’s starting to come together, and it’s exciting to see and kind of roll with that momentum. Yeah, I feel like we have been really good team all year, but we’re just starting to get even better.”

Jeff Gordon also wished the No. 24 team the best for this year after the struggles they faced. “I think the way that they’ve overcome that, come together, the effort, and then to come here and perform like that, I mean, that is the best race I think I’ve ever seen this 24 car run, and couldn’t be better timing than to go next week and go for a championship.”

However, the road ahead is far from smooth. With tough competitors and a challenging track, William Byron needs to be in his best form.

Analyzing the next challenge

Despite the hurdles, William Byron has successfully tackled the Round of 8. Now, however, the Championship 4 race at Phoenix Raceway is the arena for the final battle. Byron’s record in Arizona is impressive, with one win, two top fives, and six top 10 finishes at the historic track. He has only failed to finish within the top 20 once. Nevertheless, the No. 24 crew chief, Rudy Fugle, is wary about the challenges of the 1-mile short track.

Rudy Fugle shared his insights recently: “It’s a tough track just because of the high speeds and the really flat corners, especially turns one and two. And then three and four is a very unique corner. So, you struggle to get your car to do everything you need it to do. You need a lot of short-track grip, mechanical grip. And then the speeds are high, so aerodynamics are super important as well.” 

William Byron, on his own part, is focusing on an analytical approach. “I feel like I’m best when I’m pretty analytical. So I don’t know if I will dream necessarily about Sunday. But I will definitely think about all the factors, and I will think about all the things that I can do better at, and I’ll just dive into it and just do my homework, do my research, and hopefully by Sunday, I feel confident in my prep, and I feel comfortable in all those things.”

All hands are on deck for the incoming battle in Phoenix. Let’s wait and see how William Byron rolls up his sleeves for the final showdown.