Everything to know about William Byron and the No. 24 team heading into the 2023 playoffs.
PLAYOFF ANALYSIS: Larson | No. 9 team | How NASCAR's playoffs work
William Byron, No. 24
POINTS POSITION: First with 2,036 points
POSITION TO CUT LINE: +29
SEASON STATS: Five wins, nine top-five finishes, 13 top-10s, eight stage wins, three poles and 877 laps led.
RECAP HIS 2023 WINS:
1-Las Vegas Motor Speedway (March 6)
2-Phoenix Raceway (March 13)
3-Darlington Raceway (May 14)
4-Atlanta Motor Speedway (July 9)
5-Watkins Glen International (Aug. 20)
PHOTOS: See every win for William Byron at Hendrick Motorsports
PLAYOFF ELIMINATION HISTORY: Eliminated in the Round of 8 in 2022; Eliminated in the Round of 12 in 2021 and 2019; Eliminated in Round of 16 in 2020.
BEST PLAYOFF TRACK: Phoenix Raceway, with a win, one top-five finish, six top-10s, 91 laps led and an average finish of 11.9 in 11 starts.
BEST ROUND OF 16 TRACK: Kansas Speedway, with two top-five finishes, seven top-10s, 136 laps led and an average finish of 14.0 in 11 starts.
AVERAGE FOUR-TIRE PIT STOP: 11.127 seconds, which is the best in the series (per Racing Insights).
PIT CREW MEMBERS: Spencer Bishop (jackman), Jeff Cordero (front-tire changer), Orane Ossowski (rear-tire changer), Ryan Patton (tire carrier) and Landon Walker (fueler).
CREW CHIEF: Rudy Fugle, third season with Byron. | Learn more about Fugle
OUTLOOK: The Round of 16 is a good one for Byron. He won in the spring at Darlington Raceway, finished third at Kansas in the spring and has back-to-back third-place runs at Bristol Motor Speedway with Fugle on the box. The Round of 12 is a bit of a wild card, but Byron does have back-to-back top-seven finishes at Texas Motor Speedway and has three superspeedway wins, although none have been at Talladega Superspeedway. He’s won at every Round of 8 track (Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway) and the team’s speed on intermediates in 2023 is especially promising for Las Vegas and Homestead-Miami. He has the best pit crew in the series and is consistently unloading with plenty of speed, making him one of the favorites this postseason. Byron enters tied for the most playoff points (36) and that should give him a little insurance in at least the opening two rounds.
RELATED: Byron, No. 24 team carry big momentum with playoffs approaching
WHAT BYRON IS SAYING ABOUT HAVING THREE WINS AT PLAYOFF TRACKS IN 2023: "It’s really valuable. I look at Las Vegas (Motor Speedway), we have obviously a great notebook at that track. I feel like the other ones – Darlington (Raceway) was a pretty good run for us, but we had some things to work on, so we’ve been working in the simulator on those things and trying to get a little bit better. I think it helps just having that notebook. Being able to lean on those notes. For us, it’s about how the balance of the car felt at that track. The weather changes play a role and we have to kind of adapt to what’s new and make sure we are keeping up with the racetrack."
WHAT BYRON IS SAYING ABOUT HIS PIT CREW’S PERFORMANCE: "They give us a lot of confidence, especially when we are in contention for wins and in contention to run up front. The guys seem to really elevate their game when those moments happen. They have been there all season to be consistent."
