CONCORD, N.C. – Prior to Sunday’s race at Pocono Raceway, No. 24 crew chief Darian Grubb noted William Byron’s developing confidence and the rookie’s improving ability to drive more aggressively in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Even after a 14th-place finish in last weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Grubb said Byron was running top-five lap times in the closing circuits of the race.
Sunday at Pocono, Byron continued to put his growing confidence and aggressive style of driving on display, taking home a sixth-place result.
The result marked a career-best finish for the driver of the No. 24 Axalta/Imron Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
“There are a lot of big positives,” Byron said. “I feel there are a couple of things we could have worked on and we’ll keep working on those things. Our cars are just getting faster.”
Earning the career-best finish didn’t come easily.
Though he qualified sixth, Byron started Sunday’s race at the rear in 38th after his time was disallowed following post-qualifying inspection. Five laps in, the driver moved inside the top 25, finishing the opening segment in 15th.
He continued to gain positions in Stage 2 to pick up a top-10 finish in the middle segment.
The No. 24 team made a strategy call to keep him on track prior to the beginning on the final segment, allowing him to take the restart as the race leader. He held the lead for a handful of laps before cars with fresh tires passed him, but he remained inside the top 10 before a caution flag allowed him to head to pit road for fresh tires.
He continued his solid run all the way through the checkered flag to take home the sixth-place finish.
“It’s really good to get a day like that,” Byron said.
The improving speed of the No. 24 Chevy played a big role in the strong showing at the “Tricky Triangle,” Byron said.
“Now, we have the speed to run in the top 10, which makes it a lot easier to do things and allows us to be more and allows me to driver the car the way I know how to drive it,” the driver said. “Our speed is starting to get us in a position to be more aggressive, which is really good.”
After the race, Byron took to Twitter to credit the No. 24 team and everyone’s continued hard work at Hendrick Motorsports as a vital reason for the strong performance.