Twelfth was all he needed at Richmond.
William Byron came into Richmond Raceway with a 42-point advantage over teammate Chase Elliott in the regular season standings and needed to leave with at least a 62-point advantage to clinch the title one race early. In Saturday night’s Cook Out 400, Byron did just that, leaving with a 68-point gap and the title in hand.
Not only will Byron get a trophy when the regular season officially concludes at Daytona, he’ll also get an advantage in the fight for the overall championship. Winning the regular season confers a bonus of 15 Playoff points, which give a driver a points advantage before each round starts, giving Byron a total of 32, combined with his total from wins and stage victories, with the potential to earn even more at Daytona.
It wasn’t a particularly heroic drive for Byron. He started 14th and finished 12th, picking up a few stage points in Stage 2. But the deciding factor was a wreck in the second stage where Elliott received race-ending damage after nearly making it through before getting turned by Kyle Busch.
Byron was also involved in the same wreck but received only minor door and splitter damage and remained competitive, though he explained that his car ‘never felt the same’ after. Elliott, on the other hand, was taken out of the race and finished 38th and last.
“It’s really the best 12th-place finish I’ve ever had,” Byron said after the race. “We came in here and really just did a solid job. We qualified solid. We always want more, but this is definitely our toughest racetrack. We just kind of came in here, had a solid plan and executed it.”
Unlike the Playoffs, which reward clutch performance in single big moments, the regular season championship is about consistency.
Up against his teammate Chase Elliott, one of the most consistent of all drivers this season, Byron had to overcome a summer slump of seven finishes of 27th or worse which allowed Elliott to secure the points lead. Byron did so with a win at Iowa and a top-five at Watkins Glen to start August on the right foot and overtake Elliott for the points lead.
“I think just finally some things went our way. I think honestly we’ve been doing a really good job on strategy, execution,” said Byron of his late summer surge.
“I’d say our speed was the best in mid to late June. I would say in May we were super-fast. Then June we were really fast. Then July we just had some really bad finishes, really bad things happened to us,” he described the progression through the season.
“I think we buckled down and really got back to the team we’re capable of being. Pretty impressive August probably. Probably our best August we’ve ever had just executing, thinking outside the box, bringing fast cars.”
Clinching the title means that, unlike everyone else, Byron doesn’t have to worry much about Daytona since his point position is secure. However, Byron said it’s just not his style to cruise around in the back.
“I mean, I only feel like I know one way, and that’s just to go as fast as I can,” said Byron. Going to try to really be up front, do all the things it takes to win the race, just knowing that the potential is there to be in a crash or whatever.
Yeah, you can’t, like, drive around in bubble-wrap. You just kind of got to go out there and do your job, try to get a good finish. Usually you crash more when you’re conservative. Just go out there, be aggressive.”
It might not be the ultimate prize of the championship trophy, but the win gives Byron a boost as he hopes to secure a third consecutive Championship 4 run and convert it to a title win.
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