CONCORD, N.C. — Whether or not it’s a bold prediction in your book, it has been said that William Byron is on the cusp of getting his first career NASCAR Cup Series win and 2020 will be the year that he makes it to Victory Lane. A common thought from drivers on production days this week in Charlotte was that Byron is one of the most underrated drivers in the garage.
Those sound like high expectations for the 22-year-old. With high expectations comes high pressure to meet those and succeed.
Finishing 2019 with a strong Round of 12 playoff run and five top-five finishes for the season, Byron knows the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team has loftier goals for 2020.
“There’s plenty of weekends to win all year long,” Byron said on Thursday at team headquarters. “The only way I’ve seen guys win is be consistently good. We have to be consistently good week in and week out to have a chance.”
When asked if he felt like 2019 was a disappointment, Byron said, “Honestly, last year I don’t feel like we had the ammo to go out and win.”
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His crew chief, Chad Knaus, welcomes the idea of building a successful environment for the “underrated” driver.
“If we stick to the fundamentals and we build the best team we possibly can, the results are going to show up.” Knaus said.
Knaus has been to Victory Lane 81 times with Jimmie Johnson but has yet to experience that with Byron.
“The pressure people put on a driver to win is a real thing,” Knaus said. “We know that we’re putting ourselves in position to go out there and win. But as you grow, you can’t make the win the destination point. If you create that mindset, it does become a huge load to bear.”
It may be high expectations fueling the driver, or everything finally clicking for Byron and the No. 24 team, but whatever the cause he already feels better about how far the team has come.
“It’s going to be a sum of all the parts, I guess,” Byron said. “So, I feel like the sum of all our parts are a lot better than they were at the start of last year. If we’re consistent, then there’s going to be a day soon where it all lines up for us.”
So, is his competition right? Is Byron the most underrated driver in the garage?
It’s time to find out.