LAS VEGAS — William Byron isn’t that far removed from being a rookie. The yellow stripes came off the rear bumper of the No. 24 Chevrolet after last season, but he’s back to being a bit of a newbie in his sophomore year.
Of the 16 drivers in the Monster Energy Series Playoffs field, just one is making his first postseason appearance. That’s Byron, the second-year prodigy who enters Sunday’s playoff opener (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM) with speed and a seasoned crew chief in hopes of making waves over the final 10 events.
“The second year is great,” Byron said. “I wish I could have had the first year back, I guess, and been in the playoffs last year, but I definitely appreciate it now, and being able to be a part of it.”
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After a sluggish start to Year 2, Byron rallied his way into the playoff picture with a blend of solid finishes — both on the overall results and in stages, where the No. 24 team converted for lucrative point bonuses. The 21-year-old driver ranked 19th in the series standings at the All-Star break, but surged into the playoff mix by earning more than 30 points in nine of the final 14 races to close out the regular season.
Credit the composure of Byron, but also the guidance of veteran crew chief Chad Knaus, a seven-time champion in his long tenure with Jimmie Johnson, but in his first year with Hendrick’s youngest driver. Byron may not be battle-tested with playoff experience, but in Knaus, he has a future Hall of Famer steering the ship.
“Yeah, we’ve talked quite a bit the last couple of weeks about how we approach it,” Byron says. “He’s done some cool things (like) bringing the whole team in and doing a couple of team-building events and things like that. I haven’t really noticed a lot of difference in how he approaches it. Maybe there will be once we get to the race track, but I feel like we’re just going to go about doing our normal. He always has something in his bag of tricks, I guess, to apply, whether that’s the car or just the way we execute the weekend. So, he’s got a good way of using his expertise to kind of make that next step.”
Byron qualified for the 10-race stretch on the basis of points, but his primary displays of speed have come in qualifying. Byron has placed the No. 24 on the front row nine times this season, and his average start is roughly two positions ahead of his average finish.
Byron and Co. might be considered a smaller blip on the radar as a plucky No. 13 seed, but a first go-round in the playoffs also represents a building block in the next stage of his career.
“We don’t feel like we’re just sneaking into the playoffs or anything,” Byron said. “We locked it in a couple of races ago. So, I feel good about that. I think the next step is just how do we perform in the playoffs and how do we get to the next level of our progression as a program.”