William Byron, winner of the last two NASCAR Cup Series races, doesn’t think the penalties he suffered for his team’s unauthorized modifications to the hood louvers on his No. 24 Chevrolet will have an effect on the way he races.
True, Byron lost 100 driver championship points and 10 of the 13 playoff points he accumulated in his two wins at Las Vegas and Phoenix – pending Hendrick Motorsports’ appeal – but his early success hasn’t dulled his motivation to win more races.
RELATED: Full penalty details | Starting lineup for Sunday’s race
“Yeah, certainly the points is something that we just adjust to,” Byron said. “It’s early in the season. The cars are extremely fast. We obviously had the pace last week to win regardless, so I think that’s going to continue. I think with that pace, we’re just going to use that to our advantage to make up points.
“We didn’t intend on really relaxing after a win anyways this year. So I think, going into the next however many weeks that we’ve got until the playoffs, we’re going to push really hard. I think we’re just going to give it everything, every week. We had a good week of preparation; lots of time in the sim (simulator), lots of time at the shop. Just excited for all of that to continue.”
Byron will start 11th in the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday (3 p.m. ET, FOX, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).