Byron Finishes With Solid Finale in Phoenix

William Byron was far from the spotlight during the Season Finale at the Phoenix International Raceway, but nonetheless finished his season with a solid ninth-place run. 

Byron began the afternoon in 25th with work to do, but he began angling to pull ahead early on in the race, slicing and dicing through the field to the 15th spot by the time the competition caution came out on lap 31. 

After pitting for four tires and fuel, Byron struggled to finish stage one. After initially moving forward, Byron began fighting an ill-handling race car. He would hold on to an 18th-place stage one finish, but, most importantly, stayed on the lead lap. 

After pitting under the stage break, Byron restarted on the inside of row seven to begin stage two, moving his way into the top 10 by the time green flag pit stops rolled around. 

Byron was trapped in 15th, but Chad Knaus pitted Byron under the caution, allowing him to restart on the inside of row seven. Byron went on a tear after the restart, moving up as far as eighth before losing two spots to end the stage in 10th for one stage point. 

Stage three would be far calmer for Byron. After restarting sixth, Byron slid back to the ninth position, which is where he would end up finishing the race. 

However, the storyline of the day was Byron’s teammates. Chase Elliot of the No. 9 overcame starting at the rear of the field, led 153 laps, and won the race to claim his first NASCAR championship. Jimmie Johnson of the No. 48 also finished in fifth to cap one of the greatest NASCAR Cup Series careers in history. 

Byron would finish the season 14th in the points, a step down from last season’s 13th-place finish. However, he made up for it by earning a career high in top 10’s with 14 and his first career win at Daytona back in August. 

William Byron seems poised for a breakout 2021, however, with his contract at Hendrick secured until 2022, and former Truck Series crew chief Rudy Fugle joining the team next season.

Byron will enjoy the next three months off before NASCAR teams return to Daytona International Speedway for Speedweeks the week after the Super Bowl. The week will consist of the Clash at the Daytona Road Course on Feb. 9, followed by the Duels at Daytona on Feb. 11, and finally capping it all off with the 63rd annual running of the Daytona 500, NASCAR’s most prestigious event. 

Joshua Lipowski is a Sports Reporter and the host of the “Further Than the Cheap Seats” podcast. Follow him on Instagram at @j_lipowski23.