William Byron won his second consecutive race in the NASCAR Cup Series on Sunday, passing teammate Kyle Larson on a late restart to steal the victory in Phoenix.
Byron’s hot start to the year has been unexpected for some, as he wasn’t considered among the top tier of title favorites coming into the season. But it’s less surprising when you remember he also started last year on fire.
In the first eight races of the 2022 season, Byron won twice and led 482 laps. Bad luck and inconsistency plagued him for the rest of the year, which is why he fell off the radars of many. It also doesn’t help his perception among fans that he is often overshadowed by two of his teammates, Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson.
But Byron’s ability has always been there, and his teammates being the two best drivers of their generation shouldn’t dock him. Though Elliott has been out with a leg injury the past two weeks, Byron has outdueled Larson in both of his wins, proving he is more than capable of beating the best.
The schedule ahead looks promising for Byron, too. Next week NASCAR heads to Atlanta, where he won his first of two races last year. Then after the road course in Austin, Texas, we have a string of short track races at Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol. Byron led a combined 334 laps in those three races a year ago.
It’s also important to keep in mind that, despite being a six-year veteran of the Cup Series, Byron is only 25 years old. Other than a slight dip in 2020, both his laps led and points position have improved every year of his career. He is still on an upward trajectory and is only just entering his theoretical prime.
Byron’s performance to start this season may be taking the NASCAR world by surprise, but there’s no reason to believe it can’t be sustained. He is as good of a bet as anyone right now to be racing for a championship in November.
