NASCAR Cup Series: William Byron looking for more than just front row starts

William Byron is set to make his third front row start of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season in this afternoon’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Hendrick Motorsports have swept the front row of the starting grid for three of the first eight races of the 36-race 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, including both of the last two.

In all three of these front row lockouts, William Byron has been the common the denominator. He took the pole position for the season opener, the Daytona 500, at Daytona International Speedway and starting alongside teammate Alex Bowman, and he started in second place alongside teammate Jimmie Johnson for the season’s seventh race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 21-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina qualified in second place alongside teammate Chase Elliott for this afternoon’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

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Heading into the 2019 season, Byron had competed in 36 Cup Series races, all in the 2018 season as a rookie. His only top seven starting position in these 36 races was his fifth place starting position for last year’s August race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Last season, Byron recorded an average starting position of 17.7. However, he lost an average of 4.4 positions per race, as his average finishing position was only 22.1.

In addition to his three front row starting positions so far in the 2019 season, Byron started this season’s fourth race at ISM Raceway in seventh place, meaning that later today, his top seven starting position total is set to be four times greater than what it was last season through only the first eight races of the 2019 season. His average starting position through this season’s first eight races is 13.0, which is the 11th best average starting position among all drivers.

But Byron also entered the 2019 season having never finished a race in the top five, as his career-high finish was his sixth place finish in last year’s July race at Pocono Raceway.

Despite the fact that his average starting position has vastly improved from last season and the fact that he has already led 83 laps this season after leading only 61 laps last season, the fact that he has not yet finished a race in the top five has not changed, although he did tie his career-high finish with another sixth place finish in last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Byron’s average finishing position through the 2019 season’s first seven races is 17.3, which is 4.3 positions higher than his average finishing position, a mark that is only slightly better than his mark of 4.4 last season. He currently sits in 18th place in the championship standings.

With the first 43 starts of his Cup Series career in the books, Byron is looking for more than just front row starts. Fortunately for him, this afternoon’s race should serve as a great opportunity for him to convert a great starting position into a great result.

Byron finished in 18th and 23rd place in last year’s races at Bristol Motor Speedway after starting in respectable positions of 11th and fifth, respectively, so this track has certainly not been one that has resulted in him performing at a high level in races solely because of solid qualifying efforts. His average starting position of 8.0 there is a whopping 12.5 positions better than his average finishing position of 20.5.

But after last Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway, Byron has momentum in his favor. He started and finished this race in the top six, and he had never previously started and finished any Cup Series race in the top 11.

The fact that Byron was able to keep this momentum on his side by responding with his second consecutive front row starting position and his third front row starting position through the season’s first eight races shows that he should not be taken lightly when the green flag waves for this afternoon’s 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.533-mile (0.858-kilometer) high-banked Bristol Motor Speedway oval in Bristol, Tennessee.

Will William Byron convert his third front row start of the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season and of his Cup Series career into a career-high finish, perhaps even his first career victory, in this afternoon’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway? Fox Sports 1 is set to air this race live beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET.