NASCAR Cup Series: Will William Byron finally win in 2020?

Will William Byron find victory lane for the first time as a NASCAR Cup Series driver in what is set to be his third season at Hendrick Motorsports in 2020?

Entering the 2019 NASCAR Cup Series season, there were two drivers who everybody had their eyes on as far as possible candidates to get to victory lane for the first time in their careers: Hendrick Motorsports teammates Alex Bowman and William Byron.

Both were coming off of winless first full-time seasons for Rick Hendrick’s team and plenty of room to improve, and Hendrick Motorsports, after going a full calendar year without a win, were riding a wave of momentum with three wins from Chase Elliott in the second half of the 2018 season.

Indeed, two drivers secured their first career victories in the 2019 season. Bowman held up his end of the deal, taking the checkered flag for the first time at Chicagoland Speedway in late June.

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Byron, however, was unable to do so; the only other first-time winner was Justin Haley, who scored Spire Motorsports’ first lead-lap victory with an fluke upset, arguably the biggest in NASCAR history, for the ages at Daytona International Speedway in a postponed and then rain-shortened race the following week.

Ironically, it was Byron who finished in a career-high second place behind the 20-year-old Winamac, Indiana native. So will the 22-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native win his first race in his third season at Hendrick Motorsports in 2020?

All signs point to yes. Yes, Byron was expected to win in 2019, but he did not, so the idea that he “should” win a race in 2020 may be taken with a grain of salt by some.

However, the only thing about the 2018 and 2019 seasons for Byron that was remotely similar was the fact that he didn’t find victory lane. Other than that, the 2019 season was a drastic improvement over his rookie year, one that launched him into the discussion for the sport’s most improved driver.

Driving the same #24 Chevrolet he drove in 2018, Byron saw such a huge uptick in performance that it’s almost shocking he didn’t find a way to win.

Start with the overall speed. He he race-winning speed throughout the entire year, as he took five pole positions in 2019, the second most behind Kevin Harvick, who has now qualified for five of the first six Championship 4s. After leading just 61 laps in 2018, many of which due to bold strategy calls, he led 233 laps in 2019.

The improvement in results was there was well. Byron finished nowhere near the playoffs in 2018. He ended up in 23rd place in the championship standings with just four top 10 finishes, including a best result of only sixth place at Pocono Raceway.

His average finish was a disappointing 22.1, certainly not what you’d expect from a Hendrick Motorsports driver, not even for a rookie.

Skip ahead just one year, and Byron finished just one point behind Chase Elliott as Hendrick Motorsports’ top driver (2,275 to 2,274). He qualified for the playoffs and advanced to the round of 12 in his first year with seven-time champion Chad Knaus as his crew chief, and he ended up in 11th place in the championship standings, 12 spots better than he finished in 2018.

He did it with 13 top 10 finishes, including the first five top five finishes of his career. In addition to his career-high second place finish in what was a fluky race at Daytona, he also finished in a career-high second in a far more convincing manner at Martinsville Speedway behind Martin Truex Jr. in late October. When the season concluded, his average finish was 14.9, 7.2 spots better than it was in 2018.

Speaking of Elliott, look at the start of his career. Like Byron, he didn’t win at all in his first two seasons, or even in the second half of his third, at Hendrick Motorsports. But everybody knew, based on what he did in those two seasons, that a breakthrough was near.

Sure enough, once he won, he has won regularly; only Truex and Kyle Busch have won more races than he has since he got his first win at Watkins Glen International back in early August of 2018.

Don’t count out a similar path for Byron, who already got the 2020 season started on a strong note by winning one of Thursday night’s Bluegreen Vacations Duels at Daytona.

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Will William Byron find victory lane as a NASCAR Cup Series driver for the first time in the 2020 season, or will the 2021 season be the fourth season he enters seeking to secure his first win?

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