$600k in fines and nine crew members suspended from three separate race teams—such was the fallout after that controversy-marred finish at Martinsville. All honors must go out to Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney, who joins his stablemate, Joey Logano in the final 4. But William Byron and Hendrick Motorsports’ contentious transfer has caught more than a few strays in the background of a race manipulation scandal.

On his organization’s 40th anniversary, Rick Hendrick’s only championship contender put himself in the best position to cap off their season with a fairytale ending. He almost didn’t make it, or so it seemed in those 30 minutes after the checkered flag. But Christopher Bell’s safety violation for that ‘half-Chastain’ eventually put him out of Championship contention at Phoenix. Although Chevy teammates, the actual Ross Chastain, and Austin Dillon played their parts equally well to escort his momentum. 

Regardless, former Hendrick man, Dale Earnhardt Jr is in William Byron’s corner. Like he said, “If you win the championship, you’re not gonna be worried about what you did to get there.”

Dale Jr’s take on a Hendrick Motorsports victory amid race-fixing controversy

For a full decade, Dale Jr. made the #88 car his own at Hendrick Motorsports, building one of the most memorable partnerships in NASCAR. However, when he stepped back from full-time racing in 2017, his connection with Rick Hendrick didn’t fade. With Mr H by his side as a co-owner of JR Motorsports, he fueled his passion for racing from the owner’s seat. So, if William Byron wins the championship for Hendrick Motorsports on their 40th anniversary, it ought to make Dale Jr crack a smile, regardless of the controversy. 

On the most recent episode of DJD Reloaded, he answered some hard questions to prove that notion. One of his producers asked Jr, “A Chevy is in the final 4.. we know what the penalties are, the fines, and the points. As a driver and owner, was it worth it?” To that, he replied, “Yes. You know if you win the championship, you’re not gonna be worried about what you did to get there. I think that Martinsville will be a distant memory. But again, for them, for an individual, for a driver, for a team, they’re going to look at the full body of work, and say, ‘We worked our guts out. It wasn’t just what happened at that moment. We spent the whole year putting ourselves into this position.’” 

“So if I were William Byron, and I win the championship, I wouldn’t have a damn problem with it at all. I’d stand up there and give my speech prouder than hell,” opined Dale Jr. But contrarily, he also argued that NASCAR needed to penalize the other drivers involved who caused that controversial finish at Martinsville with “the long-term credibility and legitimacy of the sport” in mind. Jr. noted that Richard Childress Racing and Trackhouse must feel “pissed” about the fallout, and expressed that their appeal might not help overturn the original ruling.

From the sound of things, the #1 and the #3 teams will have to weather Martinsville without crucial crew members on Sunday. But this setback is barely a blip on the radar in the wider background of the championship hunt. With both teams out of the Playoffs and each driver now docked 50 points and slapped with a $100,000 fine, they’re running on fumes as they head toward Phoenix. For Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon, there’s not much left to chase—except maybe a bit of pride and one last shot at redemption before the season closes. Hence, that probably explains why they did what they did last Sunday.

But that wasn’t the case for William Byron. Besides his other Playoff teammates, Kyle Larson & Chase Elliott, the #24 driver had the best chance of making it to the grand finale. Sure, he is 27 races winless heading into Arizona, but even he knows his team’s been consistent when it mattered. After all, that 6th-place finish at Martinsville, albeit with a little help, was his sixth straight top-10 placing. Above that, Byron was fading fast with some damage to his car’s tow on those last 15 laps when Chastain and Dillon formed the blockade behind him. Hence, to do what he did deserves due credit.

Now, he’s gearing up for his potential first championship. And despite the double-digit winless record, Byron’s got enough confidence to make himself the one to watch out for in Phoenix.

William Byron’s consistency makes him a top Championship contender

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In the last nine Playoff races, Byron has registered the best average finish out of all his championship rivals at 7.48. Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano haven’t managed a better average finish than 15th in the same duration. And it sounds like Byron is aware of those statistics. In a recent interview with Bob Pockrass of FOX, he said, “We’ve been incredibly consistent, incredibly fast, and it’s just a matter of time for our team.”

The #24 team won the season-opening Daytona 500 and then won at COTA and Martinsville in April. But ever since, he hasn’t notched any more wins in his column. Some would suggest the momentum fell off. But with 9 top-5s since then till the grand finale, it’s hard to agree with that opinion. And Byron’s determination would probably explain why. “I hate to lose, and I hate that feeling after the fact of that we didn’t have enough… This year is going to feel different in that way,” he remarked. “I just learned a lot of lessons about what we need to do on the car side and throughout the race to be good by the end.”

Byron concluded, “I just want to get back to that opportunity. That’s what we’ve been chasing all year.” Maybe, that chase will finally come to a successful end on Sunday. But he must bring a lot more than consistency to Phoenix if he wishes to make his championship dreams a reality. Rick Hendrick will be counting on it.