In the history of NASCAR, 2024 probably saw the most varied rulebook infractions. Ranging from wearing webbed gloves for an aerodynamic advantage to wrecking your rivals to seize the victory – Cup Series drivers have seen it all. But the one that ticked off NASCAR the most happened last weekend. In a desperate attempt to get William Byron and Christopher Bell into the playoffs, Chevrolet and Toyota tapped into their driver reserves respectively. And they invited a hefty total fine of $600,000 – the largest yet in the racing series.

Toyota lost the points battle – Christopher Bell’s wall ride heavily resembled the now outlawed Ross Chastain’s ‘Hail Melon’ move, and NASCAR penalized him. Yet Chevrolet got their way – William Byron will now race for the 2024 Cup Series title. However, the Hendrick Motorsports driver nonchalantly snuffed out any word of sympathy for his supporters – including Richard Childress’ grandson.

William Byron turns a blind eye

Most recently, NASCAR solidified its penalties. 23XI Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Trackhouse Racing had all prepared to appeal, but one by one their hopes fizzled out. Bubba Wallace’s team bowed out first. Then the National Motorsports Appeals Panel turned down Justin Marks’ appeal for Ross Chastain, and then Richard Childress quietly withdrew his appeal. All the penalties stand – $200,000 for each team, 50-point driver and owner penalties, and crew suspensions for Phoenix. Despite the dire consequences for his OEM teammates, William Byron is shutting out all this noise.

During the Xfinity 500 race, William Byron exchanged leads several times with Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney. However, by lap 471 of 500, the No. 24 Chevy faltered and fell to 6th place. Then, Austin Dillon and Ross Chastain formed a ‘rolling roadblock’ to prevent Brad Keselowski from overtaking and robbing Byron of his points. Yet this blatant show of support was not enough for Byron to publicly sympathize with Dillon and Chastain. In a recent interview, journalist Bob Pockrass asked him if he was involved in the fiasco. Byron replied with a helpless smile, “I mean, Bob I have no comment.”

Although all the evidence showed that William Byron was blameless, his OEM was not. NASCAR’s Senior VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, dropped a hint that the NASCAR rulebook may be tweaked to allow manufacturer penalties in the future. But that time has not come yet, and meanwhile, Chevrolet just paid $400,000 to get Byron into the Championship 4. So Byron knows his priority: “I’m just focused on the 24. And yeah, I mean I just want to do a great job for my team. I feel like this is…I feel honestly, like, on Sunday night, this is a huge opportunity for us to go out there and win this championship. So that’s all I’m focusing on.”

And indeed, William Byron is blocking out all this distraction and preparing for this controversial yet hard-fought opportunity.

Byron cares only about his dream now

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What’s done is done, and the past cannot be changed. That is the mindset William Byron is harboring for the Martinsville Speedway fiasco. After his Chevy teammates rallied for his victory and got butchered in the process, Byron was calm. He apparently had a peaceful ride from Martinsville to his home in Charlotte. He talked to his sister about things going on in New York and mentally prepared himself for the storm ahead. “I think we did everything we could on Monday and Tuesday and then tried to get ready for some of the procedural things on Wednesday,” Byron said. “It was a pretty normal week, honestly, in terms of prep.”

William Byron has a shot at his first-ever Cup Series championship and is not letting anything distract his goal. Consistency is the name of the game for the HMS #24, who has started the Phoenix race amongst the top 10 in the grid in his last 7 consecutive races, including a win in spring 2023. However, he would be seeking redemption after a pole position in the Championship 4 race last November only yielded him a 4th place finish.

Byron’s experience last year was more tense – he had to gut out the finish in Martinsville while not feeling well. And Byron believes his team’s momentum this year is stronger than ever. “I haven’t ever felt as bonded to my team as I am now,” Byron said. “We had a meeting Sunday night about it, and I feel like we’ve turned the page really, really quickly. So, personally, I’ve blocked out a ton of the noise.” He added, “I’ve been through enough [crap] in my Cup career that I know what to focus on and what to block out.” Then, in what could be a heart-wrenching reality check for his penalized Chevy teammates, Byron declared, “I haven’t looked at social media. I don’t really care.”

Evidently, Chevrolet has done a good job in handing one of its best drivers the Final Four berth. For now, William Byron can focus on Phoenix and how to weather his rival OEMs.