“It’s one of those that’s probably going to sting for a while.” Alex Bowman is kind of used to the routine of encountering a disastrous setback. He got injured in a crash at Texas Motor Speedway in 2022 and he broke his back in a dirt sprint car in the spring of 2023. This season he broke an 80-race winless skid in Chicago and followed it up with consistent finishes. But after NASCAR axed his playoff run in Charlotte, Bowman shrugged – contrary to his teammate William Byron’s reaction.

A slight weight discrepancy on the No. 48 car, falling short of the 0.5% variance allowed, stripped Bowman of his dreams. Till Charlotte, he was the playoff driver who accumulated the maximum points and provisionally advanced by nine points. But NASCAR’s wrath robbed that, and William Byron jitters at the thought.

William Byron lets slip nervous reaction

Well, Alex Bowman was not all numb about the scenario. When the No. 48 crew chief, Blake Harris, called him up to break the disqualification news to him, Bowman was at home. He immediately tossed his phone into the pool, knowing it would erupt with unwanted messages. Although his phone still worked, the day could not get worse for Bowman – his roof leaked and his passenger car’s window was cracked. We can only imagine the tumult of emotions the Hendrick Motorsports driver went through. After working so hard – steering clear of DNFs and crashes in the postseason – Bowman’s championship dream came to naught due to NASCAR’s post-race inspection.

This thought jittered his teammate, No. 24 driver William Byron. In a recent pre-race interview for the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Byron felt sad for the 48 team. “I probably found out around 7:30-8 o’clock on Sunday…Yeah, I was really disappointed for him and his team – Blake and everybody on the 48. I feel like they worked really hard. They’ve put together really good races and they’ve been good teammates for us to learn from…been bringing a lot to the table from a debrief standpoint.” As a sign of support for Bowman, he took a jibe at Joey Logano’s presence in the playoffs. “The momentum this week’s that it’s the best eight we’ve ever had. I don’t know if that’s true.”

William Byron is one of Rick Hendrick’s best drivers at present. He led the HMS team in a 1-2-3 victorious finish at Martinsville Speedway. Byron’s postseason streak has been equally remarkable. Despite a chaotic Round of 16 due to Watkins Glen, he clinched consecutive top-five finishes in the Round of 12. Despite 4th rank in points, Byron shuddered at the thought of rubbing off on Alex Bowman‘s misfortune. “Yeah, I was just more disappointed personally for Alex. And just what that would feel like,” he added an 8-word verdict, “how I would never want to feel that myself.”

Concerns about his teammate aside, William Byron is relaxing as the Round of 8 approaches.

Byron is confident in his Round of 8 hopes

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When the Hendrick Motorsports team was strapping up for the postseason, Jeff Gordon was clear about one thing. Getting through the first two rounds was crucial. Featuring an eclectic mixture of racetracks including superspeedways, road courses, and short tracks, the Rounds of 16 and 12 tested the versatility of drivers. Watkins Glen stood out as the most formidable one, as it engulfed all playoff drivers in smoking wrecks – only Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric escaped. William Byron also finished 34th – but the No. 24 driver thundered back. Starting with his runner-up finish in Kansas behind Ross Chastain, Byron followed that up with further podium results at Talladega and Charlotte.

Now that he comfortably enters the Round of 8, William Byron is at ease. He compared the tumultuous first rounds with the easier Round of 8. “The unexpected this year was the way the races laid out earlier in the rounds that could have eliminated somebody…There wasn’t really anyone scoring a lot of points, it was just chaos. Everyone was having issues, and that didn’t really allow anyone to pull away. I think we’re back to legitimate tracks, legitimate races here in the round of 8 that are going to set the table…If you control what you can, you’re gonna advance here.” Holding a 2023 win in Las Vegas, Byron should begin the next round smoothly.

Despite his teammate’s disaster lingering in his mind, William Byron is relaxed overall. He fires his engines from the 9th spot in Las Vegas.