William Byron Fails to Enthrall at Florida With Phoenix Misery Repeat

Last year, when Hurricane Ian ensued and clobbered Southwest Florida, the 2022 edition of the Florida Governor’s Cup was canceled. It goes without saying that this year’s 200-lap-long Super Late Model race at New Smyrna Speedway was something that the racing fanatics have been looking forward to. However, the reason why the NASCAR fans took to the exclusive live stream on FloRacing was different.

Hendrick Motorsports icon William Byron is no stranger to the Smyrna Speedway. He had won his last four starts at the half-mile oval with his #24 Super Late Model car. However, 2023 welcomed veteran Super Late Model contender Stephen Nasse in the arena, who has been looking to claim his very first win in the Governor’s Cup. Good for him; Sunday’s race witnessed Nasse emerge victorious. But it was at Byron’s expense.

William Byron’s Phoenix misery re-echoed at New Smyrna

William Byron won the pole position for the 312-lap-long race at the quirky tri-oval in Arizona. That was indeed a good sign. After all, the previous three seasons of the championship race held at Phoenix saw the pole sitter win the series title. Needless to say, he had a great start.

Byron started strong, leading all 60 laps and winning stage 1. However, about 33 laps later, Stewart-Haas Racing legend Kevin Harvick ran him down, hurling him back into the pack. After that, he was able to stay up front for just three laps, the last time being on lap 277. Sometimes similar happened during the 58th running of the Late Model race on Sunday.

This year’s line-up wasn’t going to be easy for the Chevy star. Driving a Toyota for the last time before switching to Richard Childress Racing’s Xfinity program, ARCA Menards Series champion Jesse Love posed a major threat to Byron’s winning contention. Moreover, Gio Ruggiero, the champion of the ASA Southern Super Series and ASA/CRA Super Series this year, was also one for Byron to look out for. However, it was neither of the two who held Byron off.

In his 13th start, Stephen Nasse rocked his home track. Nasse stayed at the front of the pack despite withstanding several moves from his Anthony Campi Racing teammate William Byron over two green flag laps. With just four laps to go, Byron was forced to commit to the pit road, which had him lose valuable spots in the race, which in turn aided Nasse in dashing forth and sealing the deal.

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Although not a great day for William Byron, the Charlotte native holds an innate love for Super Late Model racing. And this might exactly be the reason why he feels like racing outside of the three top-tier NASCAR series is important for any driver out there.

William Byron cast a reality check on today’s budding speedsters

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With the cut-throat competition that the Cup Series flaunts, it’s extremely difficult to maintain one’s ground just by sticking to one niche that they’re good at. It is extremely crucial to diversify one’s driving skills and win at tracks that are very different from the NASCAR ovals. According to Byron, racing and winning in different environments ultimately leads to a stronger hold on a Cup Series car.

“It doesn’t get any easier when you go through the ranks. It’s only going to get tougher to win races. You have to test yourself in a lot of environments and give yourself confidence when needed,” said William Byron, as reported by racingamerica.com.

He explained, “I think the best thing somebody could do growing up is diversity in what they race. You really need to expose yourself to a lot of different environments to be successful. You can’t just stay at one track, one car, one division and continue to race those guys.”

He believes that racing in the Super Late Model competitions births more well-rounded drivers and hence; he encourages the upcoming racers to go out of their comfort zones and take on new challenges. He himself strives to do the same. Byron exclaimed, “I want to win those races, some of those big ones, and have those trophies to look back on and those memories… there are tons of good races out there to run in Late Models.”

Read more: William Byron’s Historic Season Was Futile in the NASCAR Playoffs Despite Dominating in Points

What William Byron says just makes sense. Indeed, these days, just the expertise in handling NASCAR’s stock cars isn’t enough for someone to become a complete driver. Why else would veteran Cup Series drivers like Kyle Larson go out of their way to take part in several non-NASCAR races?