Not every season is the same for each driver. While you might be at the top of your game for one season, the next season could be very different. William Byron, the No. 24 Chevrolet Camaro driver, is not at his ultimate best this season, but that might be working to his benefit.

Byron has not reached the peaks he did in 2023, but with steady and consistent performances he sees his No. 24 in a great position entering the round of 8 in Las Vegas. With this being his second consecutive experience of the round of 8, will Byron be able to showcase his prowess in the playoffs?

Does instability contribute to lesser expectations?

The 2024 season has been unpredictable for William Byron and yet he has marched into the Top 8. That is in comparison to his performance in 2023 when he led the series with six wins and also led 1017 laps in the season, which was indeed a career-best move for him. But that is not all! Byron had also improved his career-best average finish from 13.6  in 2021 to 11.0  in 2023. This brilliant performance from him secured the top seed entering the playoffs and led to amassing expectations. Although Byron was performing at a great level and had high expectations, he did not manage to secure the top seed in 2024.

Although his success in 2023 had raised expectations, the 2024 aspirations look different. Byron had won three of the first few races, and yet he was winless since April. However, this did not send him into a panic mode because the No. 24 driver had earned enough points to keep him in the championship hunt. As he moves into the next round at the Las Vegas Speedway, he seems to be in a calmer position. Currently 4th, Byron exhibits a stable standing with 4023 points.

Referring to this stance, Byron mentioned in an interview with Frontstretch, “No not at all I think. For us, there is less pressure than I feel. Last year you know you were the number one seed and there was a lot of pressure to just get to the Championship because you feel like as a number one seed, you feel somewhat entitled to get there and I think this year for us being the fourth seed and kind of in the mix, it’s going to be a very difficult round and you just have to execute well like I said. You have to bring speed and you know there is no magic, you just got to go out there and do the best that you can”.

Comparing his current seeding to last year, Byron feels that due to inconsistent results, he is not the “top seed” and that this has led to zero expectations from him. This freedom of movement will allow him to try new strategies that could be fruitful. Along with Byron, the top contenders this season will be extending a tough battle. The Cup drivers this time are familiar with the upcoming tracks – Las Vegas, Homestead, and Martinsville. Collectively, the drivers have won 14 of the 32 opening races. All of the Championship 4 drivers from the previous season have advanced into the Round of 8 in 2024.

Highlighting the level of competition Byron added, “Just shows that the teams are really strong and at the same time though the other 14 teams are really really good too, so I think yeah you’re going to see a lot of competition and some of the guys who didn’t make the championship 4 last year were close and have probably improved a little bit this year too”. With such heavyweight contenders, the upcoming races will be a battle between the toughest. Making a position for anyone would be tough and only the very best will come out on top.

Playoff contenders unite on similar takes 

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The best part about the top 8 this year is that all of them have similar ideas about the contenders. Siding with William Byron and his thoughts on how this is one of the strongest groups of drivers to enter the track this season, we have his contemporaries, too. In an episode of Actions Detrimental, Denny Hamlin mentioned, “You got the best eight. The best eight are in there. It is going to be tough. It is going to be tough because all these teams, they’re all threats to win any one of these three races. They’re all threats to run one through eight all three races”.

Along similar lines, Joey Logano said, “There is no one that is knocked out of the playoffs right now that you would say, ‘Man, that is a big surprise.’ There’s no one that had a ton of playoff points that got knocked out is what I’m trying to say, so all the cars that are in it are tough. I don’t think you can discount anybody going to Vegas.” 

Compared to previous seasons, three times in the last seven years, the winner of the opening race in the Round of 8 went ahead to win the championship. Do you think history will repeat itself once again?