WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY CAMARO ZL1, met the media before the NASCAR Cup Series practice and qualifying session at Texas Motor Speedway.
Media Access Quotes:
I TALKED TO JIMMIE JOHNSON ABOUT HOW THE PLAYOFS HAS CHANGED SINCE HE WAS A FULL-TIME DRIVER IN NASCAR. NOW IT IS MORE DIFFICULT TO FIGHT IN CHAMPIONSHIPS LIKE HE DID. WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THAT – ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE? DO YOU THINK THEY ARE BETTER THE WAY THEY ARE NOW, VERSUS THE WAY THEY WERE THEN?
“It’s just the format I’ve always raced, so I don’t know any difference. That’s how we’ve always done it. The first year I was at the Trucks, they didn’t have playoff points, and then a lot of people said they created playoff points because of us and had a problem with cars in Phoenix that eliminated us. We had a dominant year and we came in last, and we were in the playoffs with the eighth seed and we were eliminated.
I think playoff points are a good thing, but I don’t know of any difference. I think it’s just the design and the nature of it is very strong.. it’s very stressful. But I think that’s what you want in games, really.. to have something that challenges everyone. So, I feel like the way it is brings those amazing moments. If I were a fan, that’s what I’d like to see. As a competitor, you have to take it with a grain of salt, knowing it’s about Phoenix. Therefore, you have to prepare in that way; know what it is and try to bring your best stuff then. I’ve seen talk about doing a three-race format for the championship. If that’s the direction they went, I wouldn’t be against it, but I’ll compete in any format and I won’t worry about what I can’t control.
THIS RACE HAS BEEN RUN A LOT IN THE FALL AND IS NOW MOVED TO THE SPRING. WHAT DIFFERENCE WILL THERE BE IN THE COMPETITION?
“Yeah, I mean the big difference is that I can’t watch the Masters (laughs), so that’s about it. Actually, it’s back to how it was my first years in the Cup – I think we’d race here twice a year, but we’d come here this weekend. The track is just a little bit colder. The last few times we’ve been here, it’s been really hot.. I mean, like 100-plus, and the day races. So, I’m sure this will be more fun for the fans watching in the stands because those races The autumn ones were definitely brutal, and I think it will be the best thing for everyone.
But for us with the temperatures and everything – I mean I don’t think it changes that much. The track was very oily when it was 100-plus to start, but we got a grip. I feel like it will have more grip to begin with. This place is rough, and has a lot more variety than most 1.5 mile tracks.
WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM LAST WEEKEND? WHAT IS YOUR BEST MEMORY OR NEXT THING? IT WAS TOO BIG FOR GAMES..
“Yeah, to me, it felt like full-circle timing — with all the history at Martinsville being in the No. 24, having Jeff (Gordon) there and talking to Rick (Hendrick) on the phone. And then going to celebrate with him (Rick Hendrick) on Monday. We did a little photo shoot at his house. It’s been a few weeks. And I think it’s just the history that Hendrick Motorsports has. It was a full circle moment I think and everyone there to celebrate. It was just amazing.
I am happy that we can win. I was very happy to see all of us running so well. The cars were very interesting, and I felt like the ruby red schemes were always like in or near the top six. And then at the end, we all somehow had a sea of red ahead. So that was pretty neat. You don’t see that often in modern Cup racing.. to have three cars in the top three like that, and four of us in the top eight, so it was pretty amazing.”
YOU MENTIONED THE STARS.. HAVE YOU BEEN TO AUGUSTA AND WATCHED IT LIVE? DO YOU PLAY GOLF, AND IF SO, WHAT?
“Yes, I have. I haven’t been into golf lately, but I did play a little this week. But I love the Masters. I’ve been once or twice, and it’s a very special place. It has that kind of history behind it and that aura when you walk in. It is very good. It can be compared to some of the race tracks that we go to that have a lot of history. I think it’s just a special occasion. I love how the fans are with everything.
I had about an eight handicap, but I’m probably 10 or 12 right now because I haven’t played in months.
HOW WAS LAST WEEKEND.. MR. HENDRICK COULDN’T BE AT THE TRACK, SO WHEN YOU GUYS WERE BACK IN THE STORE AND THINGS WERE GOING ON FOR THE CELEBRATION HOW WAS THAT?
“It was very cool. I got a chance to see him at his house, and just see him and Linda (Hendrick) and how happy they were. Linda was taking pictures on her phone, and she was very happy. So, it was really neat to share that with them. And like I said, the history of our company and everything they’ve accomplished — it was something we’ve never done before, so it was great.”
YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL THIS YEAR. YOU HAVE SHOWN IN THE BACK THAT YOU CAN DO THAT. I ASKED YOU LAST YEAR ABOUT BEING A FAVORITE YOU SAID YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT YOURSELF BUT LAST WEEK ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND IN THE MEDIA PEOPLE SAID YOU ARE THE GUY TO WATCH THIS SEASON TO MAKE A CHAMPIONSHIP. AND IF POSSIBLE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP. DOES ANY OF THAT, THIS EARLY IN THE SEASON, EVEN PLAY IN YOUR THINGS?
“Not true. Like I said, with this design, I feel like it’s the nature of the beast. You have to keep collecting playoff points and try to reach the end of the season with your best performance. I mean for us, it’s good to win the race. It’s good to lead some of those categories, but we have a lot of work to do. The days we’ve been, we’ve really been. And then we’ve had a few solid days, as well. But we have to implement it every week. That’s really what I want to put together is a consistent week, and we’ve started to do that the last three. We just want those bad days to be nine or 10, and the good days to still be victorious. It’s just a tough game. Everyone is so nice. We don’t know what we will have when we download here. We feel like we have a good idea, but you never know what the weekend is going to be like.”
YOU STARTED LAST YEAR VERY SAME AS THIS YEAR.. REALLY, VERY HOT. WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS GEN CAR THAT SEEMS TO SUIT YOUR DRIVING STYLE WELL? IT SEEMS YOU AND RUDY (FUGLE) HAVE REALLY CLICKED IT, AND THERE’S A LOT OF TALK THAT THE NEXT COUPLE IS JIMMIE JOHNSON AND CHAD KNAUS.
“Yes, so I have thought a lot about that because I have seen some people talking about it. I think the Next Gen car has been a great reset for us. But when Rudy (Fugle) came in 2021, we won the third race of the year at the 1.5-mile track, then we had like 13 or 14 top-10s in a row. We’ve had momentum since he came on board and we’ve had that chemistry, and I thought there were a lot of races we could have won in 2021 that we didn’t close the deal with in the playoffs. . Eighth round, we had about a 3.0 average finish.
The Next Gen car was a great reset for us – to go in and be clean, and we attacked it head on. There was a bit of discomfort early on when we were testing the car because we weren’t sure how it would go. But we just used that, we took that challenge, and we had speed in the first few tests that we had in Charlotte. And then the short track test in Phoenix, as well, we had good speed, and then we just crashed when we started with that car.
Then I guess you just work with what you have. The Next Gen car has continued to evolve. The competition is closer than ever, so I feel like attention to detail has become where we can put our focus. Just feel like we’re used to it, but like I said, when he (Rudy Fugle) came in and we started clicking, we had a lot of success and just had to use this car as kind of a platform. that goes.”
THE NEW TOYOTA GETS OUT – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE RUNNING GUYS?
“I’m worried about the Chevy I’m in. I don’t care.. we’re just competing with our competition and trying to make the most of it. I mean obviously they’re very fast. They were very fast in Las Vegas, but they were very good in Phoenix with the short tracks, and we were and a lot of work to do. You don’t know what’s going to happen here. I mean, we can be really good. You just have to go out there and see.”
WHO IS THE UP AND COMING DRIVER THAT YOU BELIEVE HAS THE BEST TRICK?
“I don’t know.. it’s hard to say until they get to the Cup level and put in the work for it. But I don’t know.. there are a few out there. I think Corey Heim is doing a good job. I think he has a good attitude, good ideas. He runs clean, but he runs hard . He gets the chances he needs, but he doesn’t make too many mistakes.”
LOOKING AHEAD TO TALLADEGA, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THAT RACE?
“Yeah, I mean anytime you go to Talladega, it’s unpredictable. You never know what’s going to happen. Our draft has been really good, but you don’t want your luck to run out, in a sense, so you’ve got to be a good pusher. You’ve got to be able to push well; do all the little things right .I think we know in the Producers Cup Series who they are, and there are quite a few to try to work with and be close to.
Just try to have a solid weekend. You can’t control the outcome there, but you can try to get good action points, and try to be a good producer and learn because the playoffs are big.”
IT SEEMS THE MORE YOU WIN, THE MORE JEFF GORDON IMAGES ARE. AS YOU CONTINUE WITH YOUR CAREER AND WIN MORE, HOW DO YOU PROCEED TO START ‘WILLIAM BYRON’, THE BRAND?
“Yeah, I mean we’re already working on it. I was put in Jeff’s (Gordon) car and that was a lot of pressure, and we had to make it ourselves. I feel like Jeff is a great mentor and a great asset to our team, and we use him a lot in ways other than talking off the track. But he informed me when I got into the car, that it was my own and somehow we built the team that way – with the people and everything we have in our team.
I get that question a lot, but it’s about trying to focus on what we can do. I hope the fans like it. It seems like we’ve had a lot of support lately, so hopefully the old No. 24 fans can adapt and grow with us.”
GM PR
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