William Byron wins pole award for NASCAR Cup Series championship race at Phoenix
After qualifying, William Byron is the pole winner and he will lead the NASCAR Cup Series championship race to green on Sunday. Byron is the top Championship 4 driver in qualifying and the overall pole winner. So, he will have the selection for the important first pit stall.
Starting on the pole is important. Lately, drivers have won from the pole more times than not. So, what are we going to see from William Byron? Does this mean his championship is wrapped up and settled? I’m not so sure.
Regardless, Byron is the pole-sitter and will control his own destiny. His pit crew is one of the best in the Cup Series and will be major if he does get behind at some point in this race.
William Byron P1. Kyle Larson starts P4, while Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney are going to start P13 and P15 overall.
The top-10 overall in qualifying: William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Bubba Wallace, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, and Tyler Reddick.
It would be major for Hendrick Motorsports to get the No. 24 car to the championship again. Jeff Gordon sure would love to see that happen. Byron has the most twins in the Cup Series this season, so why not add another one?
William Byron isn’t going away quietly
Even if he is a little mild-mannered, William Byron won’t go quietly. After practice yesterday, it looked like Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell were the class of the Championship 4. Hendrick didn’t fire off well.
Whatever the teams did to get the balance right in these cars, it worked. Or whatever these drivers did on those laps worked out. Larson looked fast, but then Byron came out. What I’m wondering now is if any of our Championship 4 drivers will win this race.
Both Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick would love to close the season out by spoiling the party. Harvick could capture his tenth win all-time at Phoenix, extending his already impressive record.
Right now, I’d say William Byron is the favorite. He won the pole, he was the winner at Phoenix in March, and he’s got the best pit stall. Plain and simple, everyone else will have to beat Byron, not the other way around.