Kyle Larson is the focus of major attention at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend as he seeks to complete the rare Indy 500/Cola-Cola 600 double. Garnering far less of the spotlight is Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate William Byron.
Unlike Larson, Byron isn’t bouncing back and forth between Charlotte and Indianapolis but is logging a lot of laps, nevertheless, by competing in both Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race and Sunday’s 600-miler for the NASCAR Cup Series.
But it’s Byron, not Larson, who’s seemingly been able to do no wrong leading up to the Sunday affectionately dubbed “the greatest day in racing.”
Indy Has Been No Cakewalk So Far For Kyle Larson
By any objective measure, the odds are not in Kyle Larson’s favor at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he’ll moonlight in the world’s most famous open-wheel race — and arguably the world’s most famous race, period — for the second year in a row.
The 2021 NASCAR Cup Series champion starts 19th in the 33-car field and will no doubt have his work cut out for him if he wants to contend for the victory (he obviously does).
Not surprisingly, Larson fared much better in qualifying at Charlotte, where he’ll start second alongside polesitter Chase Briscoe for the longest race of the NASCAR season. Operating on a very tight schedule, Larson plans to catch a jet from Indianapolis as soon as the Indy 500 ends, with hopes of being back in Charlotte in plenty of time for the green flag on the Coca-Cola 600.
Rolling to the row on the grid behind Larson for Sunday’s Cup Series race is William Byron, who turned the third-fastest lap in Coca-Cola 600 qualifying.
But unlike Larson, whose outcomes in recent days have been mixed, Byron has enjoyed a week for the ages.
So What’s Been So Wonderful About This Week For William Byron?
On Friday, Hendrick Motorsports announced it had signed William Byron to a four-year contract extension that will keep him in the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet through the 2029 NASCAR Cup Series season.
The news of being able to continue his career for the foreseeable future with the winningest organization in NASCAR history certainly gave Byron plenty of reason to smile. After all, it’s with Hendrick Motorsports that Byron has spent his entire NASCAR Cup Series career and captured 14 wins, including back-to-back Daytona 500s.
“I definitely wanted to be here,” Byron said on Saturday morning in the Charlotte Motor Speedway media center, a day after the announcement of his contract extension. “And, really for me, I just want to focus on winning races. That’s what it’s all about at Hendrick Motorsports, and that’s what I personally enjoy and want to be here to do. So, for me personally, I try to just kind of keep my head down this year and focus.
“I’m just really happy that it’s done. It’s a bit of a relief, I guess you could say, just to be able to focus on what we’re doing here. We have a lot of goals to accomplish.”
Will Wind At William Byron’s Back Carry Him To Coke 600 Win?
As if signing a new contract and qualifying well wasn’t enough reason for William Byron to be riding high into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race, Byron is a Charlotte native — and on Saturday afternoon, he prevailed in a rare NASCAR Xfinity Series appearance.
The win was Byron’s first in a major NASCAR series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, located in Concord, North Carolina just a few minutes north of his hometown.
Based on how magical the last few days have been for Byron, another trip to Victory Lane feels like it could be in the cards on Sunday. That’s certainly the goal.
“The big one is winning here at Charlotte, my family’s home track,” Byron said after his Xfinity Series triumph. “We’ve been to this track a lot as fans. This was where the dream really started for me. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get a win at Charlotte.
“Hopefully, this takes a little pressure off and tomorrow we can go after winning the race and running the way we want.”
Larson, meanwhile, appears to have a much taller hill to climb. At least at Indianapolis. And perhaps at Charlotte, too, given how many miles he’ll have already driven on Sunday by the time he arrives for the Coca-Cola 600.
If fatigue sets in for Larson at Charlotte and he and Byron are the drivers to beat — a real possibility based on where they’re starting — it’s advantage Byron. The same is true if the last few days mean anything.
