After slight streak of disappointment, Kyle Petty believes William Byron re-established himself as the championship favorite for the NASCAR Cup Series during the Coca-Cola 600.
Bryon was racing like a madman in Charlotte, even utilizing a pass-in-the-grass to take the lead at one point. He had enough to win, but Mother Nature had other plans, as Christopher Bell won the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600.
Afterwards, Petty explained why he was so impressed with Byron’s drive, and how the No. 24 can bring another title to Hendrick Motorsports in 2024.
“The Coca-Cola 600. The longest race, miles-wise, on the NASCAR circuit. A grueling test of man and machine, only we didn’t see 600 miles yesterday, Mother Nature had a different plan,” Petty started. “The most exciting thing we saw yesterday was William Byron’s pass in the grass. … I think William Byron reasserted himself as the championship favorite.”
Byron already has three wins on the season, and if he keeps driving the way he did during the Coca-Cola 600, he’ll accumulate many more. The No. 24 has proven to be able to win on any track, just look at the races he’s won in 2024 — the Daytona 500, COTA and Martinsville.
That’ll bode well when the playoffs roll around, especially considering the myriad of different track the Cup Series will take their campaign to during the ten-race shootout. Byron will have as good of a chance as any.
He wasn’t able to get the job done on Sunday, but William Byron has proven to be a force in the Cup Series throughout 2024, and it’s easy to see why he’s Kyle Petty’s title-favorite at the moment.
Kyle Larson loses NASCAR points lead after missing Coca-Cola 600 for Indy 500
In other Hendrick Motorsports related news, Kyle Larson had a 30-point lead in the standings heading into this weekend. Now that has been wiped away and then some. A ton of points were given out for the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday.
Since the third stage never was completed, the finishing order from when the race was called official was also the Stage 3 finishing order. That means a few drivers picked up major points.
A 30-point lead on Martin Truex Jr. is now a one-point deficit for Kyle Larson. Even worse for Larson, Denny Hamlin jumped from 39 points down to the top of the standings. Hamlin has a six-point lead on Larson.
In fact, looking at the Playoff Standings, Kyle Larson is not listed among the top-16 drivers. That is because he didn’t start the Coca-Cola 600. He will need to receive a waiver in order to qualify for the postseason. That waiver is expected to be granted.
If and when that waiver is granted to Larson, it will mean that Bubba Wallace is the last driver in the playoffs as of right now. Wallace sits 13th overall in points but with a win from Daniel Suárez, that playoff bubble is pushed a little higher now.
Drivers who want to make the postseason will have to win a race, or at the moment, finish 15th or better in the points standings.
For Kyle Larson, the next step is to get this waiver so he can be eligible for the playoffs. With how much Hendrick Motorsports worked with NASCAR to try and make it all work, I fully expect a waiver to be granted.
On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this article.
The post Kyle Petty: ‘William Byron reasserted himself as the Championship favorite’ appeared first on On3.