Coming into the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte, William Byron and his No. 24 team were below the cut line and needed a strong day to advance. It all started out well on Friday when he put his No. 24 Chevy on the pole. At this point, all he needed to do was either win the stage or have a decent stage finish to move him forward.
Byron led the first 21 laps before being passed Kyle Larson and finishing second in Stage 1 under yellow. In Stage 2, he finished 10th. Mid-race Byron drove back up front but was only able to lead one more lap before settling in the top five. There were a couple of more chances for Byron and the No. 24 team to make something happen but in the end, he finished sixth.
“It was great,” Byron told PRN Radio. “For us to advance to the next round is awesome for our team. I didn’t really know what to expect going into these Playoffs. Chad (Knaus, Crew Chief) just handled the day really well. He was super calm, didn’t really have any criticism. He had some advice, we just kind of bantered back and forth. It was a really good day for us. We knew what the goal was and we accomplished the goal. Would have loved to have won that first stage but it was a great day overall.”
Byron will now be seeded in the 11th spot heading into the Round of 12 Playoffs, 45 points behind.
